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Serafin Garcia Menocal

Serafin Garcia Menocal
Born	Serafin Garcia Menocal (1911-05-25)May 25, 1911 Havana, Cuba
Died	October 9, 2003(2003-10-09) (aged 92) West Palm Beach, Florida
Education	University of Havana
Occupation(s)	Engineer, Public Utility Executive, Author, Public Speaker, Scout Leader
Spouse	Rosario Valdes Balsinde
Children	5

Serafin Garcia Menocal (May 25,1911 - Oct. 9, 2003) was a Cuban-American Public Utility Executive, Political Author, and Public Speaker. He served as Vice President and General Manager of the Cuban Electric Company (Compañia Cubana de Electricidad),^[1] President and General Manager of the Panama's Public Utility (Compañia Panameña de Fuerza y Luz),^[2] and President of the National Council of the Scouts in Cuba.^[3]

Witness to the Communist nationalization of private property and erosion of personal liberties by the Communist regime,^[4] he immigrated to the United States in 1959. He dedicated years of public speaking to shed light on the Marxist game plan to divide classes and undermine democracy, and warn that what happened in Cuba can happen here.

Early life and education

Menocal was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Gustavo Garcia Menocal and Emma Ferrer e Infante. He was born into one of the most distinguished families in Latin America.^[5] His father, Gustavo Garcia Menocal was a Representative in Congress from the Province of Matanzas, and Lieutenant Colonel in the Cuban War of independence.^[6] His uncle, Mario Garcia Menocal, was the third President of Cuba.^[6] At the age of five, the unexpected death of his father left him and his younger brother under the care of his widowed Mother through adulthood. Menocal earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Havana in 1937. He married Rosario Valdes Balsinde.

Career

Menocal began employment with the Cuban Electric Company in July 1938, and worked his way from the lowest levels of the company to become the first Cuban-born Vice-President and General Manager of the national electric company.^[7] In this capacity, Menocal took an active role in the planning and development of the country's electric industry.^[4]. In 1959, Menocal resigned from his position in protest of the expropriation of the company's properties^[8] and widespread abuses of civil liberties being perpetrated by the Castro revolutionary regime.^[9]

In voluntary exile from Cuba, Menocal assumed duties of a Vice President in the New York offices of American & Foreign Power. In September 1968, he was promoted to Vice President and General Manager of Compañia Panamena de Fuerza y Luz, the electric, telephone, and gas public utility for the Republic of Panama. He was subsequently promoted to President on January 8, 1970,^[10] and held this position until the nationalization of the utility by the revolutionary government in 1972.^[11]

Public Service

His public service career in Cuba include Vice President of the National Electrical Engineer Association, Director of the Cuban Society of Engineers, President of the Lions Club of Camaguey, member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers,^[4] and President of the National Council of the Scouts in Cuba.^[3]

From 1961 through 1968 he raised awareness of the experiences of the Cuban Revolution through public speaking engagements, eventually writing his story in a book, The Lesson the United States Can Learn from Cuba.^[12] He cautioned that it was not the illiterate or poor who were responsible for the downfall of Cuba, but rather a segment of the middle class, academia and a naive group of wealthy individuals too absorbed in their pursuits to take the trouble to understand the underlying Communist game plan and the true intentions of those who sought to lead them.^{13]

References

1. Brophy, John R. (February 11, 1965). "Force Will Be Needed to Free Cuba From Communists, Exile Insists". St. Louis Dispatch Community News. p. 1.
2. Severo, Ricard (June 16, 1972). "Panama Talks Suspended on Boise Cascade Utility". New York Times. pp. Special.
3. "The Lesson to Be Learned From Cuba". United States of America Congressional Record. Proceedings and Debates of the 92nd Congress, First Session. May 27, 1971. pp. 16549–16550.
4. Second Annual Conference Latin-American Affairs, Princeton University, April 23-24, 1965.
5. Johnson, Willis Fletcher (Feb.1, 2024). The History of Cuba, Vol. 4. London, England: B F. Buck & Company, Inc. pp. 113–115.
6. "Cuban Government Matters". The Cuba Review. Cuba Periodicals. p. 10.
7. Lavernia, Hector D. (April, 2001). "Serafin García Menocal Ferrer". El Camagueyano Libre. p. 15.
8. Hausman, William J, and Neufeld, John L.,"The Rise and Fall of the American & Foreign Power Company: A Lesson from the Past?" The Electricity Journal, Volume 10, Number 1.,January/February 1997.
9. "The Lesson to be Learned from Cuba". The American Legion Firing Line. May 1964. pp. 5–7.
10. "Presidente de la Compañia Fuerza y Luz". El Panama America Diario Independiente. January 8, 1970.
11. "La Nacionalizacion de la Fuerza y Luz". La Estrella de Panama. April 14, 2019.
12. Menocal, Serafin García (1964). The Lesson the United States Can Learn from Cuba. ASIN B006BL1ISA: C.H. Minor (Original from University of Texas) (published January 1, 1964).
13. "The Lesson to be Learned from Cuba".The Manion Forum, Weekly Broadcast No. 440. March 3, 1963.