Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza promoter of free access to information in the eighteenth century in New Spain

Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Viceroy and Archbishop of New Spain, and Bishop of Puebla in the XVII century, has been studied by many specialists. However, the purpose of this paper is to highlight his role as founder of the first public library in Mexico and in the American Continent and promoter of free acces to information. In the XVIII Century Francisco Fabián y Fuero, Bishop of Puebla, enriched and embellished the Palafoxiana library and continued the policies of its founder. Attention is also drawn to the recognition that the renowned Jesuit Clavijero made of the work of Palafox.