He was the first Hispanic elected to the Massachusetts General Court, serving from 1989 to 1993 as Democratic representative from the fifth Suffolk District in Boston, including the Roxbury and North Dorchester neighborhoods.

During his time in the House, Merced was active in the campaign to promote and protect bilingual education in Massachusetts as well as working for immigrants’ rights and the reform of the Boston Public Schools.

[2] In 1994, Merced took a position as the CEO of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción just prior to the organization's proposed merger with the Escuelita Agueybana Day Care Center.

[5] Merced was a founding member and first president of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, a unique and nationally recognized community development organization.

Over the past 15 years, Merced has lectured at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in community planning, personnel management, funding strategies, and the legislative process.