Strategy as politics: Puerto Rico on the eve of the Second World War by Jorge Rodríguez Beruff

Author:Jorge Rodríguez Beruff [Rodríguez Beruff, Jorge]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico
Published: 2017-05-29T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

PACIFYING A COLONY FOR WAR

García Méndez greets Leahy on his arrival aboard the SS Coamo.

El Mundo Collection, UPR.

CHAPTER 6

LA LIJA: PACIFYING A COLONY FOR WAR

* * *

F

rom September to December 1939, the terse prose of Leahy's diary provides few indications of the looming conflict with the Coalición. He recorded, with few comments, some of his official activities. They included, among other things, meetings with military officers, federal functionaries, and visits with congressmen, the coordination of WPA activities, the inspection of PRRA projects and the supervision of its administration, a tour of the island in late October, and official ceremonies and receptions. Brief notes on the progress of the war were also interspersed in this text. However, the paucity of references to Puerto Rican government affairs and political issues is striking. They are mentioned as if no serious controversy or conflict surrounded them.

The Coalición had unsuccessfully tried to prevent General Winship's dismissal and had later showered him with honors. But it had been careful not to attack the Admiral. El Pais, the Republican newspaper, had praised Leahy for his alleged part in the removal of Ernest Gruening and Benigno Fernández García, claiming that his "beneficent influence" was being felt before his arrival in Puerto Rico. It also expressed confidence that his stay would "be of great benefit to the interests of our people."806] Bolívar Pagán, President of the Socialist Party, Alfonso Valdés, Interim President of PUR, and other coalicionista leaders publicly complimented Leahy for his inauguration speech and gave him a warm reception.

A brief political honeymoon followed the arrival of the new governor. Senator Alfonso Valdés, after submitting to Leahy a list of economic proposals, commented to the press that "the more I talk to the governor, the more I like him [and] the better the impression he makes in me." Valdés's proposals were broadly aimed at strengthening the sugar industry, but they also contained a extraordinary scheme for the U.S. government to promote the settlement of 30,000 to 40,000 Puerto Rican families in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.807]

However, conflicts between the governor and the Coalición did not take long to manifest themselves and escalate into strong attacks by Valdés in November. The disagreements during this period had to do mainly with control over appointments to important executive and judicial posts and access to patronage. At stake was the capacity to dispense government employment both in agencies of the government of Puerto Rico and in the huge bureaucracy and work force created by Federal programs such as WPA and PRRA. This was a crucial political issue, particularly in an election year, since clientelism and the spoils system were important features of the prevalent pattern of party politics. High levels of unemployment, widespread poverty, and the large role played in the economy by government employment enhanced the strategic importance of the spoils system in party competition.808] Also, the related issue of the budget of the government of Puerto Rico also began to cause dissension between the legislative and the executive branches.

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