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Roberto Rivera Ruiz de Porras

Biography

Roberto Rivera Ruiz de Porras was born in Ponce on October 28, 1950. Son of Asela Ruiz de Porras and Julio Rivera, he is the only male of the marriage that produced 3 children. He completed his elementary and higher education at Colegio San Juan Bosco on the Cantera Peninsula and his university studies at the University of Puerto Rico and Caribbean University College. The legislator earned a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. For 29 years, he worked in local banking. The legislator has been married to María del Carmen Fuentes for 48 years. He has two daughters who are already professionals, Marisela and Melisa, and his 15-year-old grandson Osvaldo.

Due to his strong sense of commitment to Puerto Rico, he entered the political sphere as a Municipal Legislator in the Autonomous Municipality of Carolina, a position he held from 1989 to 2000 (12 years). From Municipal Legislator, he went on to serve as House Representative for District 40 of Carolina and Trujillo Alto for the Popular Democratic Party, a position he swore in to in January 2001. During that four-year term, he served as Chairman of the Banking, Insurance and Financial Affairs Committee and served on various committees.

In 2004, he was re-elected to the House of Representatives for District 39 following redistricting. He again obtained favorable results in the 2008 elections, serving as Minority Spokesperson on the Committees on Municipal Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Internal Affairs, and as a member of the Committees on Finance, Government, and Labor and Labor Relations.

After twelve years as a legislator, he ran again in the 2012 general elections, obtaining the highest number of votes for a District Representative. He was elected by his colleagues in his delegation as Vice President of the Legislative Body. He was an ex-officio member of all the committees. From September to December 31, 2016, he served as Acting President, achieving a seamless transition. Thus complying with all legal requirements.

He revalidated in the November 2016 elections, where he stood out by obtaining the largest number of votes among the PPD delegation. He served as Minority Spokesperson on the Municipal Affairs, Northeast Region, and Internal Affairs Committees. He was also a member of the Public Safety, Cooperativism, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.

In these November 2020 elections, he again obtained the support of his constituents for a sixth term as Representative of District 39, Carolina – Trujillo Alto. He is currently Alternate Spokesperson and Chairman of the Majority Committee on Internal Affairs. He is an ex-officio member of all committees.

During his tenure, the legislator has demonstrated his professional and human qualities and his commitment to working hard for his people. He has allocated funds for the construction of police stations, the rehabilitation of recreational facilities, and the remodeling of schools in various communities, among many other projects. One of his most important projects was the rehabilitation of the Esc. Roberto Clemente Walker from Carolina. He is a Public Servant who has worked for the benefit of the people and the communities he represents.

At the legislative level, he has introduced cutting-edge legislative measures aimed at directly protecting our families. Approved laws: Law 71-2002, Law 17-2003, Law 316-2003, Law 399-2004, Law 47-2006, Law 252-2008, Law 83-2013, Law 9-2014, Law 97-2014, Law 245-2014, Law 179-2016, Law 202-2018 and Law 143-2020.

He has received numerous recognitions and awards for his work benefiting our society. Among his accolades are the Jesús T. Piñero Award and the Roberto Clemente Award. He has also received awards from organizations such as the Puerto Rican League Against Cancer, the United Retail Center, Hogar CREA Inc., the Villa Carolina Recreational and Residents Association, and Legislator of the Year, among others.

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    Sergio Estévez Vélez

    José ‘Conny’ Varela

    Biography

    Mr. José Manuel “Conny” Varela Fernández was born on February 13, 1954, in the town of Cayey, and has resided in Caguas since 1976.

    Varela Fernández studied at Notre Dame College in Caguas and graduated from Miguel Meléndez Muñoz High School, where he received the leadership medal.

    He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1974. In 1977, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law and served as class president during his first year. During his senior year, he worked at the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, attached to the Attorney General’s Office.

    From 1977 to 1996, he was a partner at the Varela & Varela Law Firm. In 1978, he was a professor of criminology at Puerto Rico Junior College, and from 1979 to 1980, he was a professor of commercial law and political science at Caguas City College. In 1982, he presided over the Great Olympic Crusade and received a special distinction from the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee for his outstanding performance. In 1987, the Caguas Municipal Department of Recreation and Sports selected him as a Distinguished Young Man of Caguas in the “Law” category. From 1989 to 1991, he was legal advisor to the Government Commission of the House of Representatives.

    From 1989 to 1990, the American Cancer Society, Caguas District, awarded him a special award for his outstanding participation in the Education and Fundraising Crusade in that district. He distinguished himself as President of the Rotary Club of Caguas, being recognized as the most outstanding president of District 700 in 1990-1991.

    Representative Varela, who is married and has three children, began his political career in 1993, when he was sworn in as a Municipal Legislator of Caguas.

    In 1996, he was first elected to the House of Representatives for Representative District 32 in Caguas, where he served as a member and minority spokesperson on the Criminal Law, Municipal Affairs, and Retirement Systems committees. He also served on the Government, Civil Law, and the Special Commission to Combat Crime committees.

    In the 2000 general elections, he was reelected by a margin of approximately 4,000 votes. During that four-year term, he chaired the Government Commission and served as Vice President of the Finance Commission.

    In the 2004 elections, he was re-elected by a margin of nearly 5,000 votes, standing out as the minority spokesperson on the Government Commission. He also served as a member of the Budget and Socioeconomic Development Commissions.

    In 2008, he was reappointed, serving as minority spokesperson on the Socioeconomic Development Commission and as a member of the Government, Comprehensive Development of the Eastern Region, Public Safety, Housing and Federal Relations, and Veterans Affairs commissions.

    In 2012, he was re-elected to the position of Representative and chaired the Government Commission of said legislative body.

    He was reelected in 2016 and assumed leadership as Spokesperson for the PPD Delegation in the Government Commission.

    Varela reappointed his term in 2020, being elected by his colleagues as Vice President of the House of Representatives for the Nineteenth Legislative Assembly. During that period, he chaired the Commission for the Study and Evaluation of Puerto Rican Constitutional Law, Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Electoral Affairs, and the House Subcommittee on the Situation in the Judicial Branch of that body.

    In the November 2024 elections, Varela once again received the support of the people of Caguas and was sworn in for the eighth time, being appointed Spokesperson for the P.P.D. delegation on the Legal, Recreation and Sports, and Economic Development committees.

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      Denis Márquez Lebrón

      Biography

      Denis Márquez Lebron, a native of Gurabo, is the youngest of four siblings. He grew up in the Celada neighborhood of that town where he studied in public schools until he was admitted to the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus in 1981. There he began his activism in the PIP Youth, motivated by his first contact with the independence organization in his town’s committee. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences with a concentration in Labor Relations, he pursued graduate studies in Public Administration. In 1992, he graduated magna cum laude from the Interamerican University School of Law, where he founded the Law Student Cooperative.

      He worked as a professor at the Polytechnic University from 1987 to 1992 and as a professor of commercial law, civil law, and social sciences courses from 1999 to 2011 at various universities in the country. He served as an advisor to the legislative delegation of the Puerto Rican Independence Party from 1993 to 1996, and then, together with his friend and fellow PIP advisor, José Torres Valentín, he began his private practice. As a labor lawyer, he has represented several union organizations, and his former office assisted in the legal representation of special education children in Rosa Lydia Vélez’s class action lawsuit. In 2008-2009, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Puerto Rico, an organization that provides legal assistance to people without resources in civil cases. He has also served as an observer for the Bar Association and held various positions in community and recreational organizations.

      He has held the following positions within the PIP: municipal legislator and president of the Gurabo Committee, Electoral Commissioner of Precinct 2 of San Juan, chaired the Evaluation Commission after the 2008 elections, and Secretary of Political Education. Along with other lawyers, he represented the PIP in the “files case,” achieving an important judicial victory in which, for the first time in our jurisdiction, the cause of action for discrimination against a political institution was recognized. He has also been a lawyer for the PIP in many other instances.

      His experience as a lawyer has strengthened Denis’s particular interest and detailed knowledge of public employment and the merit principle, workers’ rights, special education and access to justice, health care, and human rights.

      Author of the book of essays “From Celada to San Juan” (2013).

      He is currently the Secretary of Political Organization and Spokesperson for the PIP in the House of Representatives after being elected as a representative at large in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.

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        Ramón Torres Cruz

        José F. Aponte Hernández

        Biography

        José F. Aponte Hernández was re-elected as a Representative to the House of Representatives in November 2012, this being his fourth four-year term in the Legislative Assembly.

        During the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Among the most important bills he promoted was the new Economic Incentives Act for the Development of Puerto Rico, achieved through consensus with the island’s public and private sectors. This act replaced the previous Tax Incentives Act of 1998 and can be considered the most important piece of legislation of the four-year term, in terms of its impact on our economic development.

        Along these same lines, Aponte Hernández, along with the Majority Delegation, filed the Small Business Economic Incentives Act, which provides the necessary incentives to foster the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He also promoted amendments to the Agricultural Incentives Act to expand the group of people eligible for this legislation. Aponte Hernández also promoted the creation of Act 117 of 2008, to include products created by companies that employ blind or severely disabled individuals as part of the Government of Puerto Rico’s preferential purchasing policy.

        As part of his government reform proposals, he promoted fiscal reform to reduce government spending; the creation of the Special Cruise Ship Incentive Fund, assigned to the Tourism Company; and the creation of the Porta del Sol Tourist Destination in the western region of the island. He also co-sponsored legislation establishing the Air Charter Incentive Program for Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla, to promote the development of western Puerto Rico.

        He also promoted the creation of the Sales Tax Fund to establish a financial structure to pay and refinance the Puerto Rican government’s extra-constitutional debt. He also authored the Law Restricting the Use of Credit Cards in the Government of Puerto Rico as a measure of sound fiscal management.

        Under his leadership, the House of Representatives implemented the public service campaign “Talk About It, Don’t Swallow It,” which has been an extraordinary initiative to guide citizens on the proper management of depression and personal problems, as a strategy designed to help prevent suicide. Another important public service campaign developed under his presidency was “Raise Our Hands to Pray, Not to Shoot,” to prevent gunfire during the Christmas holidays.

        Aponte Hernández has promoted important legislation in the areas of health, education, the environment, and social welfare. Among the bills he filed that became new environmental laws are the Dr. Cruz A. Matos House of Representatives Scholarship for Graduate Studies in Disciplines Related to Environmental Protection and Conservation and the creation of the Special Commission on Global Warming and Security.

        He also promoted the creation of the Isamar Malaret Scholarship for graduate and postgraduate students in the field of Special Education. Together with the New Progressive Delegation, he promoted the Law for the Development of Free Internet Access Centers, which will benefit residents of all the island’s municipalities.

        In the health field, he created the Special Commission on Mental Health and also promoted amendments to the Mental Health Law to ensure health insurance coverage for the treatment of mental health conditions. He also promoted the law establishing the Puerto Rico Compulsive Gambler Assistance Program. He also established a Registry of People with Diabetes Mellitus within the Department of Health.

        In the area of social welfare, he pushed for several four-year terms, eventually passing into law, a bill requiring shopping malls, airports, government centers, sports centers, and public spas to establish assisted or “family” restrooms. He also secured the government’s transfer of physical facilities to a non-profit entity to develop a Service Center for young adults with significant cognitive disabilities.

        José Aponte Hernández began his career as a public servant in 1984, working in the Right to Work Administration. The following year, he began working in the House of Representatives as Executive Assistant to his brother, Néstor Aponte, then House Representative for District 33.

        In 1993, he embarked on another career path in politics when he was appointed Undersecretary of the New Progressive Party. For a time, he simultaneously served as the party’s Finance Director.

        In October 1996, he was appointed interim Secretary General of his party, serving until February 1997, when he was appointed permanent Secretary General, and the appointment made by Party President and Governor Dr. Pedro Rosselló was unanimously ratified by the members of the Party Board. He held that position until June 30, 1999, when he decided to return to public service.

        He began his legislative duties in 2000, when he filled the vacancy that arose following the resignation of Representative Néstor Aponte, who was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of Appeals. At that time, he represented District 33, comprising the municipalities of San Lorenzo, Juncos, Las Piedras, and Gurabo. He has been a Representative at Large since 2005.

        The youngest of six siblings, he was born in San Juan on January 19, 1958. His parents, Carlos M. Aponte (RIP) and Néstar M. Hernández, provided him with an education focused on the highest moral values and virtues of character, which inspired him to develop his vocation and commitment to serving others.

        He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 1980 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. That same year, he established his own private practice as a Certified Public Accountant. He later held a management position in a hardware store chain and later ventured into a family business as a gasoline retailer. He belongs to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), where, for his career advocating for human equality, he was appointed to the National Civil Rights Commission. He also served as a distinguished member of the Council of State Governments’ (CSG) Robert Thompson Leadership Academy.

        Married to Dr. Aida Ivys Rodríguez Roig, a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, he is the father of José Fernando, Adriana Milagros, and Alan Marco. Along with his wife, children, and grandchildren, he shares his passion for spending his free time with his family. His favorite hobbies include planting and growing orchids and fruit trees, and motorcycling.

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        San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00902-2228

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        San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00902-2228

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        Phone: 787-721-6040


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