In almost any country in the world, people often complain that their rulers are ‘overfed’ and do not want to know how ordinary people live. It is noteworthy that the poorer a country is, the richer its head lives. Alas, this is the nature of a powerful man who, having reached the ‘trough’, craves for big money, luxury, gold and other benefits of civilization. And since there were very few, if not to say that there were practically none at all, among the heads of states in the history of mankind, no one is going to restrain their voracious instincts.
But there is at least one exception to this rule - and that exception's name is José Mujica - an ascetic, vegetarian and former president of Uruguay who ruled the country from 2010 to 2015.
90 Yeas old, Jose Humberto Mujica Cordano, is widely known in his country under the nickname El Pepe. Nicknamed ‘the poorest president in the world’, Jose was once accurately described by the Daily Mail as ‘At last the world has a politician who is honest about his spending’. And indeed, as head of the country, he has been an example of uncommon candor, honesty and fairness. Why did the ‘constitutional guarantor’ of Uruguay, when he had access to a large financial opportunity, not take advantage of it?
Extremely concerned that the planet's resources are not unlimited, José Mujica repeatedly emphasized that he was not against consumption, but against waste. He condemned most of the world's contemporary political leaders for their ‘blind obsession with economic growth at the expense of consumption, as if without it the world would come to an end’, because he believed that when humanity learnt to live within its means, everyone would be able to have everything they needed. But all this can only be achieved, El Pepe thought, if there is a change in consciousness. He also argued that paradise is not built overnight and everywhere. ‘Step by step I strive to achieve less injustice in my country, to help those who need it,’ he said, and behind these golden words were real actions....
Jose has never hidden the fact that it was his years in prison that helped him form his views on life. And now, having taken up the post of head of state, the youthful Robin Hood fervor of Mujica has been replaced by the realization that new methods must be found to fight poverty and injustice. And President El Pepe decided to start with himself.
Firstly, receiving a monthly salary of $12,500 as head of state, the newly minted president immediately declared that a tenth of this money would be enough to live on. And all five years of his presidency, Jose gave 90 per cent of this amount to charity and social needs. Thus his monthly income remained within the average wage in the country, which at that time was about $ 775.
Secondly, Jose refused to leave the family farm on the outskirts of Montevideo City and move to the presidential residence. He was also completely uncomfortable with the fact that the road connecting the farm to the capital was unpaved; security at his home was limited to two policemen; and his wardrobe consisted of a single suit for official meetings.
By the way, Jose still lives in this small house on the farm, which is the property of his wife, Lucia Topolanski Saavedra. They were married in 2005. Lucia was a colleague in the Senate and a leader of the people's movement. His wife supported her husband always and in everything - both during his years in power and now, when Jose went on a well-deserved retirement. It should be noted that the modest dwelling of the presidential couple does not even have a central water supply, and the owner has to fetch water from a well.
Their property, apart from the estate, is an old Volkswagen Beetle from 1987, a scooter and a couple of tractors. The house is now guarded by a three-legged mongrel and an old Labrador.
In 2014, Jose was offered to sell the rare car for $1 million, but he refused. It should be noted that in 2018, the former president also refused his pension, considering this money to be excessive. Mujica has no bank accounts or debts. His greatest pleasure comes from socializing with his three-legged dog Manuela, as well as doing as much work as he can in the greenhouse. Before his presidency, he and his wife grew flowers for sale themselves, without hired labor. But now their strength is no longer the same...
But back to the good deeds, because however different the former Uruguayan president was from other leaders, he was still a politician, and a wise one at that. During his five years in office, El Pepe managed to almost halve the unemployment rate, which is still the lowest in Latin America. The president also managed to significantly reduce the number of people living below the poverty line. On his initiative, the state provided every schoolchild with a free computer. The state also pays for education and controls the prices of essential goods.
President El Pepe, guided by common sense and concern for his people, was also famous for his ‘liberal’ reforms. He legalized same-sex marriage, abortion and became the first president to lift the ban on marijuana consumption. All these measures were met with particular enthusiasm by the world community. In 2014, the Uruguayan president was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his marijuana law. ‘Marijuana use is not the worst thing,’ El Pepe said. - The real problem is the drug trade.’
It didn't take long for these words to be confirmed: after marijuana became widely available, the popularity of heroin and cocaine plummeted, Uruguay ceased to be a lucrative place for drug trafficking, and the state gained a monopoly on the marijuana trade and regulated its consumption.
However, one should not think that everything went smoothly in the country. The Uruguayan opposition often criticized the president's reforms and methods, claiming that the country's economic growth had not led to improvements in education and health care, etc.., etc., etc. But since El Pepe had nothing to lose (Uruguayan law does not allow for re-election of a president for a second term), he continued to pursue his policies and root out corruption. All civil servants in Uruguay had to declare their income and personal assets on a mandatory basis.
After leaving the presidency in 2015, El Pepe had the right to remain a senator until 2020, continuing to participate in big politics while earning a handsome salary. But he declined both the privilege and the senatorial pension, saying, ‘I live very well with what I have.’ He preferred a quiet, modest and measured life in his cozy house with a garden and greenhouses for growing flowers.
The former president succinctly summed up his philosophy of the selfless in one statement: ‘They call me the poorest president, but I don't feel poor. The poor are those who work only to live in luxury. They want more and more all the time... They have no time for themselves or for life itself...’.
