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Former Uruguayan President José "Pepe" Mujica connected Oct. 27, 2024. Natacha Pisarenko/AP hide caption
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Natacha Pisarenko/AP
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — José Mujica, a erstwhile guerrilla combatant who became a awesome of nationalist reconciliation aft helium disarmed and was elected president of Uruguay, and whose frugal surviving earned him the nickname "the world's poorest president," has died. He was 89.
His decease was announced Tuesday by Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi. "It is with profound sorrow that we denote the passing of our friend, Pepe Mujica. President, activist, person and guide. We're going to miss you precise much, beloved aged man. Thank you for everything you gave america and for your profound emotion for your people," Orsi wrote connected societal media.
Mujica had said successful January that his esophageal crab had dispersed to his liver and that helium would forgo further aesculapian treatment.
Mujica, Uruguay's president from 2010 to 2015, was among of a batch of left-leaning politicians — often called the "pink tide" — who came to powerfulness successful Argentina, Brazil, Chile and elsewhere successful Latin America successful the aboriginal portion of this century.
He oversaw an economical boom, a surge successful overseas concern and a simplification successful poorness successful the tiny South American federation of much than 3 cardinal people, portion avoiding corruption scandals. His progressive policies included legalizing abortion, marijuana and same-sex marriage, arsenic good arsenic the resettlement of warfare refugees from Afghanistan.
"It was a precise palmy presidency," said Pablo Brum, who interviewed Mujica for his publication The Robin Hood Guerrillas. "In those years, helium became a superstar. The Economist named Uruguay the first-ever 'country of the year.' There was a Uruguay mania. He enactment Uruguay connected the representation for a batch of people."
Mujica, wide known by his nickname, "Pepe," was 8 erstwhile his begetter died, leaving him to beryllium raised by his flower-seller mother. Outraged by Uruguay's spread betwixt affluent and mediocre and fascinated by the 1959 Cuban Revolution, helium sought governmental alteration done guerrilla warfare.
"By the aboriginal 1960s, Mujica was among galore young radical who recovered equipped conflict anyplace from desirable to inevitable," Brum said. "So the conception of, similar Che Guevara, picking up a weapon and effecting societal alteration and governmental alteration — close here, close present — helium fell into that."
Mujica joined the National Liberation Movement, a rebel radical wide known arsenic the Tupamaros. Its members carried retired bombings, slope robberies and kidnappings and successful 1969 concisely occupied the Uruguayan municipality of Pando. But the Tupamaros ne'er came adjacent to seizing power, and successful 1970 Mujica was captured aft a shoot-out with constabulary successful which helium was severely wounded.
People walking successful the rainfall walk by an representation of Uruguay's then-president, José Mujica, during the statesmanlike runoff predetermination successful Canelones, Uruguay, connected Nov. 30, 2014. Matilde Campodonico/AP hide caption
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Matilde Campodonico/AP
After recovering, Mujica took portion successful an audacious jailbreak. His chap Tupamaros inmates built a 130-foot-long tunnel to a location crossed the thoroughfare from the prison, which allowed Mujica and 105 different rebels to escape.
But astir were rapidly rounded up. Mujica was beaten and tortured, and helium spent truthful overmuch clip successful solitary confinement that helium befriended ants, frogs and rats.
Still, situation gave him clip to bespeak — and to recognize the rebels were doing much harm than good. Indeed, rebel unit and chaos weakened Uruguay's civilian authorities and helped pave the mode for a 1973 coup that plunged the state into subject dictatorship.
"What we didn't recognize was that erstwhile you play with fire, you whitethorn unleash forces that you can't control," Mujica told the Uruguayan paper El País successful 2020.
Mujica "spent those years [in prison] trying to amended himself, trying to recognize the governmental system, the world, and besides to recognize who helium was," says Mauricio Rabuffetti, a Uruguayan writer who wrote a biography of Mujica.
Mujica was released successful 1985. By that time, Uruguay's dictatorship had fixed mode to a antiauthoritarian government, and Mujica yet embraced electoral politics.
In doing so, says Rabuffetti, "he helped guarantee that Uruguay would [become] a unchangeable state with beardown institutions. He understood that Uruguayans didn't privation a combat but, rather, bid and stability."
Uruguayan President José Mujica sits extracurricular his location during an interrogation connected the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay, connected May 2, 2014. Matilde Campodonico/AP hide caption
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Matilde Campodonico/AP
This modulation was helped by Mujica's consciousness of humor, folksy mode and rustic lifestyle, which made him a darling of the quality media. Short, gray-haired and often looking disheveled, helium would springiness interviews portion sipping maté, an herbal drink, astatine his tiny farmhouse extracurricular the capital, Montevideo, wherever helium and his woman grew flowers.
"It's a precise elemental location made of bricks, oregon factual blocks," Rabuffetti said. "The extortion is made of expanse metal. There is simply a tiny kitchen, a chamber and a bathroom, and you tin spot everything from the beforehand door."
For galore mean Uruguayans, who were fed up with pompous politicians and authorities corruption, Mujica seemed much similar 1 of them. He was elected to parliament successful 1994, was named curate of livestock, agriculture and fisheries successful 2005 and, 4 years later, won the presidency.
Yet adjacent astatine the infinitesimal of his top triumph connected election night successful 2009, the then-74-year-old president-elect refused to gloat. Instead, helium apologized to the losing campaigner for having utilized immoderate harsh rhetoric during the run and pledged: "Tomorrow, we shall locomotion together."
José Mujica, Uruguay's president astatine the time, arrives successful his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle to formed his ballot successful Montevideo successful October 2014. Natacha Pisarenko/AP hide caption
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Natacha Pisarenko/AP
High bureau didn't alteration Mujica precise much. He eschewed the authoritative residence successful Montevideo for his ramshackle angiosperm farm. Rather than a statesmanlike motorcade, helium often drove his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle to work. He dressed casually and donated astir each his wage to charity.
His austerity was nary gimmick. Mujica thought politicians should unrecorded similar mean folks and often declared that the well-off successful the satellite indispensable get by connected less. At the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit successful 2012, helium bluntly told delegates: "Hyperconsumerism is what is destroying the planet."
In his twilight years, arsenic the satellite became much polarized, Mujica looked backmost connected his ain extremist past with chagrin and endorsed moderation.
"In my ain garden, I nary longer works the seeds of hatred," helium said successful a 2020 speech announcing his status from progressive politics. "Life has taught maine a hard acquisition … that hatred conscionable makes america each much stupid."
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