Rafael Francia Mestre

Cuban leader who began his revolutionary work in the late 1930s in the old Socialist People's Party (PSP), where he held various leadership positions. He participated in activities against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. During the revolutionary period he was a member of the Central Committee of the PCC, and held various positions and responsibilities. He was Minister of Agriculture from 1976 to 1980.

He was born in Sagua la Grande, current province of Villaclara. In 1939 he had his first contacts with the old Socialist People's Party (PSP), of communist ideology. From then on he participated in the campaign promoting communist candidates to the Constituent Assembly of 1940.

From 1941 to 1943 he belonged to the youth organizations "Youth of the People" and "Revolutionary Youth". In 1944 he joined the Socialist Youth and later as a member of the Socialist People's Party, where he held various positions in municipalities and provinces.

After Fulgencio Batista's coup d'état in 1952, repression against revolutionary activists intensified, and especially against communists, which made their work very difficult and dangerous. Most of their actions had to be carried out clandestinely. Among his activities during this period is his participation in organizing the guerrilla of the Socialist People's Party (communist) in the Yaguajay area, which operated under the orders of Félix Torres, and which had the mission of receiving and supplying Camilo Cienfuegos' column upon its entry into the old province of Las Villas, as they were hungry and exhausted.

In 1959 he held the positions of Organizer and Substitute Secretary of the PSP in the old province of Las Villas. He traveled to China for 6 months to study Agrarian Revolution.

In 1960 he became a member of the National Committee of the PSP. That year he held the position of Agricultural Secretary of the JUCEI of Las Villas. In 1961 he participated in Girón and in the Escambray Cleanup. In 1962 he was part of the Economic Commission of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI), in Havana.

From 1965 to 1970 he was appointed Agriculture Delegate in the provinces of Las Villas, Pinar del Río, and Camagüey. From 1971 to 1976 he worked as head of the National Sugar Group of the INRA in the National Agricultural Command Post.

At the I Congress of the PCC (1975) he was elected member of the Central Committee of the Party. Combining his political work with his professional development he achieved the degrees of Bachelor of Political Economy and Social Sciences.

During the period from 1976 to 1980 he held the position of Minister of Agriculture. During this period the impetuous development of our agriculture continued, with the creation and consolidation of new production development plans in several provinces, guided and with the direct support of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro.

In 1980 he was appointed Ambassador to the People's Republic of Angola, a position he held until 1983. From 1983 he worked in the Central Committee of the Party until his retirement.