Manuel Antonio Mercado

Manuel Antonio Mercado y de la Paz (28 January 1838, Piedad de Cabadas, Michoacán, México – 9 June 1909, México City ), also known as Manuel Mercado was a Mexican politician and lawyer, and served as Secretary of State for the Federal District (Distrito Federal) of Mexico (Mexico City) in the administration of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. Lawyer; bar of México 1861

Career

On January 19, 1860, Manuel Antonio Mercado, a law student, delivered a commencement inaugural address at the School of Jurisprudence. The speech was later published.

Life

Manuel Antonio Mercado was a dear friend of José Martí since 1875, year when Martí, who along with his parents, had moved to Mexico from Cuba. Almost two decades later, on May 18, 1895, just hours before José Martí was gunned down by Spaniard troops while fighting for the Independence of Cuba during the Battle of Dos Ríos, he wrote a letter to Mercado, wherein he expressed, his final thoughts to gain the Independence of Cuba. Martí's letter, albeit unfinished, was published posthumously.