José Yves Limantour
José Yves Limantour Marquet (Spanish pronunciation: [xo'se ˈiβ(e)s limanˈtuɾ]; 26 December 1854 – 26 August 1935) was a Mexican financier who served as Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911. One of the most prominent politicians of the Porfiriato era, he was a key member of Díaz's technocratic advisors known as Los Científicos.
José Yves Limantour | |
|---|---|
José Yves Limantour in 1910 | |
| Mexican Secretary of Finance | |
| In office 8 May 1893 – 25 May 1911 | |
| President | Porfirio Díaz |
| Preceded by | Matías Romero |
| Succeeded by | Ernesto Madero |
| Personal details | |
| Born | José Yves Limantour Marquet 26 December 1854 Mexico City |
| Died | 26 August 1935 (aged 80) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Montmartre Cemetery |
| Spouse |
María Cañas y Buch (m. 1880) |
| Parent(s) | Joseph Yves Limantour and Adela Marquet |
Born into a French Mexican family in Mexico City, Limantour received a high education. He studied economics, and after a period working as a legal teacher, he was appointed as Mexico's secretary of finance in 1893. As the secretary of finance, Limantour established the gold standard in Mexico, suspending free coinage of silver, and mandating only government coins be used. He secured the national debt in 1899 with a consortium of foreign banks, and at the time of the outbreak of the Revolution, Mexico was on strong financial basis.
Before the Mexican Revolution he was widely seen, along with General Bernardo Reyes, as one of the stronger candidates to succeed President Díaz. After the revolution broke out due to unpopularity of the Díaz regime, he went into exile in France, where he died in 1935.