Manuel Ray Rivero

Who was Manuel Ray Rivero?

Manuel Ray Rivero was a Cuban born engineer, politician and revolutionary, who was later involved in civic and professional actitivities in Puerto Rico. He received a scholarship from the Cuban Ministry of Public Works to study civil engineering at the University of Utah. He returned to Cuba in 1949 to work in the field of engineering, and later became project manager for the construction of the Havana Hilton Hotel. In his early career, he was also involved in several other major engineering projects, earning a reputation as one of the leading Cuban structural engineers of his time.

In 1957, he formed the Civic Resistance Movement to defeat the regime of Fulgencio Batista. The Civic Resistance movement undertook multiple sabotage and propaganda actions against the Batista regime, principally in Havana and other major cities of Cuba. Its actions have been considered one of the principal reasons for the eventual collapse of the Batista regime.

After Fidel Castro took power in Cuba Ray accepted the position of Minister of Public Works. During his short tenure as Minister of Public Works, Ray recruited a number of highly qualified young professionals to work in a very ambitious program aimed at modernizing infrastructure.