Uruguay's former leader Jose Mujica, world's 'poorest president', dies at 89
Uruguay 's leftist ex-leader Jose "Pepe" Mujica, a cult figure for his modest lifestyle, has died after losing his battle with cancer, the government in Montevideo said Tuesday.
"With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend," the country's serving leader Yamandu Orsi said on X.
On Monday, Mujica's wife Lucia Topolansky said the 89-year-old was in a "terminal" phase of cancer and receiving palliative care.
The former guerrilla was once known as the world's "poorest president" for giving away most of his salary and driving an old Volkswagen Beetle while in office from 2010 to 2015.
He also gained an international following for his firm anti-consumerist stance.
On his watch, Uruguay passed a number of progressive laws – legalising abortion and gay marriage, and becoming the first country in the world to allow recreational cannabis use, in 2013.
Mujica was part of the MLN-Tupamaros rebels that waged an insurgency during the 1960s and 70s.
Though popular, many Uruguayans blamed the group for provoking the 1973 military coup that ushered in a dictatorship that lasted until 1985.
Mujica spent 12 years in prison during that time, much of it in solitary confinement.
In January, Mujica said his cancer, diagnosed in the esophagus last year, had spread and he would stop treatment.
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France 24
15-05-2025
- France 24
Brazil president leads final farewell to Uruguay's Mujica
The 89-year-old former leftist guerrilla, who spent over a decade in prison for revolutionary activities, lost a year-long battle against cancer on Tuesday. He passed away at his farm on the outskirts of the Uruguayan capital with his wife, fellow former guerrilla fighter Lucia Topolansky, 80, by his side. Lula and fellow leftist leader Gabriel Boric of Chile attended a wake Thursday at the legislative palace in Montevideo, where Mujica lay in state for a second day. Lula, from the same generation of leftist leaders that ushered in a "pink tide" in Latin American politics in the early 2000s, bowed his head and laid a hand on Mujica's coffin, which was draped in the Uruguayan flag. "Pepe Mujica is a superior human being, he is a person who tried to change the world with uniqueness, political competence, with the ability to speak above all to young people," Lula told reporters at the palace. Also attending the service was Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, Mujica's political heir. 'Happy with little' For a second day, thousands of Uruguayans lined up to file past the coffin and sign a condolence book at the parliamentary building, some bearing flowers, others with political party flags tied around their shoulders. "He taught us many things -- he taught us to be happy with little, not to live for appearances," Paola Martinez said of Mujica, who was known for his modest lifestyle and anti-consumerism. Outside the palace, street vendors sold hotdogs, political party flags and key chains with Mujica's image. The plain-spoken activist and farmer earned the moniker of "world's poorest president" during his 2010-2015 presidency for giving away much of his salary to charity, driving himself in a sky blue Volkswagen Beetle, and continuing to live a simple life with his wife and three-legged dog. He stood out as a progressive force on a continent long dominated by conservative forces. He legalized abortion and gay marriage and made Uruguay the first country in the world to allow the use of recreational cannabis. Leftist leaders from across Latin America have hailed his model of leadership as an example for today's politicians. © 2025 AFP
France 24
14-05-2025
- France 24
Uruguay bids farewell to popular ex-leader "Pepe" Mujica
The 89-year-old, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost a year-long battle against cancer on Tuesday. President Yamandu Orsi, Mujica's political heir, announced three days of national mourning. On Wednesday morning, Orsi and Mujica's widow, Lucia Topolansky, led a funeral procession from the presidential headquarters to the legislative palace, where Mujica will lie in state on Wednesday afternoon. Thousands of mourners lined Montevideo's main avenue to see the cortege, which was led by a horse-drawn carriage bearing his coffin, draped in a Uruguayan flag. "Thank you, Pepe," some people shouted. Others wept. Some mourners waved banners reading "Hasta siempre, Pepe" (Until Forever, Pepe), a slogan associated with Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara. Mujica died at home on his small farm on the outskirts of Montevideo. He earned the moniker "world's poorest president" during his 2010-2015 presidency for giving away much of his salary to charity and continuing to live a simple life on the farm with his fellow ex-guerrilla wife and three-legged dog. Leftist leaders from across Latin America and Europe paid tribute to the man described by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as an "example for Latin America and the entire world." Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva echoed her sentiments, saying Mujica's "human greatness transcended the borders of Uruguay and his presidential mandate" and formed "a true song of unity and fraternity for Latin America." Mujica transformed Uruguay, a prosperous country of 3.4 million people best known for football and ranching, into one of Latin America's most progressive societies. He legalized abortion and gay marriage and made Uruguay the first country to legalize the use of recreational cannabis. In Montevideo, people recalled a man who practiced what he preached in terms of solidarity. "He felt and lived like ordinary people, not like today's politicians," said Walter Larus, a waiter at a corner cafe in Montevideo of which he was a patron. In the 1960s, Mujica co-founded the Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla movement Tupamaros, which started out robbing from the rich to give to the poor but later escalated its campaign to kidnappings, bombings and assassinations. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds, took part in a mass prison breakout and spent all of Uruguay's 1973-1985 dictatorship in prison, where he was tortured. After his release, he founded the MPP, the largest party in the ruling leftist Broad Front coalition. He was agriculture minister in Uruguay's first left-wing government and then served a single term as president, in keeping with Uruguay's constitution. As president, he was praised for his fight against poverty but criticized for failing to rein in public spending. He and Topolansky had no children.
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Euronews
Former Uruguayan President José Mujica dies at age of 89
Former Uruguayan President José 'Pepe' Mujica, who was famed for his humble lifestyle, has died at the age of 89. After spending almost 15 years in prison in his youth for being a guerrilla, Mujica, a flower farmer by trade, rose to political prominence in later life. Following his release from jail in an amnesty in 1985, he was elected to parliament in 1994 as part of the leftist Broad Front coalition. He later became a senator, before serving as the country's president from 2010 to 2015. His presidency was marked by his rejection of the usual trappings enjoyed by a head of state. Instead of living in the presidential palace, Mujica remained in his single-storey tin-roof house outside the capital Montevideo. He sometimes drove to work in his beaten-up blue 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. Under Mujica's leadership, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise and fully regulate marijuana, and the second Latin American nation to allow same-sex marriages and decriminalise abortion. Although an immediate cause was not given for his death, Mujica was diagnosed last spring with oesophageal cancer, which had recently spread to his liver. His death led to an outpouring of messages from leftist leaders across Latin America. Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi expressed his deep sorrow at the death of his political mentor, whom he called a 'president, activist, guide and leader'. 'We will miss you greatly, dear old man. Thank you for everything you gave us and for your profound love for your people,' he said. Elsewhere, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum described the late Uruguayan leader as 'an example for Latin America and the entire world', while Chile's leftist President Gabriel Boric said Mujica instilled in people 'the unquenchable hope that things can be done better'. The Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo, of the centre-left Semilla party, also paid tribute to him as 'an example of humility and greatness'. 'Your work and your words are a legacy, both a path and a hope,' he said. Mujica was born on 20 May 1935, in the outskirts of Montevideo. He said his mother, who was a flower merchant, instilled in him a love of politics, books and working the land. In the 1960s, he helped to set up the Tupamaros National Liberation Movement, a guerrilla movement which aimed to inspire an uprising that would lead to Cuban-style socialism in Uruguay. As part of their insurgency, the Tupamaros planted bombs, kidnapped civilians and carried out executions. Mujica always maintained that he did not commit murder. As violence in the country escalated, Mujica was shot six times in a firefight with police. He twice escaped custody, but spent long stretches in solitary confinement under the military dictatorship that ruled the country for 12 years from 1973. Two decades after he was released from prison, he became agricultural minister in 2005. Four years later he was elected as his country's 40th president, receiving 52% of the vote. Unable to seek reelection because of a constitutional ban on consecutive terms, Mujica left office in 2015 with an approval rating of 60%. Despite his popularity, the opposition complained that crime rose and the fiscal deficit increased during his tenure. Mujica is survived by his wife, Lucía Topolansky, who was also a guerrilla-turned-politician. The couple, who had been together for more than four decades, married in 2005 and had no children. The late Uruguayan leader was sometimes referred to as the 'world's poorest president' because of the modest way he lived. He rejected the title, saying instead that the real poor are those who crave more possessions.
