- Title: From rebel to prisoner and leftist Latin American icon, Pepe Mujica reflects
- Date: 25th May 2024
- Summary: MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY (MAY 22, 2024) (REUTERS) SIGN ON STREET WHERE FORMER URUGUAYAN PRESIDENT JOSE “PEPE” MUJICA LIVES SIGN READING (Spanish) “Happy Birthday Pepe, thanks for dedicating your life to us.” EXTERIOR VIEW OF MUJICA’S HOUSE KITCHEN SHELVES PORTRAIT OF DOG NAMED MANUELA HANGING ON WALL VARIOUS OF MUJICA SITTING AT TABLE, LISTENING TO JOURNALIST MUJICA’S HANDS (SO
- Embargoed: 8th June 2024 11:59
- Keywords: Europe Jose Mujica Milei Pepe Mujica Russia Uruguay climate change climate crisis drugs politics
- Location: MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY
- City: MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY
- Country: Uruguay
- Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001547624052024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Jose Mujica, a one-time guerrilla, prisoner and later president of Uruguay who has cemented himself as an icon of the Latin American left, maintains that he is a farmer and nature lover above all else.
At his smallholding on the outskirts of Uruguay's capital Montevideo, the former president who turned 89 this week (May 20) held an interview with Reuters at his unpretentious single-storey home.
It is the same tin-roofed house where he chose to live throughout his presidency from 2010 to 2015, having refused to move into the presidential residence.
Mujica's progressive thoughts are what transformed him from a boy who helped his mother grow flowers and vegetables, to a beacon of the political left in South America. During his presidency, same-sex marriage, abortion and cannabis were legalized, a major shift for many in the predominantly Catholic continent.
Now at almost 90, he lamented how today's policies were "not up to the level" of advances in technology and science.
Climate change was perhaps the biggest "tragedy" when it came to policy, he said. "Politics had no respect for the recommendations of science," said Mujica, sitting at the kitchen table opposite his wife, former senator Lucia Topolansky, as she read a newspaper.
When asked whether he and his left-wing contemporaries could have done more to mitigate the problems of climate change, Mujica pointed to a lack of leadership from major powers. "Whatever we can do in the poor area of the world is useless." When it comes to the environment "we need a global policy," he said.
Known to many Uruguayans simply by his nickname "Pepe", Mujica spoke to Reuters hours after receiving radiotherapy treatment for cancer, which doctors said posed challenges following a diagnosis in April. A tumor in his esophagus is said to be benign and has not spread, but doctors advised against surgery due to an autoimmune disease he suffers from.
Mujica has had a tough life in his 60 years at the forefront of regional politics. He was jailed four times in the 1970s and 1980s for being a leader of the far-left Tupamaro urban rebel group during Uruguay's military dictatorship. He managed to escape twice, once by tunneling into a nearby house.
Mujica expressed concern over the state of democracy in Latin America and beyond.
Mujica was part of a "Pink Tide" of left-wing Latin American leaders who ran the region in the early years of this century. He governed as a moderate, maintaining dialogue with opponents from the center-right, inviting them to traditional barbecues at his home.
The region today is more divided, with regular diplomatic ruptures that Mujica attributed to a decision-making problem among politicians who were steeped in ideology.
Several of his leftist contemporaries eventually lost to right-wing governments. The most recent example was in Argentina where libertarian economist, Javier Milei, took office in December, pledging to slash the country's budget. Mujica said Milei was only voted in because of high rates of inflation in Argentina. "Hyperinflation drives people crazy."
Among the souvenirs lining the kitchen shelves was a Russian doll depicting Mujica with the Uruguayan flag that was picked up in Moscow. It stood out next to the crockery and jars of pickled tomatoes. Mujica has expressed mixed views about Russia's invasion of Ukraine since war broke out two years ago.
"Of course, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has his responsibility (in the war)," he said. But the problem is not Russia, "the problem is China".
Mujica, whose parents were from northern Spain, was critical of Europe in the ongoing conflict for "giving Russia to China." "Europe had to try and hug the bear, bring it to this side," he said. The bear was a reference to Putin, who Mujica met once in Brazil.
Mujica garnered support among Latin American leaders for legalizing cannabis, as the "war on drugs" increasingly was seen to have failed.
A more recent surge in drug related violence that has spread to previously tranquil nations including Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay has led to fresh questions over how to tackle organized crime.
Mujica continues to support decriminalization under state control, but stressed the bigger problem of addressing drug addiction.
As the cold autumn weather set in, Topolansky gestured toward the fireplace. Mujica stood up stiffly and retrieved a log from the crate, placing it in the fire before settling down to read. "The problem is that the world is run by old people," he said, "who forget what they were like when they were young."
(Production: Alejandro Obaldia, Gloria Lopez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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