Martínez Villena, Ruben

Born Dec. 20, 1899, in Alquizar; died Jan. 16, 1934, in Havana. A leader of the communist movement in Cuba; publicist and poet. The son of a teacher.

MartÍnez Villena graduated from the law department of the University of Havana. He was prominent in the movement for university reform and a cofounder of the J. Marti People’s University and of the Anti-imperialist League. After joining the Cuban Communist Party (CCP) in 1927, he led several strikes in 1928-30 and was elected to the Central Committee of the CCP. From 1930 to 1933, Martinez Villena lived in the USSR and worked in the Comintern and in the Red International of Trade Unions. Returning to Cuba in May 1933, Martinez Villena became the leader of the Communist Party, worked as a publicist, and contributed greatly to preparing the revolutionary overthrow of G. Machado’s dictatorial government.