José Manuel Hidalgo y Esnaurrízar (6 April 1826 – 27 December 1896) was a Mexican soldier, diplomat, and writer.

[1] One of his first major jobs was working under the Ministry of Finance, and in 1846 was able to serve as secretary to Manuel Eduardo de Gorostiza.

In Europe he made the acquaintance of Silvio Pellico, Giacomo Antonelli, Pope Pius IX, Queen Victoria, Pedro V, Ludwig I, and Isabel II.

[citation needed] It was his friendship with Eugénie de Montijo, the Spanish-born wife of Napoleon III, that allowed him to lobby for French support of establishing a Mexican monarchy,[2] an effort which ultimately culminated in the Second French intervention in Mexico, and the establishment Second Mexican Empire.

He and other Mexican conservatives opposed democracy and the anti-monarchical efforts set forth by the liberal project, La Reforma.