San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa, Cuba.- After the overthrow of Gerardo Machado’s dictatorship, the Cuban working movement experienced some revolutionary effervescence. In San Antonio de los Baños, existing unions had an active role in the struggles to meet the demands of the proletariat.
The First Working Congress held in Havana, 1914 was attended by 1 200 delegates throughout the country. Aurelio Valdés was present representing the ariguanabenses. He spoke about the needs of the settlers. Between April, 1920 and February, 1925, Emilio Rodríguez Lara participated in three important proletarian conclaves: the Second Working Congress, the constituent meeting of the Working Federation of Havana and the Third National Working Congress, where the National Working Confederation of Cuba made official.
In the constitution of the first Communist Party of Cuba, on August 16th and 17th, 1925 two Ariguanabenses were present, Emilio Rodríguez Lara and Miguel Valdés, Secretary of the Working Center and leader of the Tobacco Union of the town. In this founding meeting of the first Marxist-Leninist Party of Cuba, Miguel Valdés was elected as member of the Central Committee in recognition to the work done by the Communist Association of San Antonio de los Baños.
