Pesquera, José Lorenzo, 1882-1950

José Lorenzo Pesquera (August 10, 1882 – July 25, 1950) was a Puerto Rican lawyer, dairyman, and politician. He served as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 1932 to 1933.

Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, he attended a primary and secondary school run by his maternal uncle and graduated from the Provincial Institute of Puerto Rico with a degree in secondary education in 1897. He subsequently studied English at Keystone State Normal School, in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. In 1904, he earned his law degree from West Virginia University in Morgantown and was admitted to the state’s bar. Shortly afterward, Pesquera returned to Puerto Rico, where he was admitted to the territory’s bar and opened a law practice while also engaging in dairy farming. In 1917 Pesquera won election as a Partido Republicano (Puerto Rican Republican) to the territorial house of representatives, where he served until 1920. In 1927 Pesquera was appointed director of the Agricultural Association of Puerto Rico, a powerful advocacy group for the territory’s landowning farmers. Throughout his tenure, he served on several economic commissions to the United States, and he was frequently in contact with Members of the U.S. Congress.

After the April 1932 resignation of Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Félix Córdova Dávila, Pesquera was selected to replace him, being sworn in on April 28. After successfully advocating for changing the official government spelling of the territory of Porto Rico back to the original Puerto Rico, Pesquera spent the majority of his truncated term seeking immediate relief for his constituents from economic depression. Though offered the nominatation of the new Partido Liberal for election to a full four-year term as Resident Commissioner, Pesquera declined and was not a candidate for election in 1932. Returning to Puerto Rico, he returned to his law practice and agricultural interests. Pesquera died in Bayamón, Puerto Rico and was interred in Braulio Dueño Colón Municipal Cemetery there.