A pioneering businessman in Biscayan industry, he was born in Bilbao in 1850 and died in Madrid in 1913.
He acquired the San Francisco del Desierto factory from his cousin, Don Francisco Martínez de las Rivas y Urtiaga, in 1886, transforming it into Altos Hornos S. Francisco. Like other Biscayan businessmen of the time, he invested in mines -such as Unión, Mora and Amistosa-, in the iron and steel industry, electricity, shipping, banking, etc.
In 1889, he co-founded the Nervión Shipyard, where the warships Oquendo (1892), Vizcaya (1893) and Infanta María Teresa were built. During the miners' strike of 1890, he was the first to abolish the compulsory barracks.
After some legal and economic differences with the State, the Government seized the shipyards in 1892 and closed them in 1895. However, in 1900, the State reinstated the company to Martínez de las Rivas, after the lawsuit was resolved in favour of Astilleros del Nervión.
In the Biscayan strike of 1911, he stood out for his stance in favour of the workers and affirmed that most of the wealth was due to them. Later, in the 1918 mining strike, he was the first to reduce the working day, which cost him expulsion from the Employers' Association.
Given his involvement in the Banco de Bilbao and Banco del Comercio, in 1914 he had to intervene in the reaffirmation of the solvency of both institutions, at a time of great turmoil due to the general crisis caused by the First World War. In 1920, his heirs sold all the factory installations and the Nervión Shipyards to Altos Hornos de Vizcaya for 43 million pesetas.
Martínez de las Rivas' political participation was very prominent. He was a conservative deputy in the 1891 elections and an elected candidate for Bilbao from 1896 to 1898. He also won the seat of senator in 1899, 1901 and 1903. This enabled him to exert pressure on the economic policy of the Government and the Cortes, thus favouring the expansion of Biscayan industry.
He was a member of the famous Piña, sometimes opposing Chávarri, although on other occasions he ran on joint lists with him.
The sculptor Benlliure captured his physiognomy in a sculpture that today stands in Galdames.
Ainhoa Arozamena Ayala