José Antonio Joaquín Pérez Martínez y Robles

Biography

José Antonio Joaquín Pérez Martínez y Robles was born in Puebla, Mexico, to his father Francisco and died in the same place at age 65. As a member of the Pérez y Martínez y Robles families of Puebla, he followed the customs of the time and dedicated himself to the priesthood. In 1810 he was elected deputy to the Cortes of Cádiz. Holding liberal ideas, he took part in debates to abolish the Holy Inquisition, allow freedom of the press, and expand the sovereignty of the Spanish Empire's political entities.

As a liberal party member, he helped promulgate the Spanish Constitution of 1812, but later his religious conscience led him to align with the absolutist party, signing the Manifesto of the Persians that requested the Constitution's reform. After returning to Mexico, he was named bishop of Puebla in absentia on 19 December 1814, following the death of Bishop Manuel Ignacio González de Campillo Gómez del Valle, and assumed the position upon his return in 1815.

During the War of Independence he stayed out of politics, though he was investigated on several occasions for suspected membership in the subversive group Los Guadalupes. He later moved with Viceroy Juan O'Donojú to Mexico City, staying in the Palace of the former Archbishopric in Tacubaya under Trigarante Army protection. Entering the city with the viceroy, he helped achieve the peaceful evacuation of Spanish forces, and was part of the official delegation that received General Agustín de Iturbide at the door of what is now the National Palace. He then became the first signatory of the Act of Independence of the Mexican Empire.