Ramiro L. Colon

Ramiro L. Colón
Credited with saving the coffee industry in Puerto Rico
Born	1904 Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died	1983 Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Occupation	General Manager of the Cooperativa de Cafeteros de Puerto Rico (1925–1965) Senator (1952-1965)

Ramiro L. Colón (1904–1983), was the general manager of the Cooperativa de Cafeteros de Puerto Rico. He reorganized the company during its time of crisis and is credited with having saved the coffee industry in Puerto Rico.

Colón (birth name: Ramiro L. Colón Colón), was born in and raised in the countryside of Ponce, Puerto Rico. There he received his primary and secondary education. Being raised in the country, he developed an intense love for the island's agriculture. He went to work for the "Cooperativa de Cafeteros de Puerto Rico" (Cooperative of Coffee Growers of Puerto Rico) in 1925, the same year it was founded, at the age of 21.

The cooperative was the first one of its kind in Puerto Rico. It was founded to protect the coffee industry, which was one of the island's most important export products, from outside imitators. The situation was the following: many merchants were importing coffee from other countries, of poor quality and freshness, and passing them off as locally produced. When tourists and local consumers tasted the coffee, they complained about how bad it was, and as a result sales declined drastically and the coffee industry suffered greatly. In 1928, hurricane San Felipe destroyed most of the coffee plantations on the island, and the Great Depression also affected the economy.

In 1932, Colón was named general manager of the cooperative and undertook the reorganization of the company during its time of crisis. The cooperative was almost bankrupt, and the first thing Colón did was to obtain a loan from the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. With the money, he bought new equipment to replace the old and outdated equipment in the company. Colón was able to convince the Puerto Rican legislature to pass a law against the then-rampant adulteration and contraband of coffee.