[1] José was born to Armando de la Maza Ramos and Zoila Rosa Fernández Anguita in Los Ángeles, Chile.

He studied at the Liceo de Aplicación in Santiago and graduated as a lawyer from the University of Chile in 1913.

He worked as a clerk at the Chilean War Ministry, before turning his attention towards student politics.

In 1949 he drafted a law which gave women political rights and was later incorporated into the Chilean Constitution.

[2][3] He also served as the Chilean Ambassador to Uruguay, Brazil, Haiti, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Peru at different periods of his diplomatic career.