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There are many figures that have fought for Puerto Rico in the congress, some are remembered for their actions, such as Luis Muñoz Rivera. Where-as some languish in relative obscurity, In this thread, I look to bring to light to the period where one of those people, as well as the person themself, el líder del Partido Socialista Puertorriqueño Santiago Iglesias Pantín, worked to better The Archipeligo of Puerto Rico.
Elecciones Legislativa de 1917
Elecciones Legislativa de 1917
1917 was a pivotal year overall in Puerto Rico, At the behest of President Wilson, & Puerto Rico's Then (Appointed) Governor, Arthur Yager (D-KY) , led the Senate to finalize the passage of the Jones act that year(the house had passed it the year prior).
Among other things this law led to the reorganization of Puerto Rico's electoral system, creating a bicameral system with a Senate & House.
Heading now to Pantín's story, inspired by the American Federation of Labour Pantín sought to Strengthen & Empower Puerto Rican workers & integrate Puerto Rico with the Rest of the United States.
The two main Parties that Pantín opposed were the Autonomist Partido Union de Puerto Rico, & the Republican Party of Puerto Rico*, which favoured closer ties to the United States.
*(Loose Afiliation to the national Republican Party however it was not affiliated between the years of 1916-1919)
Overall, The most successfull party this Cycle was the Partido Union de Puerto Rico, achieving suppermajorities in both chambers, where-as the Socialists and Republicans were combined relegated to a Superminority.(as Seen Below)
Elecciones Legislativa de 1920
Elecciones Legislativa de 1920
Succeeding Arthur Yager (D-KY) as governor of Puerto Rico in 1921 right after the 1920 election was governor Emmet Montgomery Riley(R-TX).
This change in governor would end up being a somewhat consequential one, as the Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico would begin talks with el Partido Socialista de Puerto Rico to form an Electoral pact.
However, that was not too be as members of the socialist party objected to the pack leading to the Two Amaricaphile parties remaining seperated for the comming term
This election saw A Strengthening of the Partido Socialista & a further Strengthening of the Partido Unionista at the Expense of the Partido Republicano, as seen below the Unionistas to picked up seats in Mayagüez, San Juan & Ponce, & the Socialistas pickeed up seats in those same districts.
The Republicanos did pick up a seat in Ponce Proper, however it was not enough to ofset their losses elsewhere
Elecciones Legislativa de 1924
Elecciones Legislativa de 1924
In what was a suprising twist, the Partido Unionista de Puerto Rico in this cycle abandoned the ideal for independence, seeking instead an Autonimous Union with the U.S. This led to the Creation of the Partido Nationalista de Puerto Rico, which sought complete independence from the U.S.
This moderating in the status question, combined with the near the Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico & el Partido Unionista de Puerto Rico experienced in the 1924 election led to both Parties forming a packt where Autonomy whithing the U.S. would be the desired End Goal, this cycle also saw the beginings of the future "Commonwealth System"
However, The alliance(Alianza) between the Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico (PRPR) & the Partido Union de Puerto Rico (PUPR) was opposed by multiple Statehooder members of the PRPR who then left and formed the Partido Republicano Puro (PRP/Puros). The Partido Republicano Puro subsequently Formed an Electoral Pact with the Stateood favouring Partido Socialista de Puerto Rico whereby they would run candidates on a Joint ticket.
However, the Partido Republicano Puro was only able to get one senator and one representative elected in conjunction with the Socialist Party's Senator(Santiago Iglesias Pantín himself) & 2 Representatives leading to a complete dominance of the Alianza Puertorriqueña.
Elecciones Legislativa de 1928
Elecciones Legislativa de 1928
The Delecate Aliance durring this period between the PRPR & the PUR in this cycle was functionally an unsustainable one with the PRPR continuously bleeding members to the PR Puro thanks to the differing positions on the status question, & partisan Strains, alongside the failures to get an elected governor in Puerto Rico.
This then led the Legislature to outlaw Joint tickets, the means by which the Partido Socialista & PR Puro were electing candidates(alongside the Alianza formalizing itself into an official party).
As a response the Partido Socialista & the Partido Republicano Puro to continue their coalition too formalized into an official party, the Partido Socialista Constitucional(PSC)
Note* Both Parties still had Ex-Efficio Members seperate from the Coalition
In this election the PSC made substancial Gains, Holding the Senate & House to a 2 seat Alianza Majority, up from a supermajority Alianza controll from the previous cycle.
Elección Para Comisionado Residente 1932
Elección Para Comisionado Residente 1932
Due too an inplosion in The Alianza in 1930 the parties ended up reorganizing themselves once more for the 4th time in 5 cycles. The Alianza broke up into 2 parts, one part, the Liberals comprising the old core of the Alianza, and the Second part joined with the Partido Republicano Puro to create the Partido Unión Republicano which itself was still Allied with the Partido Socialista de Puerto Rico
This shakeup presented a ripe opportunity for the Unión Republicana Socialista (frmly: Socialista Constitucional) who ended up nominating the Founder and leader of the socialist party Santiago Iglesias Pantín to be the new Coalition's candidate for Resident Commissioner,
With status Dominating the campaign, Iglesias Pantín campaigned on statehood, & Solving the economic problems stemming from the great depression, Tying himself to then New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt he was able to succeed in the campaign.
And to say it was a success is an understatement, the Santiago Iglesias effectively ended 28 straight years of Unionist (Liberal in this election) controll of the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico's office in a comfortable landslide
Performing Best in the Traditionally socialist area of Bayamón, alongside el distrito Senatorial of Mayagüez, and the Orocovis-Coamo District(Distrito 25) and just generally trouncing the Liberal candidate in most areas save fore the North Central Coast, Just south of the Bayamón area and in and around Caguas, in addition to a few other municipios, includiong Río Piedras just south of San Juan.
When in the House Pantín fought for the members to understand Puerto Rico's plight with regards to the dire economic situation on the island & a desire to clarify the status of the island. With this his main acomplishment in his first & later second term was the inclusion of Puerto Rico in the New Deal legislation that came across Roosevelt's desk.
Elección Para Comisionado Residente 1936
Elección Para Comisionado Residente 1936
Those successes, in addition to being the most vocal opponent of a bill to force Puerto Rico's independence by Maryland senator Millard Tydings (D-MD), (In addition to the Liberal Party Functionally boycotting the 1936 RC election due to Tyding's Legislation) led Pantín to win another Term
Pantín's second Term was much less eventful than his first, as he worked quietly for most of it. Later, still in his second term, after traveling to Mexico & Cuba to help atempt to restore the Pan-American Federation of Labor, he ended up contracting Malaria on the trip.
Santiago Iglesias Pantín ended up dying from Malaria in Washington DC on December 5th 1939
More than 200,000 people attended Santiago Iglesias Pantín's funerall & was Eulogized by House Labor Committee chair Representative Mary Norton(D-NJ). And Later on, Pantín was succeeded by his Son in law Bolívar Pagán.
Pagán in his eulogy described his father-in-law as “a live wire, a human dynamo, an energetic, honest, and far-sighted statesman at the service of the people.”(Source)
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