José María Arizmendiarrieta
José María Arizmendiarrieta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 22 April 1915 Barinaga, Markina-Xemein, Biscay |
| Died | 29 November 1976 (aged 61) |
| Occupation(s) | Catholic priest; co-operative organiser |
Father José María Arizmendiarrieta Madariaga (22 April 1915 – 29 November 1976) was a Catholic priest and founder of the Mondragón cooperative movement in the Basque Country.
Arizmendiarrieta, whose name is often shortened to "Arizmendi", was born in Barinaga, Markina-Xemein, Biscay, the eldest son of a family of modest means. He had lost an eye in a childhood accident so could not be a soldier. Instead he was a journalist for Basque language newspapers. His actions caused him to be arrested after the Spanish Civil War and he was sentenced to death for his activities; legend has it that he escaped the firing squad only through an administrative oversight. Released, he returned to his studies in Vitoria and went on to take holy orders.[citation needed]
Arizmendi wanted to continue his studies in Belgium but was assigned to a parish 30 miles from his own home town. He arrived in Arrasate (in Spanish, Mondragón) in February 1941, as a 26-year-old newly ordained priest to be assistant curate, to find a town still suffering from the aftermath of the Civil War and severe unemployment. The local priest had been shot by Franco's forces.[citation needed]
Arizmendi did not impress his new flock. Their one-eyed priest read badly; one parishioner described him thus: "He spoke in a monotone with intricate and repetitive phraseology difficult to understand. He hardly ever [read] with grace."[citation needed] They initially asked the Bishop to replace him. Nevertheless, he was determined to find a way to assist his congregation and realised that economic development - jobs - was the key to solutions to the town's other problems. Co-operatives appeared the best way to achieve this. Co-operatives, both consumer and worker, and self-help organisations had a long tradition in the Basque Country but had died away after the War.[citation needed]
In 1943, Arizmendi set up a Polytechnic School,[1] now the Mondragón University, a democratically-administered educational centre open to all young people in the region.
Arizmendi died in 1976 in Arrasate.
See also
References
- ^ Jose Mª Arizmendiarrieta. Mondragon Corporation.
Sources
- Joxe Azurmendi: El hombre cooperativo Template:Es icon
- Azurmendi, Joxe 2016: "Pertsona kooperatzaileaz" in Gizabere kooperatiboaz, Donostia: Jakin ISBN 978-84-95234-96-4 Template:Eu icon
- Iban Galletebeitia: "Ereiterik bada desertuan, J.M. Arizmendiarrieta" in Alaitz Aizpuru(koord.), Euskal Herriko pentsamenduaren gida, Bilbo, UEU 2012. ISBN 978-84-8438-435-9 Template:Eu icon
External links
- Video: Joxe Azurmendi about Arizmendiarrieta Template:Eu icon
- José María Arizmendiarrieta: Archive, writings, photographs (Euskomedia) Template:Es icon
