Luis Raúl Torres Cruz (born May,27 1960) is a Puerto Rican independent politician formerly affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He is a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

since 2000, representing the 2nd District. He served as Minority Leader for the PDP in the House of Representatives from 2012 to 2013, following the resignation of

Héctor Ferrer Héctor Jose Ferrer Ríos (March 27, 1970 – November 5, 2018) was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican politician and lawyer, attorney. He served as a legislator in the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2012 for three consecut ...

Early years and studies

Luis Raúl Torres Cruz was born in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

on May 27, 1960. Torres began his studies at the

University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón The University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón (UPRB or UPR-Bayamón) is a public university in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico System (UPR) and is better known as CUTB from its previous name of ''Colegio Universitar ...

with the intention to complete a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Political Science. However, he transferred later to the

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has ...

where he completed a bachelor's degree in Business Management.

Professional career

From 1981 to 1982, Torres worked as Administrative Officer of the Public Relations Division of the Teachers Association of Puerto Rico.

Political career

Torres first ran for the House at the

1996 general elections General elections were held in India on 27 April, 2 May and 7 May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha, eleventh Lok Sabha. The elections resulted in a hung parliament with no single party having a clear majority. The Bharatiya Jan ...

, but lost to Edwin Mundo from the PNP. He ran again on

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and won, defeating Mundo this time. After being elected again in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Torres was selected by his party as the House

Minority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips ...

. In February 2012, he succeeded

as Minority Leader after Ferrer's resignation. Torres was reelected in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and again in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. On 4 May 2022 Torres Cruz notified Popular Democratic Party leadership that he would b
breaking from the PDP delegation
and continue as an independent representative.

Personal life

Torres has been a member of the

Mita Congregation The Mita Congregation () is a Christian denomination with headquarters in Puerto Rico. The congregation has chapters in the United States, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador, Italy and the Dominic ...

since his childhood. Torres is single, but has two daughters from a previous marriage. In 1993, he was involved in a case of

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

against his then-wife and, despite not being convicted, he completed a rehabilitation program. Torres himself said in an interview that he has "an excellent relationship" with his former wife.

References

External links

Luis Raúl Torres
on CamaradeRepresentantes.org
Luis Raúl Torres Profile
on

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the flagship and namesake station of Guaynabo-based WAPA Media Group. WAPA-TV maintains studio facilities on Luis Vigoreaux Avenue ...

Luis Raúl Torres announces he is leaving the PDP
on Telemundo Puerto Rico , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres Cruz, Luis Raul 1960 births Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Living people Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico