(1920-2009) Mario Orlando Hamlet Hardy Brenno Benedetti Farrugia) was an Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet. In the Spanish-speaking world he was considered one of Latin America's most important 20th-century writers. He died in Montevideo on 17 May 2009. He wrote from poems to essays, touching every genre.

From 1973 to 1985, during the military dictatorship in Uruguay, Benedetti lived in exile in Buenos Aires, Lima, Havana, and Spain. After the restoration of democracy, he divided his time between Montevideo and Madrid. In 2006, Mario Benedetti signed a petition in support of the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States of America.