Manuel María de Zamacona y Morfi

Manuel María de Zamacona y Morfi was a lawyer, journalist, and Liberal politician from Puebla. Educated at the Seminario Palafoxiano, he directed El Siglo XIX and became Benito Juárez's foreign secretary in 1861. He negotiated an agreement with British representative Charles Wyke over Mexico's debt, but resigned when Congress rejected it. He subsequently served as a deputy and worked on the Mexican-American claims commission. ¹

He went to the United States to build support for the government of Porfirio Díaz and became accredited minister in 1878. His work combined political recognition with commercial promotion. He addressed business audiences in Chicago and encouraged American investment. A contemporary report by U.S. Minister John W. Foster records the interest generated by his Chicago visit and the invitation that followed for Foster to discuss bilateral trade. ^{2, 3}

Border violence remained an immediate problem. On 8 June 1878 Zamacona asked Secretary of State William Evarts to enforce American neutrality law against armed groups using Texas as a base for incursions into Mexico. He referred to his earlier warnings about recruitment and arms depots and to subsequent crossings of the Rio Grande. ⁴

After his Washington mission he returned to Mexican public life and the judiciary. He died in 1904. His son, Manuel María de Zamacona e Inclán, later became ambassador in 1911. ²