Spanish scholar, philosopher, educator, sociologist and Jesuit priest. Segundo Montes did research and wrote on social stratification, land ownership, the possibilities for democracy and the military. His work on these issues is still a dominant influence on the theoretical frameworks employed by researchers to analyse Salvadoran society. His work is referenced in studies of power distribution and the effects of emigration on Salvadoran society. His published articles included an analysis of economic, political, and other motives for Salvadoran emigration to the United States. It addressed claims by the United States government that Salvadoran immigrants were economic refugees who therefore did not qualify for political asylum.
The political implications of Montes’ commitment to his ideas met strong opposition from the conservative religious and political forces in El Salvador. This opposition led to Montes’ murder by the Salvadoran Army on 16 November 1989 at his residence in UCA along with five other fellow Jesuit priests (among them Ignacio Ellacuría and Ignacio Martín-Baró) and two employees. Their murders marked a turning point in the Salvadoran civil war. It increased international pressures on the Salvadoran government to sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords with the guerrillas.
Link to Wikipedia biography