Farewell to José María Tojeira: A Tireless Voice for Justice in Central America

José María Tojeira, tireless defender of justice and human rights in Central America, dies at 78.

José María Tojeira was born in Vigo, Spain, in 1947. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Comillas. In 1969, he arrived in Honduras as a missionary, where he promoted social projects with rural communities and later served as a parish priest and director of Radio El Progreso.

In 1985, he arrived in El Salvador as superior of the Theology Students of the Society of Jesus. Between 1988 and 1995, he served as Jesuit Provincial for Central America, a position in which he led the legal and public response to the murder of six Jesuit priests and two collaborators at the Central American University (UCA) in 1989, a murder committed during the Salvadoran civil war.

Since then, he has actively participated in denouncing injustices and in judicial proceedings to clarify the massacre and demand justice. His work also permanently linked him to the defense of human rights.

Between 1997 and 2011, he served as rector of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA), where he led a decisive shift that consolidated his social vocation and commitment to human rights, at a key moment for democratic reconstruction and the pursuit of justice in El Salvador.

After concluding his term as rector, he assumed the leadership of the UCA Human Rights Institute (IDHUCA), a position he held until 2020. In his later years, he served as pastor of El Carmen Church in Santa Tecla and continued to actively participate in public life through the media and various opinion forums.

José María Tojeira publicly denounced the serious human rights violations in Nicaragua, warning that Daniel Ortega’s government had established a «regime of terror» characterized by prisons, confiscations, threats, expulsions, and the repression of freedom of thought and criticism.

He noted that this system was «harsher and more oppressive to people’s consciences» than that experienced in other Central American countries, and highlighted the persecution of the Church and the Jesuit community, as well as the closure and confiscation of the UCA in Managua.

In El Salvador, Tojeira denounced the deterioration of human rights under recent governments, marked by abuses under the state of emergency, impunity, and the weakening of democracy. He called for strengthening the work of NGOs and international intervention to protect fundamental rights.

José María Tojeira passed away on September 5th in Guatemala City, according to the Society of Jesus. With his passing, he left behind a legacy of social commitment, pursuit of justice, and struggle for human rights throughout Central America.