MUNOZ RIVERA, LUIS

born July 17, 1859, Barranquitas, P.R. died Nov. 15, 1916, Santurce statesman, publisher, and patriot who devoted his life to obtaining Puerto Rico's autonomy, first from Spain and later from the United States. In 1889 Muoz Rivera founded the newspaper La Democracia, which crusaded for Puerto Rican freedom from Spanish domination. He became a leader of the autonomist parties, and in 1897 he was instrumental in obtaining Puerto Rico's charter of home rule from Spain. He soon became secretary of state and later president of the first autonomist Cabinet. He resigned in 1899 after the United States put an end to Puerto Rico's short-lived home rule. Spending the remainder of his life primarily in the United States, Muoz Rivera continually advocated the cause of Puerto Rico's independence. He published a magazine in New York City to acquaint North Americans with the plight of his homeland. In 1910 he became Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in Washington, D.C. He died just before passage of the Jones Bill, for which he had fought and which gave Puerto Rico a large measure of self-government. Muoz Rivera's son Luis Muoz Marn was governor of Puerto Rico from 1949 to 1965.