Teodoro Moscoso
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José Teodoro Moscoso Mora
Rico Puerto Rico. Noticel. June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
(November 26, 1910 – June 15, 1992), was a Puerto Rican businessman and politician known as "the architect of
Operation Bootstrap Operation Bootstrap ( es, Operación Manos a la Obra) is the name given to a series of projects which transformed the economy of Puerto Rico into an industrial and developed one. The federal government of the United States together with what is ...
".


Early years

Moscoso's parents were Teodoro Moscoso Rodriguez, the founder of Farmacias Moscoso (Moscoso Pharmacies), in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and Alejandrina Mora Fajardo, from the
Balearic island The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
of
Majorca, Spain Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balea ...
.''Teodoro Moscoso.''
123helpme!.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
Alejandrina was pregnant when she and her husband were visiting
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain. Moscoso Mora was born during their visit and soon afterward the Moscosos returned to Puerto Rico. Moscoso Rodriguez attended to his pharmacy, which was located in downtown Ponce.


Schooling

The Moscosos sent their son to New York City where he obtained his early education. Afterward he moved to Ponce and graduated from
Ponce High School The Ponce High School is public educational institution in Ponce, Puerto Rico, offering grades nine through twelve. The school's main building is a historic structure located on Cristina Street, in the Ponce Historic Zone. From its beginning t ...
. After graduation he attended the Philadelphia School of Pharmacy (now the
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (University of the Sciences or USciences) was a private university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. USciences offered bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in pharmacy and other health-related dis ...
) to follow in his father's profession. After three years, he transferred to the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where he graduated in 1932. Moscoso returned to Ponce and worked in his father's pharmacy. The pharmacies, an island-wide chain, operated from their founding in 1915 until 1995 when they were sold to Farmacias El Amal, another local chain. He married Gloria Sánchez Vilella.


Entry into civil service

Moscoso left the family business and helped win for the Ponce Housing Authority (PHA) an imperiled $2-million grant. In the midst of the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the grant aided the construction of nearly 1,000 homes in Ponce. Moscoso's success caught the attention of various Puerto Rican government officials. In 1940, Moscoso joined the Popular Democratic Party after meeting
Luis Muñoz Marín José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth." In 1948 he ...
, and became instrumental in making Luis Muñoz Marín's vision of an industrialized Puerto Rico a reality.


Economic development

In 1941,
Rexford Guy Tugwell Rexford Guy Tugwell (July 10, 1891 – July 21, 1979) was an American economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust", a group of Columbia University academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to R ...
, Governor of Puerto Rico, and
Luis Muñoz Marín José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth." In 1948 he ...
, president of the Puerto Rican Senate, established a number of
government-owned corporations A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
. In 1942, Moscoso became Executive Director of the new agency in charge of Puerto Rico's economic development, the
Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) — es, Compañía de Fomento Industrial de Puerto Rico (or simply ''Fomento'')— is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico authorized and empowered to induce private capital ...
. Under Governor Muñoz Marín's administration, Moscoso led a project known as
Operation Bootstrap Operation Bootstrap ( es, Operación Manos a la Obra) is the name given to a series of projects which transformed the economy of Puerto Rico into an industrial and developed one. The federal government of the United States together with what is ...
. This administration realized that agriculture alone would not be able to provide employment for the burgeoning population, and sought to use the advantages of free access to the American market, plus a ready, inexpensive, and trained labor force, to rapidly industrialize the country. The country experienced rapid economic progress during the decades of 1950–1970. The ambitious project stimulated various industries through federal and local tax exemption as well as through government assistance, to invest in Puerto Rico. Moscoso succeeded in attracting worldwide capital investment to the Commonwealth; this, in turn, helped transform the island into a modern industrial society. ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' later reported: "one century of economic development . . . achieved in a decade." The following table shows Puerto Rico's change from agricultural to manufacturing society in terms of employment (extracted from Fernando Pico's ''Historia General de Puerto Rico'').


Ambassador

In May 1961, United States President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
named Moscoso
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. One month later Moscoso was kidnaped by leftist students at the
Central University of Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in L ...
, while his car was turned on fire. Some unattended diplomatic documents were taken from the car before it was burned. Those documents, which contain a series of "recommendations" State Department to Venezuelan government were read on August 8, 1961, by
Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
, head of the Cuban delegation at Economic Conference of Punta del Este, Uruguay. On November 11 the president
Romulo Betancourt Romulo may refer to: People with the given name Romulo Italian * Rômulo (footballer, born 1987), Brazilian-born football player * Romulo Cincinato (1502 – circa 1593), painter Portuguese * Rómulo (footballer, born 1976), football player M ...
ordered break diplomatic relations with Cuba. Earlier, the Mexican government had agreed to host the hundred Cuban refugees who were at the Venezuelan embassy in Havana, hoping to leave their country. In November Moscoso was named coordinator of Kennedy's
Alliance for Progress The Alliance for Progress ( es, Alianza para el Progreso, links=no), initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, ostensibly aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marín ...
and returned to Washington. After the Kennedy assassination, Moscoso returned to Puerto Rico. In 1966, Moscoso headed the Commonwealth Oil Refining Co. (" CORCO"). From 1973 to 1976 Moscoso became again the head of "Fomento".


Death

Teodoro Moscoso died on June 15, 1992.


Legacy

A 2.25-kilometer bridge connecting the Hato Rey/Río Piedras sectors of
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...
with the
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín) is a joint civil-military international airport located in suburban Carolina, Puerto Rico, southeast of San Juan. It is named for Luis Muño ...
bears the name of Teodoro Moscoso. The bridge, over the San José Lagoon, is the longest bridge over a body of water in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. In Ponce he is honored at the Illustrious Ponce Citizens Plaza in Tricentennial Park.


See also

*
Economy of Puerto Rico The economy of Puerto Rico is classified as a high income economy by the World Bank and as the most competitive economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum. The main drivers of Puerto Rico's economy are manufacturing, primarily pharmac ...
* List of Puerto Ricans *
History of Puerto Rico The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the Ortoiroid people between 430 BC and AD 1000. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the Taínos. The Taín ...


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links


The Development Hall of Fame: Inductees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moscoso, Teodoro 1932 births 1992 deaths Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from Barcelona Ambassadors of the United States to Venezuela Businesspeople from Ponce University of Michigan alumni