Victoria Muñoz Mendoza
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Victoria "Melo" Muñoz Mendoza (born 1940) is a former politician from Puerto Rico. She is the daughter of the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Muñoz Marín, founder of the Popular Democratic Party and his second wife, Inés Mendoza. Muñoz Mendoza was the first woman in Puerto Rican history to seek the seat of Governor of Puerto Rico.
[edit] Education
Muñoz attended high school in San Juan. She went to the University of Puerto Rico, where she received a degree in Literature in 1958.
[edit] Political career
Muñoz Mendoza first went into active in politics in 1984 when she made an unsuccessful bid to become Mayor of San Juan. In 1986, she was chosen to replace a senator in the Senate of Puerto Rico. She held the seat for seven years, after having been re-elected in 1988.
In 1992, she became the first woman to seek the governorship of Puerto Rico. She faced Pedro Rosselló of the New Progressive Party and ended up losing by a landslide. She retired from politics soon after her electoral defeat.
In 2000, Sila María Calderón was elected Governor of Puerto Rico, becoming the first woman to do so. Muñoz Mendoza vehemently campaigned and endorsed her, fulfilling her dream of having a female Governor.
In 2008, Melo Muñoz reappeared once again on the public scene as she gave her total support to Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá right after a Grand Jury accused him of 19 criminal charges.She stood right next to Acevedo in his first press conference after having been accused. She has maintained a very active fundraising campaign during the Acevedo's trial in order to pay for his defense. Before these series of events, Melo Muñoz had maintained a very low profile in the Puerto Rican public scene.
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