José Manuel Zozaya Bermúdez

José Manuel Zozaya Bermúdez was a lawyer from Guanajuato who studied at San Ildefonso and held offices in Mexico's legal institutions. A supporter and legal representative of Agustín de Iturbide, he became an honorary councillor of the new empire. In September 1822 he received appointment as Mexico's first minister to the United States, with instructions to obtain recognition, explore treaties, and seek financial support. ^{1, 2}

President James Monroe received his credentials on 12 December 1822. Zozaya reported that he had been admitted on the same ceremonial footing as other foreign ministers. The reception did not remove his distrust of American policy. His December letters warned of ambitions toward Texas and argued that Mexico should retain the 1819 boundary settlement. He considered the countries too unequal for an advantageous commercial treaty and doubted that the United States could supply the large loan he had been instructed to seek. ³

He reported extensively but held back from opening the proposed treaty and loan negotiations. When news of Iturbide's fall reached him in May 1823, he withdrew and left his secretary, José Anastasio Torrens, in charge. ^{3, 2}

After returning, Zozaya invested in papermaking at Loreto near Mexico City, using machinery and skilled workers brought from the United States. His enterprise helped introduce mechanized production into the independent country's paper industry. He later represented Guanajuato in the Third General Congress and died in Mexico City in 1853. ^{1, 4}