Carlos Prío Socarrás
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Carlos Prío Socarrás (July 14, 1903 – April 5, 1977) was President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new elections were to be held [1].
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[edit] Youth
Prio was born in Bahía Honda, Pinar del Rio Province, Cuba (son of Francisco Prio-Rivas and Maria de Regla Socarras-Socarras [2]) on 14th July 1903 [3]. His ancestors had fought in the Cuban War of Independence [4][5]. In his youth, Prio studied law in the University of Havana and became an attorney. Prio, when a student leader, was jailed and exiled for fighting against Gerardo Machado's dictatorship and was President of the Directorio Estudiantil in 1930, he was also sought as a fugitive by the first Fulgencio Batista dictatorship and took to exile in 1935.
[edit] Governance
In 1940 he was elected senator of Pinar del Rio province when fellow Autentico Party member [6] Ramón Grau San Martín became president. During the Grau administration he became Minister of Public Works Minister of Labor and Prime Minister. During this period he democratized the main labor union [7], [8] which had been taken over by the communist party with the consent of the prior Batista government. On July 1st 1948 he was elected President of Cuba [9].
Once elected Prio was considered sufficiently important to be greeted personally by U.S. President Harry Truman [10]. Although popularly elected, his presidency was marred by violence among political factions and widespread corruption. Some of this is attributed to his attempts at suppress [11] what seems in retrospect to be the destabilization efforts of Emilio Tró and his followers such as Fidel Castro [12].
Emilio Tró has his defenders notably Martin, (1978); however, more commonly Tró is regarded as political gangster (Ros, 2003) leading an action group. Tró's dramatic death, shot down along with the pregnant wife of a police officer has enhanced his legend. However, such action groups were a serious threat to the then democratic government of Cuba [13].
Prío believed in limited, fixed term, constitutional rule; and never tried to block the democratic process in Cuba, even though it seemed that the opposition was going to win in 1952. However, he is viewed as being too weak to oppose Batista's coup.
[edit] Exile
Later in the Batista period (1952-1958) he organized a number of failed and usually betrayed attempts by democratically oriented activists to overthrow Batista, he was arrested in the US for these activities [14] and made the fatal mistake of supporting Fidel Castro a matter he would rue to the end of his days [15].
While it is generally accepted by many that he used a considerable part of the money Prio took from the Cuban treasury (said by some to be $300,000,000 in 1952 [16]) to support the efforts of Fidel Castro against the Batista regime. Prio returned to Cuba on January 1st 1959, and thus seems to have been in Havana before Castro. However, Prio broke with Castro after the latter began to consolidate power in 1959. Prio left Cuba at the end of the Eisenhower Administration [17].
[edit] Personal life
As was expected for a person of his stature in those times [18], [19] Prio loved a number of very beautiful women. He remarried to María Antonieta Tarrero de Prío in Maimi, and had at least five children: two with [20] María his second wife [21]. these were Maria Antonetta Prio-Tarrero, (b. 1945 in Cuba) Maria Elena Prio-Tarrero, (b. 1948 in Cuba)[22]
He also had two "recognized" children who proudly bear their father's name with his former mistress Celia Touzet. In addition he fathered Rocio Guadalupe Prio-Socarras-Karell [23]
He spent his final years as a developer and businessman in Miami. Prio committed suicide by gunshot in 1977. He died a pauper [24].
[edit] Aftermath
Second wife María Tarrero continues Prio's political work [25]. Carlos Prio, as had the first President in Arms of Cuba Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, kept mistresses e.g. the beautiful and talented Celia Touzet who gave him two children, Carlos Prio-Touzet and Rodolfo Prio-Touzet. [26]. His oldest son , Carlos Prio-Touzet, is an architect of some prominence in Miami [27]. Prio is often cited by Kennedy Assassination theorists as being "in the know" e.g. [28] [29] [30].
| Preceded by: Ramón Grau |
President of Cuba 1945-1947 |
Succeeded by: Fulgencio Batista |
[edit] Printed Sources
Martin, Lionel 1978 The Early Fidel: Roots of Castro's Communism Lyle Stuart, Secaucus New Jersey; 1st ed edition ISBN 0818402547
Ros, Enrique 2003 Fidel Castro y El Gatillo Alegre: Sus Años Universitarios (Coleccion Cuba y Sus Jueces) Ediciones Universal Miami ISBN 1593880065
