It was the time of Haitian domination, when families of social prestige continued the migratory flow that began in the last years of the 18th century following the Treaty of Basel.

[3] His parents, belonging to the sector with the greatest social influence in the region, decided not to leave the country, as did numerous rural owners, perhaps because of the awareness that they had to cling to the defense of their assets.

It is possible that Meriño's mother, María Bruna Ramírez, also had Canarian origins, remembered for her intense blue eyes, although tradition states that she had ancestors from different areas of Spain and even from the last indigenous people brought from nearby countries and who were located in Boyá during the second half of the 16th century.

[4] Meriño's destiny changed when at the age of 11 he moved to San Carlos – a town located a stone's throw from the northwest corner of the wall of Santo Domingo – due to the interest of a family member in receiving an education.

Now, despite this humble existence, Meriño enjoyed a family environment that allowed him to attend school and met the conditions to be admitted to the first class of the Seminary of Saint Thomas of Aquinas, founded by Archbishop Tomás de Portes Infante in 1848.

[5] Since those years, Meriño's tenacious efforts in pursuit of personal improvement were highlighted, which allowed him to stand out among his colleagues of priesthood and among cultural fans.

While one of the ingredients of the Báez presidency had been the establishment of cordial relations with the priesthood, Santana, on the contrary, given his desire for absolute power, always proposed to subdue his personal domain to the ecclesiastical apparatus.

Some of Santana's enemies took advantage of the measure to, under the protection of their new nationality, carry out opposition activities with impunity, which led to the destabilization of the tyrant's power.

Using his prerogatives as a military leader at the service of the Santiago government, Santana prevented Meriño from continuing on his way to Cibao and summoned him to his presence.

[10] Soon Santana reciprocated the enthusiasm of the cathedral parish priest by promoting him as apostolic delegate, after consultation with the bishop of Curaçao, considered the closest to the country.

In effect, the priest raises his voice against vices and overcomes them practicing the virtues; He is humble and confuses pride; It is charitable and shames selfishness; He is chaste and restrains his lust; It is liberal and destroys greed; He is prudent and silences arrogance; It is sober and drives away drunkenness.Such positions makes it understandable that his relationship with Santana did not place him in the condition of a puppet, so he looked for ways to consolidate a personal position that would allow him to assert his rights.

A few days before the consummation of the infamy, on February 27, 1861, he gave a speech, in the presence of the tyrant, directed against selfishness, an instinct denounced as the cause of all the evils that afflicted the Republic.

He started from a theological consideration to propose how contradictory passions had developed from the moment “the first man fell from the grace of God” and “all miseries invaded him.”[15] In that piece he put his intellectual capacity and skills into play.

For this reason, he concludes by repudiating the conservative vision that equates the modern and revolutionary spirit with “concern and fanaticism.” He assimilates selfishness to the spheres of power “when they neglect the serious interests of the community that has placed its trust in them by only thinking about their personal usefulness; when they see the hungry crowd and thousands of citizens reduced to misery, taking little care of such misfortunes.” He concluded by contrasting the selfishness, then prevalent, with the patriotism that the Trinitarios had shown in 1844 to lay the foundations for national achievement:[17] Patriotism, Gentlemen, is the first of the civic virtues, it is the basis of the stability and progress of people.

Patriotism is the fraternal bond that strengthens children of the same country, giving them strength and courage to become free and sustain their freedom.The dictator's reaction to the priest's proclamation was immediate.

[18] This attitude contrasted with the courageous previous criticism, although in private, he continued to weigh Santana negatively and with considerable reservations about the annexationist regime.

[19] At the beginning of 1865, when the decree of the Cortes was made public that announced the vacancy of Santo Domingo, Meriño continued acting with a sense of calculation: he left Puerto Rico and headed to Venezuela.

[21] Although led by three generals in dispute, the blues achieved the support of almost all the intellectuals of the time, including former Santanistas, who finally agreed that the future of the Dominican people should be associated with an order of popular sovereignty and political democracy.

These intellectuals, although neutralized by the action of the leaders from the Restoration generalship – almost all of them supporters of Báez – had enough influence to sustain a prolonged struggle, which culminated in the seizure of power by the blues at the end of the 1870s.

As a member of that loose constellation of soldiers, merchants, politicians and intellectuals, Meriño held the presidency of Congress Constituent body in charge of drafting a Magna Carta to replace that of 1854, which had established absolute powers for Santana.

The emphasis on this last point highlights the taking of sides in favor of the application of measures for capitalist development and the hegemony of a modern bourgeoisie, as was proper from Western Europe.

[25] Governing a country, you know, citizen President, is serving his interests with rectitude and fidelity; make the law prevail equally on all citizens, never concealing the impunity of crime, nor condoning the outrage of virtue; instil a deep respect for property, strengthening love to work with all possible guarantees; promote the dissemination of the sciences so that the people become enlightened, and knowing their duties and rights, does not give room to the pernicious influences of the enemies of order and prosperity; lay internal and external peace on solid foundations to facilitate the expansion of commerce, industry and all elements of public well-being; Finally, strive to ensure that morality, which is the lifeblood of all institutions, takes deep roots in the hearts of citizens, so that progress is a truth, and peace is loved, and respect the laws and authorities, and freedom stay in order.Báez's third government did not last long, as the leaders quickly of the Restoration concluded that their presence was incompatible with the group preeminence of the restoration leadership and the validity of the principles it represented.

According to Carlos Nouel, the cardinal circles considered that Meriño, in advocating his personal cause, lacked the virtue of humility required for the prelature.

When Bouggenoms was deported by Cabral, as reported by historians Rafael Peralta Brito and José Chez Checo, he left the priest Juan de Ayala behind front of the institution as apostolic subdelegate.

Although almost all the blue intellectuals accepted the old enemy, who had promised to adhere to liberal and national principles in mea culpa for past "mistakes" , Meriño maintained his hostility unchanged, as he evaluated the red leader as a monstrous entity, genetic carrier of immorality.

Then the priest was in charge of the El Seibo parish, from where he supported the armed movement started by Cesáreo Guillermo that announced the decline of the last Báez administration.

Meriño himself left a report about the episode, dedicated to the historian García, entitled Historical Pages, in which he was careful to present his participation with a low profile.

The leader with the greatest temporary influence in the subsequent months was Cesáreo Guillermo, who managed to attract the support of followers of former presidents Báez and González.

It was not difficult, at this point, for Luperón, the leader of the blues, from his stronghold in Puerto Plata, to achieve the overthrow of Guillermo (October 1879), with minimal bloodshed.

When these events occurred, Meriño was in Puerto Plata, where he had been transferred as a parish priest, which allowed him to establish a friendship with Luperón and was fundamental for his subsequent career.