Background
He was born on 30 May 1851 in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.
He was born on 30 May 1851 in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.
He attended the El Salvador School in Havana founded by Jose de la Luz y Caballero. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Havana in 1873.
In 1879, Cancio was elected as one of the deputies from Cuba to the Spanish Cortes. He served as the editor of El Triunfo, El Pais and later Louisiana Union. He also was the professor of political economy and finance at University of Havana.
During the American intervention (1898–1902), he served in the Treasury department under the governments of John R. Brooke and Leonard Wood.
He served as Assistant Secretary of the Government under the administration of Tomás Estrada Palma (1902–1904) and was later the Secretary of Education. He later broke with the government and with Emilio Núñez helped found the Conservative Party.
He created the Cuban bank system, which became law on October 29, 1914, based on the gold standard. He died on 1 May 1927 in Havana.
He was the son of Ramon Cancio y Venegas and Rita Luna y Estrada.