Uruguay's José Mujica, who lived like a farmer, has died. The story of the 'world's poorest president'

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14-05-2025

José Mujica, former Uruguayan president and globally admired statesman, has died at 89. A former guerrilla who once spent 10 years in solitary confinement, he became a humble, sandal-wearing leader who gave away most of his salary, drove a beat-up Beetle and legalised marijuana. Why did he choose to live so simply while leading a nation? read more
Then, the presidential candidate of ruling party Frente Amplio, former left-wing guerrilla fighter Jose Mujica chats in his farm in the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay, November 27, 2009. File Image/Reuters
José Mujica, the former Uruguayan president renowned worldwide for his austere lifestyle, humble demeanour, and unapologetically progressive politics, passed away at the age of 89.
The news of his death was confirmed by Uruguay's current President Yamandú Orsi, who described him as 'President, activist, guide and leader.'
Mujica died just months after he entered hospice care at his modest home outside Montevideo, having chosen to cease further treatment for esophageal cancer.
Jose Mujica, former leader of leftist guerrilla group 'Tupamaros National Liberation' and current pre-candidate for the ruling leftist Popular Front party for the primaries elections, casts his ballot in a voting station in Montevideo, Uruguay, June 28, 2009. File Image/Reuters
With his passing, Latin America loses not just a former head of state, but a revolutionary-turned-statesman whose decisions vis-à-vis social justice, environmental sustainability and civil liberties earned him admiration far beyond Uruguay's borders.
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Part I: The daring life of José Mujica
Born in 1935 (though Mujica often insisted he was born a year earlier due to a clerical error), José Mujica grew up in what he once described as a state of 'dignified poverty.'
His father died when he was around 9 or 10 years old, leaving his mother to raise him on a small farm where they cultivated flowers and kept livestock.
As a teenager, Mujica became involved in politics through the progressive faction of Uruguay's conservative National Party.
Jose Mujica, a former historical leader of the guerrilla movement 'Tupamaros,' picks up a bouquet of flowers in the flower beds of his farm, on the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay, October 31, 2004. File Image/Reuters
But by the 1960s, inspired by the revolutionary fervour sweeping the region in the wake of Cuba's transformation, he joined the Tupamaros National Liberation Movement, a Marxist urban guerrilla group that sought to topple the Uruguayan government through a campaign of robberies, kidnappings and sabotage.
The Tupamaros gained both notoriety and government backlash. Mujica himself was shot six times in a shootout with law enforcement, and he staged multiple prison escapes.
However, following a coup in 1973, Uruguay descended into a 12-year military dictatorship. Mujica was captured and imprisoned for nearly 15 years — ten of which he spent in near-total isolation, sometimes confined to what he described as an old horse trough with only ants for company.
Uruguay's former President Jose Mujica arrives to cast his vote in Montevideo, Uruguay, October 26, 2014. File Image/AP
He later reflected, 'They ask you: 'How do you want to be remembered?' Vanity of vanities! Memory is a historical thing. … Years go by. Not even the dust remains.'
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Mujica was granted amnesty in 1985 when democracy was restored in Uruguay. He re-entered politics, this time through the Broad Front, a coalition of leftists and social democrats, and began a meteoric rise.
Part II: The humble life of José Mujica
Widely known as 'Pepe,' when Mujica became Uruguay's 40th president in 2010 at age 74, he did so with 52 per cent of the national vote.
Despite his radical past, voters entrusted him with leadership during a pivotal moment for the country. What followed was a presidency unlike any other in modern political history.
Choosing not to move into the presidential palace, Mujica remained in his three-room farmhouse on the outskirts of Montevideo, where he continued to grow vegetables and flowers with his wife and political partner, Lucía Topolansky.
Presidential candidate of ruling party Frente Amplio, former left-wing guerrilla fighter Jose Mujica puts his clothes in his bedroom in his farm in the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay, November 27, 2009. File Image/Reuters
Instead of wearing suits, he favoured cardigans and sandals. He drove a weathered 1987 Volkswagen Beetle, lunched with office workers in local restaurants, and handed out anti-machismo pamphlets on city streets.
'They made me seem like some impoverished president, but they were the poor ones … imagine if you have to live in that four-story government house just to have tea,' he told the Associated Press in 2023.
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Former guerrilla leader Jose Mujica walks on his flower farm, in Montevideo, Uruguay, June 8, 1999. File Image/Reuters
This commitment to modesty earned him the nickname 'the world's poorest president,' a label he never sought but one that captured his philosophical stance on life and politics.
In a May 2024 interview, he said he still had his Beetle in 'phenomenal' condition, but preferred using a tractor: 'more entertaining' and better for thinking.
How Uruguay fared under José Mujica
Under Mujica's leadership from 2010 to 2015, Uruguay underwent some of the most sweeping and progressive social reforms in Latin America.
His administration legalised same-sex marriage, enacted abortion rights for the first trimester, and led the world by becoming the first country to fully legalise the production, sale, and consumption of marijuana under state regulation.
'I do not defend drug use. But I can't defend (a ban) because now we have two problems: drug addiction, which is a disease, and narcotrafficking, which is worse,' he said.
Former guerrilla leader and Uruguay presidential candidate Jose Mujica works on his farm at the outskirts of Montevideo after casting his vote during the Uruguayan National elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, October 25, 2009. File Image/Reuters
These reforms were especially bold in a region still deeply influenced by conservative and Catholic values.
At the same time, Uruguay achieved strong economic performance under his tenure, with rising incomes, lower poverty rates and a reputation for robust democratic institutions.
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Mujica's government also championed green energy transformation. By the end of his term, Uruguay was generating 98 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, including solar, wind, and biomass — placing it among the most environmentally progressive countries globally.
Pope Francis meets Uruguay's President Jose Mujica during a private audience at the Vatican, June 1, 2013. File Image/Reuters
Despite these achievements, his presidency was not free from criticism. His opponents pointed to rising crime rates and an expanding fiscal deficit that would later compel his successor to raise taxes. Conservative critics also pushed back against his liberal stances and often unfiltered public remarks.
Nonetheless, Mujica concluded his presidency with a 60 per cent approval rating. Though barred from seeking consecutive terms, he remained a senator and continued to be one of Uruguay's most influential voices.
How world leaders reacted to José Mujica's passing
Mujica's passing sparked a flood of tributes from world leaders and citizens alike. Colombian President Gustavo Petro referred to him as a 'great revolutionary.'
Brazil's Foreign Ministry called him 'one of the most important humanists of our time.'
Chilean President Gabriel Boric lauded his work against inequality, writing, 'If you left us anything, it was the unquenchable hope that things can be done better.'
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called him 'an example for Latin America and the entire world.'
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva added, 'He defended democracy like few others. And he never stopped advocating for social justice and the end of all inequalities.'
Then-US President Barack Obama welcomes Uruguay's President Jose Mujica before their meeting in the Oval Office in Washington, US, May 12, 2014. File Image/Reuters
As a retired leader, Mujica and his wife remained politically active, attending Latin American presidential inaugurations and supporting candidates like Orsi, who took office in March 2025 .
Even after they stopped selling flowers, they continued growing vegetables on their land — Topolansky was known for pickling tomatoes each season.
Mujica never lost his philosophical lens on life. After receiving his cancer diagnosis, he told the country's youth, 'I want to convey to all the young people that life is beautiful, but it wears out and you fall. The point is to start over every time you fall, and if there is anger, transform it into hope.'
Mujica's journey — from an armed insurgent imprisoned for over a decade, to a president who legalised marijuana and refused to wear a tie — defies conventional political trajectories.
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Uruguay's President Jose Mujica, left, and his wife Lucia Topolansky attend a flag ceremony in Montevideo, Uruguay, February 27, 2015. File Image/AP
He once mused, 'This is the tragedy of life, on the one hand it's beautiful, but it ends. Therefore, paradise is here. As is hell.'
Uruguay has declared three days of national mourning for the former president and statesman.
With inputs from agencies