Jesús Piñero | |
|---|---|
 Piñero in 1945 | |
| Governor of Puerto Rico | |
| In office September 2, 1946 – January 2, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Rexford Tugwell |
| Succeeded by | Luis Muñoz Marín(elected) |
| Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico | |
| In office January 3, 1945 – September 2, 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Bolívar Pagán |
| Succeeded by | Antonio Fernós-Isern |
| President of thePuerto Rico Olympic Committee | |
| In office 1948–1952 | |
| Succeeded by | Julio Enrique Monagas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jesús Toribio Piñero Jiménez (1897-04-16)April 16, 1897 |
| Died | November 19, 1952(1952-11-19) (aged 55) |
| Resting place | Carolina Municipal Cemetery in Carolina, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Popular Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic |
| Spouse | Aurelia Bou Ledesma |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania University of Puerto Rico (BA) |
Jesús T. Piñero Jiménez (April 16, 1897 – November 19, 1952) was aPuerto Rican businessman and politician, who served by order ofU.S. PresidentHarry S. Truman as the175thgovernor of Puerto Rico from 1946 to 1949. Piñero was the last appointed governor of thearchipelago and island, as he was succeeded byLuis Muñoz Marín, who became the firstpopularly elected governor in1948. Piñero was the first and only native Puerto Rican to hold the office in a formal, notinterim capacity during the direct Spanish and American control of the governorship from 1508 to 1948.[1]
Jesús Toribio Piñero Jiménez[2] was born inCarolina, Puerto Rico, to Emilio Piñero Estrella (son of Basilio Piñero) and Josefa Jiménez Sicardó into a wealthy family with roots in theCanary Islands.[3] His direct ancestor was Domingo Antonio José Piñero Pineda fromHermigua,La Gomera, who arrived in Puerto Rico around 1816.[4] He obtained his primary and secondary education in his hometown. In 1914, he attended the College ofLiberal Arts of theUniversity of Puerto Rico. He also attended the School of Engineering at theUniversity of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia.[5]
Between 1920 and 1944, Piñero's interest inagriculture kept him engaged in the dairy business and in the cultivation ofsugar cane. His interest in the agricultural development of Puerto Rico led him to participate in politics, particularly those concerning the issues of the cultivation of sugar cane and development of the industry.[5]
Between 1928 and 1932, a period during which Puerto Rico's internal government was still run bycontinentalAmericans appointed by thePresident of the United States, Piñero was president of the Assembly of the Municipality of Carolina. Between 1934 and 1937, he was the president of the Association of the Sugar Cane Industry and was elected to theHouse of Representatives of Puerto Rico.[5]
In 1938, Piñero was one of the founders, along withLuis Muñoz Marín, of thePartido Popular Democrático (PPD). In the elections of 1940, he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1944, he was elected asResident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, and represented the island in theUnited States House of Representatives inWashington, D.C. His position did not have voting powers in Congress.[5]
In 1946,PresidentHarry S. Truman relieved GovernorRexford Guy Tugwell, who had served in this position from 1941, and named Piñero as governor in his place, the first native Puerto Rican appointed to that post under U.S. administration.
On May 21, 1948, a bill was introduced before thePuerto Rican Senate which would restrain the rights of the independence and Nationalist movements on thearchipelago. The Senate, controlled by the PPD and presided byLuis Muñoz Marín, approved the bill that day.[6] This bill, which resembled the anti-communistSmith Act passed in the United States in 1940, became known as theLey de la Mordaza (Gag Law) when Governor Piñero signed it into law on June 10, 1948.[7] Under this new law it would be a crime to print, publish, sell, or exhibit any material intended to paralyze or destroy the insular government; or to organize any society, group or assembly of people with a similar destructive intent. It made it illegal to sing a patriotic song, and reinforced the 1898 law that had made it illegal to display theFlag of Puerto Rico, with anyone found guilty of disobeying the law in any way being subject to a sentence of up to ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to US$10,000 (equivalent to $131,000 in 2024), or both.
According to Dr.Leopoldo Figueroa, the only non-PPD member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, the law was repressive and was in violation of the First Amendment of theUS Constitution which guaranteesFreedom of Speech. He pointed out that the law as such was a violation of the civil rights of the people of Puerto Rico.[8][9]
Piñero served as governor until 1949, when Puerto Rico celebrated its first popular election for the position, in which Muñoz Marín was elected governor.[5] During Piñero's administration, legislation was passed that later served as the basis for the economic development plan known as Operation Bootstrap. Plans for the construction of a new international airport for the Island were also drawn up during his governorship. From 1947 to 1951, Piñero served as U.S. representative to theCaribbean Commission.
Jesús T. Piñero died on November 19, 1952, in the town ofLoíza, and was buried at the Carolina Municipal Cemetery in his hometown, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico 1945–1946 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Puerto Rico 1946–1949 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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