Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (born 26 November 1931) is an Argentine activist, community organizer, painter, writer and sculptor. He was the recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1976–1983), during which he was detained, tortured, and held without trial for 14 months. He also received, among other distinctions, the Pacem in Terris Award.[1]
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pérez and the second or maternal family name is Esquivel.
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
26 November 1931
- Nobel Peace Prize (1980)
- Pacem in Terris Award (1999)
Early life[edit]
Pérez Esquivel was born in Buenos Aires on 26 November 1931[1] to a Spanish fisherman from Poio, Galicia, who emigrated to Argentina. His mother died when he was three, and despite his poverty, he attended the Manuel Belgrano School of Fine Arts and the National University of La Plata, where he was trained as a painter and sculptor.[2] He was appointed professor of architecture and worked with a variety of sculptural media, and for 25 years taught in all levels from primary to university. Pérez Esquivel began working with popularly based Latin American Christian pacifist groups during the 1960s. He relinquished his teaching post in 1974, when he was chosen as coordinator general for a network of Latin America-based communities promoting liberation of the poor through non-violence.[1]
Recent years[edit]
Pérez Esquivel is a permanent lecturer at the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Social Sciences, where he directs the seminar "Culture for Peace and Human Rights".[7]
He opposed the European intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War and warned against an intervention in the Syrian Civil War.[9] In the aftermath of the death of Osama bin Laden, he sent a letter to President Barack Obama suggesting the United States killed rather than tried bin Laden because he could have revealed unsettling information about 9/11.[9] He argued, "You know that there are people who have investigated the tragic events of 9/11/2001 and claim there is evidence that this was a self-coup (self-inflicted attack)."[9] Later, he added, "this event was the perfect excuse to launch a war against Afghanistan and Iraq and now against Libya," and referred to the United States an "axis of evil."[9]
Pérez Esquivel expressed himself regarding the historic, 13 March 2013, election of Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis, stating that as Provincial superior of Jesuits "he had lacked the sufficient courage shown by other Bishops to support our cause for human rights during the dictatorship."[10] Pérez Esquivel also said that "Bergoglio did what he could given his age at that time."[11] He, however, clarified that the future Pope "was no accomplice and had no links with the dictatorship" and that while "it is said he did not do enough to get two priests out of jail, I know personally that many bishops called on the military junta for the release of prisoners and priests and that these requests were not granted."[12]
In June 2017 he has been defending the government of Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela, claiming that the country is undergoing a coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by the United States.[13]
He was hospitalized in January 2022 following a stroke.[14]