Ramón Grau
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Ramón Grau | |
---|---|
Raul Lopez del Castillo | |
Vice President | Raul de Cardenas Echarte |
Preceded by | Fulgencio Batista |
Succeeded by | Carlos Prío Socarrás |
In office 10 September 1933 – 15 January 1934 | |
Vice President | Antonio Martinez Esqueda |
Preceded by | Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada |
Succeeded by | Carlos Hevia (Interim) |
Personal details | |
Born | Ramón Grau San Martín 13 September 1881 Spanish Cuba |
Died | 28 July 1969 Havana, Cuba | (aged 87)
Political party | Partido Auténtico |
Alma mater | University of Havana |
Occupation | Medical Doctor |
Ramón Grau San Martín (13 September 1881 – 28 July 1969) was a Cuban physician who served as President of Cuba from 1933 to 1934 and from 1944 to 1948. He was the last president other than an interim president, Carlos Manuel Piedra, born during Spanish rule. He is sometimes called Raymond Grau San Martin in English.[1]
Background
His parents were, Francisco Grau Vinals and Pilar San Martin y del Collado.[2] Grau's father, a rich tobacco grower, wanted Ramón to continue in his footsteps, but Ramón himself wanted to be a doctor. He studied at the University of Havana and graduated in 1908 with a Doctor of Medicine degree, then expatriated to Europe in order to expand his medical knowledge. He returned to Cuba in 1921 and became a professor of physiology at the University of Havana.
In the 1920s, he was involved with the student protests against then-President Gerardo Machado, and was jailed in 1931. Upon his release he was exiled from Cuba, temporarily migrating to the United States.
Revolution of 1933
After the
Cabinet members
Carlos E. Finlay for Secretary of Health,
One Hundred Days government
The One Hundred Days government was in part a mixture of reformist-moderate minded individuals such as Grau and radicals including
Despite the government's progressive agenda, the government faced significant political power struggles. On the one hand it was not recognized by the U.S. government, secondly there were still other groups especially members of the traditional parties such as the Liberal, Conservative and Union Nacionalista parties as well as the ABC who either did not support Grau's government or wanted a more inclusive administration. Finally, while the Army Chief of Staff Fulgencio Batista, nominally surrendered the power of the army to the new government, in reality Batista was having talks, making behind-doors deals with Sumner Welles, U.S. Ambassador Jefferson Caffery, and other political groups.[4]
Eventually Batista would force Grau's resignation on 15 January 1934. Grau, however, still maintained significant power throughout the beginning of his presidency and on one occasion various ranking members of Grau's cabinet as well as students from the Directorio Estudiantil Universitario wanted Batista removed or assassinated. This was partly because Batista was holding talks with Sumner Welles other members of the Cuban opposition regarding a potential change in government without the knowledge or public sanctioning of Grau's administration. [5] In addition to the political struggles, the dire state of the economy due to the Depression of the 1930s and the massive debt left over by Machado's administration, there was also the issue of the army officials regrouping and setting up camp in the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. After failed negotiations between army officials and Grau's government, this deadlock would ultimately end with the Battle of the Hotel Nacional of Cuba on 2 October 1933.
In 1934 Grau went on to found the Partido Auténtico. His niece, Pola Grau Alsina (1915– 2000), served as First Lady of Cuba during his first presidency.
Constitution of 1940
Grau was instrumental in passing the 1940 Constitution of Cuba. For much of the Constitutional Convention, he served as the presiding officer (even after his coalition was pushed into the minority after the defection of one of the parties that formed it). He would eventually come to be replaced by Carlos Márquez Sterling.
In 1940 Grau ran in the presidential election and lost to Fulgencio Batista. Most independent observers at the time qualified the 1940 election as free and fair elections.
Election of 1944
In 1944 Grau won the popular vote in the presidential election, defeating Carlos Saladrigas Zayas, Batista's handpicked successor, and served until 1948. Despite his initial popularity in 1933, accusations of corruption tainted his administration's image, and a sizable number of Cubans began to distrust him.
As Grau assumed the presidency, he was forced to address many financial problems left by his predecessor, Batista. In a 17 July 1944 dispatch to the U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Ambassador Spruille Braden stated:
It is becoming increasingly apparent that President Batista intends to discomfit the incoming Administration in every way possible, particularly financially. A systematic raid on the Treasury is in full swing with the result that Dr. Grau will probably find empty coffers when he takes office on October 10. It is blatant that President Batista desires that Dr. Grau San Martin should assume obligations which in fairness and equity should be a matter of settlement by the present Administration.[6]
In 1947, Cuba was the only Western country to vote against the creation of Israel.[7]
After turning over the presidency to his protégé,
See also
References
- ^ "Grau San Martin Leaves Cuba In Plane". The Pittsburgh Press. The United Press. 28 September 1934. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- ^ https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/02/90/10/02066/8_octubre_1944_41.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Problems of the New Cuba. Foreign Policy Association. 12 July 2021.
- ^ Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1933. The American Republics: Volume V, p. 468 http://images.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/EFacs/1933v05/reference/frus.frus1933v05.i0010.pdf
- ^ "El Directorio Estudiantil Universitario de 1930 | Salvador Vilaseca Forné". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ^ "Foreign relations of the United States - Collection - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries".
- ^ Assembly Votes Palestine Partition; Margin is 33 to 13; Arabs walk out
Bibliography
- Otero, Juan Joaquin (1954). Libro De Cuba, Una Enciclopedia Ilustrada Que Abarca Las Artes, Las Letras, Las Ciencias, La Economia, La Politica, La Historia, La Docencia, y El Progreso General De La Nación Cubana - Edicion Conmemorative del Cincuentenario de la Republica de Cuba, 1902–1952. (Spanish)
- Argote-Freyre, Frank. Fulgencio Batista: Volume 1, From Revolutionary to Strongman. Rutgers University Press, Rutgers, New Jersey. ISBN 0-8135-3701-0. 2006.
- The Cuban Democratic Experience: The Autentico Years 1944–1952, University Press of Florida, 2000. Dr.Charles D.Ameringer. ISBN 978-0813026671
- "En Defensa Del Autenticismo"- Aracelio Azcuy y Cruz, Julio 1950, La Habana, 135 pages, P. Fernandez y Cia.
- Rodriguez Garcia, Rolando. "La revolución que no se fue a bolina, Editorial Ciencias Sociales, 2013."
Further reading
- Dolgoff, Sam The Cuban Revolution, a Critical Perspective http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_Archives/bright/dolgoff/cubanrevolution/toc.html