- Carlos Prío Socarrás
Infobox Officeholder
name =Carlos Prío Socarrás
imagesize =200px
small
caption =
order =16th
office =President of Cuba
term_start =October 10 ,1948
term_end =March 10 ,1952
predecessor =Ramón Grau
successor =Fulgencio Batista
birth_date =July 14 ,1903
birth_place =Bahia Honda, Cuba
death_date =April 5 ,1977
death_place =Miami, Florida
nationality =
party =
spouse =Gina Karel
María Antonieta Tarrero
relations =Celia Touzet
children =Rocio Guadalupe Prío-Karell
Maria Antonetta Prío-Tarrero
Maria Elena Prío-TarreroCarlos Prio-Touzet
Rodolfo Prio-Touzet
residence =
alma_mater =Colegio de Belen University of Havana
occupation =
profession =Attorney
net worth =
cabinet =
committees =
portfolio =
religion =
website =
footnotes =Carlos Prío Socarrás (
July 14 ,1903 –April 5 ,1977 ) was the 16thPresident of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led byFulgencio Batista onMarch 10 ,1952 , three months before new elections were to be held [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6675425] .Governance
In 1940 he was elected senator of Pinar del Río province when fellow
Partido Auténtico member [http://www.autentico.org/oa09035.php] Ramón Grau became president. During the Grau administration he served turns as Minister of Public Works, Minister of Labor and Prime Minister. OnJuly 1 ,1948 he was elected president of Cuba as a member of the Paritdo Auténtico [http://www.autentico.org/oa09239.php] .The eight years under Grau and Prío, were, according to Charles Ameringer,
[...] unique in Cuban history. They were a time of constitutional order and political freedom. They were not 'golden years' by any means, but in two elections (1944 and 1948), Cubans has the opportunity to express their desire for a rule of civil liberties, primacy of Cuban culture, and achievement of economic independence. If there were sharp contradictions in Cuban society under the Autenticos, the circumstances differed only in degree from the complexities and dynamics encountered in free societies everywhere (how often did Cubans compare Havana with Chicago?). [Ameringer, Charles. "The Cuban Democratic Experience: The Autentico Years, 1944-1952". Gainesville: University Press of Florida (2000) p 189]
Prío, called "El presidente cordial" ("The Cordial President"), was committed to a rule marked by civility, primarily in its respect for freedom of expression. Several public works projects and the establishment of a National Bank and Tribunal of Accounts count among his succeesses.However, violence among political factions and reports of theft and self-enrichment in the government ranks marred Prío's term. The Prío administration increasingly came to be perceived by the public as ineffectual in the face of violence and corruption, much as the Grau administration before it.
With elections scheduled for the middle of 1952, rumors surfaced of a planned military coup by long-shot presidential contender
Fulgencio Batista . Prío, seeing no constitutional basis to act, did not do so. The rumors proved to be true. OnMarch 10 ,1952 , Batista and his collaborators seized military and police commands throughout the country and occupied major radio and TV stations. Batista assumed power when Prío, failing to mount a resistance, boarded a plane and went into exile.According to
Arthur M. Schlesinger , Prío later said of his presidency,They say that I was a terrible president of Cuba. That may be true. But I was the best president Cuba ever had. [Schlesinger, Arthur M. "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House". New York: Houghton Mifflin (2002) p 216]
Personal life
He first married Gina Karel and they had one daughter, Rocio Guadalupe Prío-Socarrás-Karell. He then married María Antonieta Tarrero, and they had two daughters, Maria Antonetta Prío-Tarrero (b. 1945 in Cuba and married to
Cesar Odio , former City Manager of theCity of Miami ) and Maria Elena Prío-Tarrero (b. 1948 in Cuba married toAlfredo Duran ). He also had two "recognized" children with his former mistress Celia Touzet, who gave him two children,Carlos Prio-Touzet and Rodolfo Prio-Touzet. His oldest son,Carlos Prio-Touzet (b. 1955 in Havana), is an architect of some prominence.He spent his final years as a developer and businessman in Miami. Prío, committed suicide by gunshot in 1977. He is buried at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now
Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum ) in Miami, Florida.References
* cite book
last = Otero
first = Juan Joaquin
authorlink =
title = Libro De Cuba, Una Enciclopedia Ilustrada Que Abarca Las Artes, Las Letras, Las Ciencias, La Economia, La Politica, La Historia, La Docencia, Y ElProgreso General De La Nacion Cubana - Edicion Conmemorative del Cincuentenario de la Republica de Cuba, 1902-1952
publisher =
series =
year = 1954
doi =
isbn = (Spanish)
*"Anuario Social de la Habana 1939", (Luz - Hilo S.A.)
*"Libro de Oro de la Sociedad Habanera", (Editorial Lex, 1950)
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801827,00.html / Time magazine, February 24, 1947]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854894,00.html / Time magazine, June 14, 1948]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914922,00.html / Time magazine, April 18, 1977]Notes
External links
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6675425 Carlos Prio Socarrás' Photo & Gravesite]
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