Alberto René Methol Ferré (

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, 31 March 1929 – 15 November 2009) was a Uruguayan thinker, writer, journalist, teacher, historian and theologian. He has been described as one of Latin America's most fertile and original thinkers.

Biography

Alberto Methol Ferré was born in Montevideo in 1929. He first studied in the Liceo Francés de Montevideo and then Law and Philosophy in the

Universidad de la República The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Uruguay's oldest public university. It is by far the country's largest university, as well as the second largest public university in South America and t ...

. He was professor of Latin American History, of Contemporary History and of Theory of History in the University of Montevideo and in the Instituto Artigas de Servicio Exterior. He founded and coordinated the magazine ''Nexo'' (1955–1958, 1983–1989), he also worked for the magazine ''Víspera'' between 1967 and 1975. He was active in the political Uruguayan landscape. He collaborated with

Luis Alberto de Herrera Luis Alberto de Herrera (Montevideo, 22 July 1873 – 8 April 1959) was a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. Political and diplomatic roles A national leader of great importance during the first half of the 20th century, he l ...

; he worked in the agrarian movement with

Benito Nardone Benito Nardone Cetrulo (November 22, 1906 – March 25, 1964) was a Uruguayan journalist and political figure. Biography Nardone was born at Montevideo, the son of an Italian immigrant. For many years he was a popular radio commentator at CX 4 ...

; In the sixties he was involved in the leftish political party

Unión Popular The Federal Popular Union ( es, Unión Popular Federal), formerly the Popular Union until 2020, is a centre-right political party in Argentina rooted in Peronism. Established by Juan Atilio Bramuglia as a contingency for Peronists displaced by t ...

led by

Enrique Erro Enrique Erro (1912–1984) was a Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil t ...

; he was also an assistant of

Líber Seregni Líber Seregni Mosquera (13 December 1916 – 31 July 2004) was a Uruguayan military officer and politician. In his youth he was a member of the Colorado Party. Under successive governments of that party, he had a successful military career u ...

in the Broad Front. He was a staunch supporter of

Juan Domingo Perón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

and he considered himself more a

rioplatense Rioplatense Spanish (), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, is a variety of Spanish spoken mainly in and around the Río de la Plata Basin of Argentina and Uruguay. It is also referred to as River Plate Spanish or Argentine Spanish. It is the ...

historian than a Uruguayan or an Argentinian one. Between 1975 and 1992 he took part in a pastoral reflection team of the

Latin American Episcopal Conference Based in Bogotá (Colombia), the Latin American Episcopal Council ( es, Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano; pt, Conselho Episcopal Latino-Americano), better known as CELAM, is a council of the Roman Catholic bishops of Latin America, created in 1 ...

, he was secretary for the laypeople and created courses of the Catholic Church History in Latin America between 1977 and 1982 in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

and in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

(

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

). He was also member of the Pontificio Consejo para los Laicos between 1980 and 1984. His father was an agnostic and Methol just converted to Catholicism when 19. When young he was heavily influenced by the

Generation of '98 The Generation of '98 ( es, Generación del 98), also called Generation of 1898 ( es, Generación de 1898, links=no), was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish–American War (1898), comm ...

. He was awarded by Argentina with the

Order of May The Order of May (in Spanish: ''Orden de Mayo'') is an order of merit and one of the highest decorations in Argentina. The order is named after the May Revolution which led to the birth of the Republic of Argentina. It was founded as the Order ...

. In 2007 he published a book with an interview by Alver Metalli which was introduced by then Archbishop of Buenos Aires and later pope

Jorge Mario Bergoglio Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

. Bergoglio adhered to his idea of "libertine atheism". He died in Montevideo in 2009. According to one author, he was an influence in the thought of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

Works

*''La Crisis del Uruguay y el Imperio Británico'' (Editorial A. Peña Lillo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1959) *'' El Uruguay como problema'' (Editorial Diálogo, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1967)
''La Conquista Espiritual''
(Enciclopedia Uruguaya, Nº 5, Editores Unidos y Arca, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1968)
''Las Corrientes Religiosas''
(Colección Nuestra Tierra, Nº 35, Nuestra Tierra, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1969) *''El Risorgimiento Católico Latinoamericano'' *''Perón y la alianza argentino-brasileña'' (2000) *''La América Latina del siglo XXI'' (Entrevista realizada por el periodista y escritor italiano Alver Metalli. Publicada por Edhasa, marzo. 2006)

References

Links

Sitio oficial de Alberto Methol Ferré
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Methol Ferre, Alberto Writers from Montevideo 1929 births 2009 deaths Uruguayan educators Uruguayan male writers 20th-century Uruguayan philosophers Uruguayan theologians 20th-century Uruguayan historians Uruguayan Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholic theologians Liberation theologians