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Vilma Espín
Vilma Espín Guillois (1930–2007) was a founding member of the Communist Party of Cuba and its Central Committee from its founding in 1965 until her death. She was a member of the party's Political Bureau from 1980 to 1991, a member of the Council of State from 1976, and the...
Vilma Espín Guillois (1930–2007) was a founding member of the Communist Party of Cuba and its Central Committee from its founding in 1965 until her death. She was a member of the party's Political Bureau from 1980 to 1991, a member of the Council of State from 1976, and the president and principal leader of the Federation of Cuban Women from its founding in August 1990 until her death.
In 1955 Espín became one of the first members of the July 26 Movement. In February 1957, she took part in the first national leadership meeting of the July 26 Movement held in the Sierra Maestra mountains. In June 1958, she joined the Rebel Army’s Frank País Second Eastern Front, where combatants under Raúl Castro began to establish a civilian governmental structure. There Espín's responsibilities included serving as an instructor in the school training combatants as teachers.
After the triumph on January 1, 1959, Espín led the efforts to launch the Federation of Cuban Women. She was director of the National Center on Sex Education, founded in 1989, and the National Commission for Attention to and Prevention of Social Problems, founded in 1986.
Espín is a coauthor of Women in Cuba: The Making of a Revolution within the Revolution (2012).