Rufo López-Fresquet
Rufo López Fresquet (1911 – 2 August 1983) was a Cuban economist[1] serving as the Cuban Minister of the Treasury from 1959 to 1960[2].
Following the "triumph" of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959, López served as Minister of the Treasury under President Manuel Urrutia Lleó and Prime Minister José Miró Cardona. Fourteen months later, on March 17, 1960, López resigned from his post as minister[2]. Following his involvement in the failed coup d'état of August 30, 1962, he fled to the United States with his American wife Helen Bigger[3][4].
In 1966 he wrote a book, My 14 Months with Castro,[5] that attempted to shed light on the origins of the Cuban revolution and the reasons behind Castro's new government becoming communist.
As Minister of the Treasury, López made concerted efforts to work with American companies, hoping to gain the interest of foreign investors. According to one source, "Cuban Minister of Finances Rufo Lopez Fresquet told Bohemia magazine, 'I met more than 220 presidents of US corporations... Eastern, Pan American, Pepsi-Cola, Sinclair, Remington Rand, National Can and many other US corporations [were] interested in Cuba." [6]
In 2005, Rufo Lopez-Fresquet was portrayed in the movie The Lost City by actor Carlos Menendez.[7]
López had three sons, Antonio, Victor, and Miguel, and died in 1983 in Stockton, California[4]. He was a professor of Economics at the University of the Pacific[8].
References
[edit]- ^ The Man Who Invented Fidel by Anthony Depalma, ch. 7, part 2:
- ^ a b "Pacific Review October 1979" (PDF). Pacific Review. Vol. 67, no. 2. p. 5. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Cuba, Volume VI - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ a b "El Doctor Rufo Lopez Fresquet" [Doctor Rufo Lopez Fresquet] (PDF). Retrieved 24 January 2025.
Doctor Rufo Lopez Fresquet, who died in Stockton, California, on July 31, 1983. By this means his widow, Mrs. Helen Bigger de Lopez Fresquet, and his sons Antonio, Victor and Miguel Lopez Fresquet (absent) and all his friends call for the mass to be celebrated for the eternal repose of his soul at the Armita de la Caridad on Friday, August 5 at 7pm, which will be officiated by Monsignor Agustín Román, auxiliary bishop of the diocese of miami.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rufo López Fresquet (1966). My 14 Months with Castro. The World. OCLC 962858.
- ^ 2009 WAIS Conference, Stanford World Association of International Studies, Re:Brian Latell. AFTER FIDEL (Alberto Gutierrez) [dead link]
- ^ Willis, John; Monush, Barry, eds. (2010). Screen World 2007. Vol. 58. Milwaukee: Applause Theater & Cinema Books. p. 47. ISBN 9781557837295.
- ^ Rufo Lopez-Fresquet [Speech], Rufo Lopez-Fresquet, KUNM, retrieved 23 January 2025
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)