The Republican Party of Havana () was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. The party was founded in the end of 1899. It was led by Dr. Domingo Méndez Capote. Prominent party members included
Mario García Menocal
Aurelio Mario Gabriel Francisco García Menocal y Deop (December 17, 1866 – September 7, 1941) was the 3rd President of Cuba, serving from 1913 to 1921. His term as president saw Cuba's participation in the Allies in World War I.
Early li ...
,
Eugenio Sánchez Agramonte,
Fernando Freyre de Andrade,
Manuel María Coronado,
Manuel Despaigne and
Juan Gualberto Gómez.
Overview
The party announced its program on April 3, 1900. The party declared its willingness to help the U.S. occupation government during the transitory phase of military occupation, in line with the Joint Resolution of April 19, 1898. Furthermore, the program stated its goal of the formation of a sovereign national state with autonomies for provinces, regions and municipalities.
Ahead of the September 1900
elections to the Constituent Assembly, the party formed the 'Democratic Republican Coalition' together with the
Democratic Union Party. The coalition was formed in order counter the growing influence of the
Cuban National Party.
By not dividing their votes on two separate candidatures, the Republicans of Havana and the Democratic Union Party hoped to be able to win over the Cuban National Party. In the end, the Coalition was unsuccessful in its endeavor to defeat the Cuban National Party in Havana.
[Averhoff Purón, Mario. ''Los primeros partidos políticos''. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. p. 59]
The candidate of the party for the 1 June 1901, municipal elections in Havana was Nicasio Estrada Mora. Estrada Mora lost to the Dr. Miguel Gener, who was supported by the Cuban National Party.
[Averhoff Purón, Mario. ''Los primeros partidos políticos''. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. p. 66]
In the
1901 presidential election, the Republican Party of Havana and the Cuban National Party supported the candidature of
Tomás Estrada Palma
Tomás Estrada Palma (; July 9, 1835 – November 4, 1908) was a Cuban politician, the president of the Republic of Cuba in Arms during the Ten Years' War, and the first President of Cuba, between May 20, 1902, and September 28, 1906.
His colla ...
for president and Luis Estévez Romero as vice-president.
Estrada Palma won the election, as his contender
Bartolomé Masó withdrew in protest of fraudulent functioning of the electoral machinery. After Estrada Palma's victory, the Republican Party of Havana became the ruling party in the country, whilst the Cuban National Party was dissolved.
[Averhoff Purón, Mario. ''Los primeros partidos políticos''. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. pp. 68-72]
The Republican Party of Havana was dissolved in 1906, after the fraudulent re-election of Estrada Palma, the brief uprising of the
Little War of August and the subsequent
Second Occupation of Cuba.
References
{{Cuban political parties
Defunct political parties in Cuba
Political parties established in 1899
History of Havana