Felipe Pazos
Felipe Pazos Roque (September 27, 1912 – February 26, 2001) was a Cuban economist and diplomat who served as the founding president of the Banco Nacional de Cuba from 1949 to 1952 and briefly again in 1960, initially supporting Fidel Castro's revolution in the belief it would establish democracy before resigning amid its shift toward communism.[1][2] Born in Havana, he earned a doctorate from the University of Havana in 1938 and joined the Cuban foreign service, representing his country at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference that created the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.[1] In 1957, Pazos facilitated a pivotal New York Times interview with Castro in the Sierra Maestra mountains and co-authored the Manifesto de la Sierra Maestra, which pledged elections, civil liberties, and private property rights post-revolution.[1] His early break from the regime—resigning from the National Bank presidency shortly after its 1960 reinstatement—highlighted his opposition to Castro's authoritarian consolidation, leading to exile in Venezuela where he continued economic analysis critiquing socialist policies in Cuba and Latin America.[1][3] Pazos authored influential works on Cuban monetary issues and chronic inflation in the region, emphasizing institutional reforms over ideological interventions.[4]