Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González Colón will decree a day of mourning following the death of former Senator Eudaldo Báez Galib, an emblematic figure of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). According to a press release from La Fortaleza, the date will be announced once details of his funeral arrangements are made known. The governor expressed her condolences to his children, family and friends, saying he dedicated decades of his life to public service and to the debate on Puerto Rico’s affairs.
Báez Galib died on Thursday at age 87, according to PPD general secretary Manuel Calderón Cerame. Born in 1939 in Mayagüez, Báez Galib served as senator for the PPD from 1993 to 2005. Earlier, he was the PPD’s electoral commissioner in the 1980s, under the presidency of former Governor Rafael Hernández Colón.
He was known for his deep and analytical thinking, and, unlike other politicians, he typically financed his own political campaigns out of his own pocket.