Jose Mujica: the richest president in the world

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In June 2015, President Mujica spoke at a summit in Rio de Janeiro, where issues of sustainable development and the provision of the poor were discussed … “You ask what we think? Do we want the rich countries' development and consumption patterns to be transferred to us? Now I will ask you: what will happen to this planet if the Indians have the same proportion of cars per family as the Germans?

The interview of Uruguayan President Jose Mujiko is part of the HUMAN film, which was shown at the UN General Assembly.

Jose Mujica: the "poorest" president in the world

In October 2015, the world's most famous altruistic president, vegetarian Jose Mujica, stepped down as President of Uruguay.

A former leftist revolutionary, he saved up a little in his life, a small farm and a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. Water comes from a well, which is surrounded by overgrown weeds and even washing outside.

The strict lifestyle of the president-gardener is respected not only by the inhabitants of Uruguay but also by the whole world.

President Mujica ditched the luxury home that the Uruguayan government provides for its leaders and chose to stay in his wife's home, with a dirt road outside the capital city of Montevideo.

Mr. Mujica gave 90% of his salary, the equivalent of $ 12,500, to charity, leaving himself only $ 775 a month for living.

He and his wife work on their own land, growing flowers.

When age makes itself felt, he goes to an ordinary rural clinic, where he patiently waits for his turn to see a doctor along with ordinary visitors. He also buys food at a regular store, where he drives in after work in his own car.

“This is how I live most of my life,” he says, sitting on an old chair in his garden, using his favorite dog, Manuela, instead of a pillow.

"I can live well with what I have."

Mujica was elected President in 2009. And in the 1960s and 1970s, he fought the Uruguayan guerrillas Tupamaros, a left-wing armed group inspired by the Cuban Revolution.

He was wounded six times and spent 14 years in prison. He spent most of his term in harsh conditions and isolation until he was released in 1985, when Uruguay returned to democracy.

The years in prison helped Mujica shape his outlook on life.

“They call me 'the poorest president,' but I don't feel bad. Poor people are those who only work to try to maintain an expensive way of life, and they always want more and more,”he says.

“This is a question of freedom. If you don't have a lot of property, then you don't have to work your entire life as a slave to support it, and therefore you have more time for yourself,”he says.

"I may seem like an eccentric old man … But this is my free choice."

In June 2015, President Mujica spoke at a summit in Rio de Janeiro, where issues of sustainable development and the provision of the poor were discussed …

“You ask what we think? Do we want the rich countries' development and consumption patterns to be transferred to us? Now I will ask you: what will happen to this planet if the Indians have the same proportion of cars per family as the Germans? How much oxygen will there be? What will we leave?"

Does this planet have enough resources to provide the same level of consumption and spending for 7-8 billion people as it is today in wealthy societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is hurting our Planet."

Mujica blames most of the world's leaders for "a blind obsession with growing consumption that is highly controversial and would spell the end of the world."

“Many people sympathize with President Mujica and his lifestyle. But his position has no immunity in politics,”says Ignacio Zuasnabar, a Uruguayan sociologist.

Mujica has pursued a moderate center-left economic policy that has provided his country with a stable 3% growth over the past years. The state is investing heavily in nationwide and infrastructure projects. For example, at the initiative of the president, every student in the country is provided with an inexpensive computer for free.

Jose Mujica and Fidel Castro

He also supports the debate on legalizing the consumption of marijuana, in a bill that would give the state a monopoly on its trade.

“Marijuana consumption is not dangerous, drug trafficking is a real problem,” he says. This position led to the fact that drug cartels began to leave the country. Marijuana became widely available, after which the popularity of heroin and cocaine declined sharply. No wars against the drug business were needed: Uruguay simply ceased to be a profitable place for its development.

But Mujica, at 78 years old, is not very worried about his departure from the presidency. He is not kept by fame and prosperity in this post. And let his independent position in life serve as an example to all of us.