Manuel Natal Albelo

Manuel Natal
Member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
In office August 19, 2013 – January 2, 2021
Preceded by	Eduardo Ferrer
Personal details
Born	Manuel Natal Albelo (1986-03-25) March 25, 1986 (age 38) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Political party	PPD (2013–2018) MVC (2019–present)
Domestic partner	Xiomara Ríos Pacheco
Alma mater	Cornell University University of Puerto Rico
Profession	Lawyer
Website	http://www.natal.pr/

Manuel Natal Albelo (born March 25, 1986) is a former member of the

In the days leading to the special election, the PPD's leadership strengthened its campaign to secure the votes for Martínez, including public support from Eduardo Bhatia, President of the Senate of Puerto Rico, and Jaime Perelló, Speaker of the House. Public reports claimed that the PPD's conservative leadership was aggressive in its support campaign for Martínez, even offering jobs to the delegates in exchange for their votes.^[13][14] This raised concern among the other candidates, with Rechani, Mejías and former contestant Ruthy Currás claiming they had been pressured to abandon the race.^[15][16][17] Despite this, Natal opted to ignore the controversy, instead continuing with his campaign and presenting a series of proposals.^[18][19] The special election took place on August 14, 2013, with Natal defeating Martínez with a margin of 175 to 131, with 20 votes being divided between the other candidates.^[1] He effectively became a member of the House and a legislator on August 19, 2013, at the age of 26, after the House inaugurated its second ordinary session.^[20] Natal's first official action was to serve as cosponsor of P.C. 1334, a bill that specifies a method to select the delegates of a Constituent Assembly that will deal with the political status of Puerto Rico between 2014 and 2018.^[21] He was given the presidency of the Integrated Commission for Youth Development, Promotion and Retention of New Talent.^[22] Natal was also named vicepresident of the commissions of International & Federal Affairs and Veteran Affairs, while also participating in five others.^[22]

Political track record

His first original project was a proposal to retain young professionals and minimize the migration rate.

On December 21, 2013, Natal was the only member of the PPD to oppose a bill that reduced the retirement pension received by teachers.[25] This decision was preceded by days of reunions with education guilds, which took place in the midst of an accelerated and controversial special session called forth by García Padilla.^[26][27] Natal was the last member of a larger group to remain firm in his original position, with the others yielding and offering explanatory votes.^[27] He represented the Agricultural, Natural & Environmental Resources Commission during the public hearings of a project that pursued amends to the Biotechnology Law, there he expressed concerns that the proposed changes would facilitate multinational experiments without supervision and questioned if Monsanto was involved by supporting the bill.^[28] Furthermore, Natal noted that the entire process should be analyzed while taking under consideration the poor track record of biotechnology corporations and the multiples controversies surrounding their crops.^[28]

After

In November 2019, Natal announced his candidacy for mayor of San Juan as the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana party's candidate in the 2020 mayoral election.^[32] He placed second in the election, losing to Senator Miguel Romero of the New Progressive Party.

After the election, Natal launched a legal battle demanding a new election for the municipality's 77th Unit, which groups together several forms of

Upon completing his education, Natal settled in Old San Juan. He is an avid follower of sports, and practices cycling, basketball and triathlon.^[35] He was the original PPD's representative in Panel Político, a daily radio show hosted by reporter Normando Valentín in WKAQ 580, where he served as the counterweight of Gary Rodríguez. On March 4, 2014, Natal decided to abandon the program citing no interest to continue involved in "destructive" and "irresponsible" partisan discussions, a decision influenced by opposition senator Carmelo Ríos who accused him on air of participating in a protest where protesters had placed dog food and a "Beware of Dog" sign before a SWAT line during the 2010 strike.^[36][37] The PNP had promoted this supposed incident since he was elected, despite being asked in a formal letter to desist. Natal claimed that a series of anonymous threats related to his purported involvement in the incident had been received by mail, endangering his family. The following day, the group that was actually involved in the protest, members of a plastic artistry movement named Indi.gestión, publicly stated that Natal was never involved in it and denied even knowing him personally.^[38] Natal expressed gratitude that the group decided to clear his reputation on its own initiative, also clarifying that Indi.gestión was not related to the UPR student movement in any way.^[38]

Electoral history

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

San Juan mayor

References