[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 17, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E391-E392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF LUIS A. Ferre

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 16, 2004

  Mr. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to a great man and a great public servant. In his 96 years, Luis A. 
Ferre--successful businessman, art patron, and former Governor of 
Puerto Rico--has had a unique opportunity to witness, and influence, a 
period of dramatic change on his native island.
  Ferre was born in Ponce in 1904, ``soon after the transition of 
Puerto Rico from Spanish to American control. It was a time of great 
promise, and many Puerto Ricans believed they would soon enjoy the 
rights which they had been denied for so long. Ferre's father, a

[[Page E392]]

Cuban immigrant and the founder of the Puerto Rico Iron Works, 
described to his young son how, in 1898, the people of Ponce had 
welcomed U.S. troops landing on the island.
  The arrival of American forces did not, however, bring the immediate 
advantages that some had predicted. Instead, the process of political, 
economic, and cultural growth in Puerto Rico which began in 1898 has 
lasted all of Luis Ferre's life.
  In 1917, when Ferre was 13 years old, the Puerto Rican people were 
granted U.S. citizenship. ``Of course I can't remember it distinctly,'' 
he said 75 years Iater, ``but ever since, I've been very proud of that 
day. I feel it is a great privilege and a great honor to be a citizen 
of the greatest republic that we've had in the history of the world.''
  Ferre's respect for the United States dates back to his years as a 
university student in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That period away from 
home was formative, both professionally and politically. He recalled 
much later: ``I was a part of the old Hispanic community, but then I 
went to the mainland to study, in Boston at M.I.T., and I became 
completely sold on the importance of having Puerto Rico become a State 
of the Union, on an equal basis with the rest of the States.''
  Ferre returned to Puerto Rico with a degree in engineering and a firm 
belief in Statehood. He built his father's business into a hugely 
successful industrial enterprise, becoming a millionaire in the 
process. As his fortune grew, so did the movement among Puerto Ricans 
to govern themselves.
  Luis Ferre entered politics at a propitious time in the island's 
history. In 1948, Puerto Ricans elected a governor for the first time, 
choosing Luis Munoz Marin. In 1952 the year before commonwealth status 
and internal self-government, Luis Ferre was elected to the Puerto 
Rican House of Representatives. From this position, he advocated 
commonwealth as a stepping stone to his ultimate goal of Statehood for 
Puerto Rico.
  Ferre saw the chance to further the cause in 1967, the year of the 
first political status plebiscite on the island. While commonwealth was 
the winning option, Ferre utilized the plebiscite to mobilize Statehood 
forces and establish a new political entity, the New Progressive Party 
(NPP).
  Ferre ran for Governor of Puerto Rico as the NPP candidate in 1968, 
and he won a close race. His victory marked the end of 25 years of 
political dominance by Munoz Marin's Popular Democratic Party (PDP), 
and the beginning of a new era in which the NPP and PDP would vie for 
the support of the Puerto Rican people.
  Ferre was Governor for one term, from 1969 to 1973. However, his 
importance stems not so much from what he achieved in those four years, 
as from the precedent that he set.
  After him came more Statehooders like Carlos Romero Barcelo, Hernan 
Padilla, and Pedro Rossello. First under Ferre's guidance, then under 
his inspiration, the New Progressive Party with its statehood agenda 
has become a legitimate and powerful political force. As he noted in 
1997, ``When I became Governor of Puerto Rico, as a Statehood governor, 
we had 400,000 votes. Today, we won the election in 1996 with 1,600,000 
votes.''
  Along with his political astuteness and business savvy, Ferre was 
also a great lover and supporter of the arts. ``Art is something that 
enriches all nations,'' Ferre said in 1997. ``It is very important to 
teach [art to] children when they're young because it opens up their 
minds and imagination and keeps them alive. In accordance with this 
philosophy, he founded the Museo de Arte de Ponce in 1965. The museum 
features artwork from medieval times to the present, focusing on the 
relevance of the European in Puerto Rico. Housed in an impressive, 
modern building, it is a major cultural attraction in Ferre's home 
city.
  Over the past century, Puerto Rico has grown in freedom, wealth, and 
influence. Similarly, Luis Ferre has attained the honored positions of 
elder statesman and philanthropist. He is one of four Puerto Ricans to 
have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Munoz Marin, Antonia 
Pantoja, and Gov. Ferre's sister, Isolina, are the other three.) 
Reflecting on this distinction, he said, ``I honestly believe that this 
was a recognition by the people of the United States to the people of 
Puerto Rico. After all, the people of Puerto Rico for the last eighty 
years [since attaining citizenship] have been contributing, in many 
ways, to the enrichment and the growth of our country.''

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