Saad, Pedro Antonio

Born May 19, 1909, in Guayaquil. Figure in the workers’ movement in Ecuador.

Saad graduated from the faculty of law of the University of Guayaquil in 1936. While at the university, he became active in the political struggle of the students. In 1931 he joined the Communist Youth Federation, and in 1932 he became a member of the Communist Party of Ecuador (CPE). In 1934 he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the CPE, and in 1938 he became a member of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the CPE. Saad was one of the founders of the Confederation of Ecuadorian Workers (1944) and served as its first chairman from 1944 to 1946.

After the successful popular uprising against the Arroyo del Rio dictatorship in May 1944, Saad became a member of the Revolutionary Government of Guayaquil. From 1944 to 1951 he was a member and secretary of the Executive Committee of the Confederation of Latin American Workers. In 1944 and in the period 1947–59 he was a senator in the National Congress. In 1952 Saad became general secretary of the CPE. He has been subjected to arrests, imprisonment, and periods of exile for his revolutionary activities.