José ‘Pepe’ Mujica, former guerrilla and ex-president of Uruguay, dies aged 89

Uruguay’s erstwhile president José Mujica, a onetime Marxist guerrilla and angiosperm husbandman whose extremist marque of democracy, plain-spoken doctrine and elemental manner fascinated radical astir the world, has died. He was 89.

His decease was announced by the existent Uruguayan president. Yamandú Orsi. In a station connected societal media level X, Orsi called Mujica a “president, activist, usher and leader”. Mujica had been nether attraction for cancer of the esophagus since outpouring 2024, erstwhile the illness was diagnosed.

Even arsenic the attraction near him anemic and hardly capable to eat, Mujica reappeared connected the governmental signifier successful autumn of 2024, campaigning for his leftwing conjugation successful nationalist elections that vaulted his preferred campaigner and protege, Orsi, to the presidency.

In September of 2024, his doc reported that radiation had succeeded successful eliminating overmuch of Mujica’s tumor. But successful January of 2025, his doc announced that the crab successful his esophagus had returned and dispersed to his liver. His autoimmune illness and different underlying aesculapian problems led Mujica to determine not to prosecute further treatment.

“Honestly, I’m dying,” Mujica told play mag Busqueda successful what helium said would beryllium his last interview. “A warrior has the close to rest.”

During his 2010-2015 presidency, Mujica, wide known arsenic “Pepe”, oversaw the translation of his tiny South American federation into 1 of the world’s astir socially wide democracies. He earned admiration astatine location and cult presumption overseas for legalizing marijuana and same-sex marriage, enacting the region’s archetypal sweeping termination rights instrumentality and establishing Uruguay arsenic a person successful alternate energy.

He sparked planetary fascination by shunning the statesmanlike palace to unrecorded successful a tiny farmhouse and donating astir of his wage to charity.

In his last interview, Mujica repeatedly answered interrogation questions with philosophical aphorisms.

“Life is simply a beauteous escapade and a miracle,” helium said. “We are excessively focused connected wealthiness and not connected happiness. We are focused lone connected doing things and – earlier you cognize it – beingness has passed you by.”