José María Arizmendiarrieta
José María Arizmendiarrieta Madariaga (Markina-Xemein, Biscay, Spain, April 22, 1915 – Mondragón, Gipuzkoa, Spain, November 29, 1976) was a Basque Catholic priest and promoter of the cooperative companies of the Mondragon Corporation, originally located in the Basque Country and currently spread throughout the world.[1] As of 2021, it is the second largest social economy business group in Spain, bringing together ninety-eight cooperatives, eight foundations, one mutual, ten coverage entities and seven international delegations, distributed in four areas: finance, industry, distribution and knowledge.[2]
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Arizmendiarrieta and the second or maternal family name is Madariaga.Arizmendiarrieta was a seminarian in Vitoria when the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, and consequently he was mobilized by the Basque Government. Due to his knowledge of the Basque language, he was assigned to the editor of the new newspaper Eguna, where he remained until Francisco Franco’s troops entered Bilbao. He was arrested by them, and again mobilized for the Military Government of Burgos until the end of the war. After finishing his studies and his priestly ordination, he was assigned in 1941 as curate of the parish to the industrial town of Mondragon, located in the Gipuzkoan Deba Valley, where he remained until his death.[3] A pragmatic and hard-working priest, with a great sense of social justice and human dignity, he promoted numerous entities and companies for the good of the workers and the community in what he called the "cooperative experience of Mondragon".[4] Thousands of people visit Mondragon every year to analyze Arizmendiarrieta's self-managed cooperative model for job creation and maintenance.[5] He is considered Venerable in the Catholic Church.[6]
Thought and practical principles[edit]
Precedents[edit]
Arizmendiarrieta, in his quest for social justice and human dignity, was not a visionary who created business models by intuition. He had extensive historical, business and ideological knowledge based on many years of observation and reading. His uniqueness was that, with a lot of pragmatism, he knew how to help implement his theoretical ideas in concrete creations.[33]
Influence and legacy[edit]
– In 1952, after the inauguration of the new Professional School, he received the Commendation of the Civil Order of Alfonso X el Sabio from the Minister of Education, Mr. Ruiz Giménez.[7]
– In April 1966, Mondragon paid homage to three figures by naming them adoptive sons of the town: the doctor Don Mariano Briones, the parish priest Don Jose Luis Iñarra and Don Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta. The three honorees were celebrating 25 years of work at Mondragon.[7]
– In August 1966, after the Alecoop Student Industrial Cooperative was inaugurated, the Minister of Labor, Romero Gorria personally awarded him the Gold Medal for Work.[9]
– The Olandixo Hillside Road, opened in 1972, where Lagun Aro, Ikerlan and Laboral Kutxa are located, is called Paseo Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta.[67]
– In 1992 a monument was inaugurated in his honor in the native district of Barinaga in Markina-Xemein.[68]
– In 1997 Arizmendi Bakery opened in San Francisco, California, named after Arizmendiarrieta.[69]
– On May 6, 2009, the diocesan phase of his canonization process concluded.[70]
– On 14 December, 2015, Arizmendiarrieta was decreed to be of heroic virtue by Pope Francis and became Venerable in the Catholic Church.[6]
– In April 2016, the Laubide Square in Mondragon was renamed the Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta Square, with a plaque in Basque and Spanish inscribed “Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta (1915–1976). Founder of Arrasate-Mondragon cooperativism. His model for work has spread across the world. Commemorating 100 years since his birth”.[71]