Federico Laredo Brú
| Federico Laredo Brú | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 8th President of Cuba | |
|
In office December 24, 1936 – October 10, 1940 |
|
| Preceded by | Miguel M. Gómez |
| Succeeded by | Fulgencio Batista |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 23, 1875 Remedios, Spanish Cuba |
| Died | 7 July 1946 (aged 71) Havana, Cuba |
| Spouse(s) | Leonor Gomez-Montes |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Dr. Federico Laredo Brú (23 April 1875, Remedios, Las Villas, Cuba – 7 July 1946, Havana, Cuba) was an attorney and served as President of Cuba from 1936 to 1940. He was married to Leonor Gomez-Montes (1880-?).
Laredo's rise to power began in January 1936 as Vice President. When Miguel Mariano Gomez, son of former president José Miguel Gómez won the presidential election, strongman Fulgencio Batista, engineered the impeachment of Gomez in December 1936 for having vetoed a bill to create rural schools under army control. Federico Laredo Brú served the concluding years of Gomez' term leading the way for an ambitious Batista.
Under Federico Laredo Brú, amnesties were granted including to the brutal, former dictator Gerardo Machado and the Cuban Congress passed many social welfare measures as well as laws creating pensions, insurance, minimum wages, and limited working hours.
In 1937 Brú pushed for the passage of the Law of Sugar Coordination which organized small farmers into cooperatives and unionized agricultural workers, guaranteed tenant farmers a share of their crop and were not to be deprived of their fields if they worked them.
Brú also issued a decree that stated all businesses should be headed by Cuban nationals. Workers unionized, particularly into the Confederation of Cuban Workers, a union in which Communists had substantial influence.
Though the United States had been a dominant force in Cuban politics since 1898 causing anti-American sentiment among the educated, the U.S. presence was lessened under Brú.
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Wikipedia