José Mujica: Difference between revisions
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In June 2012, his government made a move to [[Legality of cannabis|legalize state-controlled sales of marijuana]] in order to fight drug-related crimes and health issues, and stated that they would ask global leaders to do the same.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18529993 |title=BBC News – Uruguay government aims to legalise marijuana |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=21 June 2012 |accessdate=12 November 2012}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine featured an article on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://world.time.com/2012/06/26/uruguay-wants-to-legalize-marijuana-sales-should-the-rest-of-the-world-follow/#ixzz1z0z02xqa|title=Should the world follow Uruguay's legalization of marijuana?|date=26 June 2012|publisher=Time Magazine}}</ref> Mujica said that by regulating Uruguay's estimated $40 million-a-year marijuana business, the state will take it away from drug traffickers, and weaken the drug cartels. The state would also be able to keep track of all marijuana consumers in the country, and provide treatment to the most serious abusers, much like what is done with alcoholics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120823001028&cpv=0 |title=Uruguay’s plan to sell pot may not be that crazy |date=23 August 2012 |first=Andres |last=Oppenheimer |publisher=''The Korea Herald'' }}</ref> |
In June 2012, his government made a move to [[Legality of cannabis|legalize state-controlled sales of marijuana]] in order to fight drug-related crimes and health issues, and stated that they would ask global leaders to do the same.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18529993 |title=BBC News – Uruguay government aims to legalise marijuana |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=21 June 2012 |accessdate=12 November 2012}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine featured an article on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://world.time.com/2012/06/26/uruguay-wants-to-legalize-marijuana-sales-should-the-rest-of-the-world-follow/#ixzz1z0z02xqa|title=Should the world follow Uruguay's legalization of marijuana?|date=26 June 2012|publisher=Time Magazine}}</ref> Mujica said that by regulating Uruguay's estimated $40 million-a-year marijuana business, the state will take it away from drug traffickers, and weaken the drug cartels. The state would also be able to keep track of all marijuana consumers in the country, and provide treatment to the most serious abusers, much like what is done with alcoholics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120823001028&cpv=0 |title=Uruguay’s plan to sell pot may not be that crazy |date=23 August 2012 |first=Andres |last=Oppenheimer |publisher=''The Korea Herald'' }}</ref> |
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In September 2013, Mujica addressed the [[United Nations General Assembly]], with a very long discourse devoted to humanity and globalization.<ref name="ONU">{{cite web |url=http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/260945/el-de-siempre-pero-globalizado/ |title=Mujica addressing the UN |date=25 September 2013 |publisher=[[El Observador (Uruguay)|El Observador]] }} {{es icon}} |
In September 2013, Mujica addressed the [[United Nations General Assembly]], with a very long discourse devoted to humanity and globalization.<ref name="ONU">{{cite web |url=http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/260945/el-de-siempre-pero-globalizado/ |title=Mujica addressing the UN |date=25 September 2013 |publisher=[[El Observador (Uruguay)|El Observador]] }} {{es icon}} |
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*[http://gadebate.un.org/68/uruguay Documentation] of the address.</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
Revision as of 16:47, 8 March 2014
![]() | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (December 2013) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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José Mujica | |
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40th President of Uruguay | |
Assumed office 1 March 2010 | |
Vice President | Danilo Astori |
Preceded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
Personal details | |
Born | José Alberto Mujica Cordano 20 May 1935 Montevideo, Uruguay |
Political party | Broad Front |
Spouse | Lucía Topolansky |
Signature | ![]() |
José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse muˈxika]; born 20 May 1935) has been President of Uruguay since 2010. A former guerrilla fighter and a member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as President on 1 March 2010.
He has been described as "the world's 'poorest' president", due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 (£7,500) monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs.[1][2]
Early life
Mujica was born on 20 May 1935, to Demetrio Mujica, of Spanish Basque ancestry,[3][4] and Lucy Cordano, a daughter of Italian immigrants. Mujica's father was a small farmer who went bankrupt shortly before his death in 1940, when his son was five. His mother's parents were very poor immigrants from Liguria. Lucy Cordano was born in Carmelo, where her parents had bought five acres in Colonia Estrella to cultivate vineyards. Between the ages of 13 and 17, Mujica cycled for several clubs in different categories. He was also active in the National Party, where he became close to Enrique Erro.
Guerrilla leader
In the early 1960s, he joined the newly formed Tupamaros movement, an armed political group inspired by the Cuban revolution.[5] He participated in the 1969 brief takeover of Pando, a town close to Montevideo, and was later convicted by a military tribunal under the government of Jorge Pacheco Areco, who had suspended certain constitutional guarantees.[6][7] Mujica was captured by the authorities on four occasions, and he was among those political prisoners who escaped Punta Carretas Prison in 1971.[8] He was eventually re-apprehended in 1972, and was shot by the police six times. After the military coup in 1973, he was transferred to a military prison. In all, he served 14 years. During the 1970s, this included being confined to the bottom of a well for more than two years.[9] During his time in prison, he remained in contact with other leaders of the Tupamaros, including Frente Amplio Senator Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro and the founder and leader of the Tupamaros, Raúl Sendic.
In 1985, when constitutional democracy was restored, Mujica was freed under an amnesty law that covered political and related military crimes committed since 1962.[10]
Several years after the restoration of democracy, Mujica and the Tupamaros joined other left-wing organizations to create the Movement of Popular Participation,[11] a political party that was accepted within the Broad Front coalition.
In the 1994 general elections, Mujica was elected deputy and in the elections of 1999 he was elected senator. Due in part to Mujica's charisma, the MPP continued to grow in popularity and votes, and by 2004, it had become the largest of any faction within the Broad Front. In the elections of that year, Mujica was re-elected to the Senate, and the MPP obtained over 300,000 votes, thus consolidating its position as the primary political force within the coalition and a major force behind the victory of presidential candidate Tabaré Vázquez.
Minister of Agriculture
On 1 March 2005, President Tabaré Vázquez designated Mujica as the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (Mujica's own professional background was in the agricultural sector). Upon becoming minister, Mujica resigned his position as senator. He held this position until a cabinet change in 2008, when he resigned and was replaced by Ernesto Agazzi. Mujica then returned to his seat in the Senate.
Political positions
Mujica's political ideology has evolved over the years from orthodox to pragmatist. In recent times he has expressed a desire for a more flexible political left.[12] His speaking style and manner is credited as part of his growing popularity since the late 1990s, especially among rural and poor sectors of the population.[13] He has been variously described as an "antipolitician"[14] and a man who "speaks the language of the people" while also receiving criticism for untimely or inappropriate remarks.[15] Unlike president Vázquez, who vetoed a bill put forward by parliament that would make abortions legal, Mujica has stated that should it come before him in the future, he would not veto such a bill.[16] In the sphere of international relations, he hopes to further negotiations and agreements between the European Union and the regional trade bloc Mercosur, of which Uruguay is a founding member.[17] Throughout the ongoing dispute between Argentina and Uruguay regarding pulp mills on the shared river, Mujica has remained closer to the Argentine government than the previous administration, taking a position that could possibly help to resolve the conflict.[18] Asked about Brazilian President Lula da Silva's decision to receive Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he answered it was a "genius move" because "The more Iran is fenced in, the worse it will be for the rest of the world".[19][20]
Presidential candidate
Even though President Vázquez favored his Finance Minister Danilo Astori as presidential candidate of the then unified Broad Front to succeed him in 2010, Mujica's broad appeal and growing support within the party posed a challenge to the president. On 14 December 2008, The Extraordinary Congress "Zelmar Michelini" (a party convention) proclaimed Mujica as the official candidate of the Broad Front for primary elections of 2009, but four more precandidates were allowed to participate, including Astori. On 28 June 2009, Mujica won the primary elections becoming the presidential candidate of the Broad Front for the 2009 general election. After that, Astori agreed to be his running mate. Their campaign was centered on the concept of continuing and deepening the policies of the highly popular administration of Vázquez, using the slogan “Un gobierno honrado, un país de primera" (An honest government, a first-class country) – indirectly referencing cases of administrative corruption within the former government of the major opposition candidate, conservative Luis Alberto Lacalle. During the campaign, Mujica distanced himself from the governing style of presidents like Hugo Chávez (Venezuela) or Evo Morales (Bolivia), claiming the center-left governments of Brazilian Luis Inácio Lula da Silva or Chilean socialist Michelle Bachelet as regional examples upon which he would model his administration. Known for his informal style of dress, Mujica donned a suit (without a tie) for some stops in the presidential campaign, notably during visits to regional heads of state.[21]
In October 2009, Mujica won a plurality of over 48 percent of the votes compared to 30 percent for former president Lacalle, falling short of the majority required by the constitution, while at the same time renewing the Broad Front's parliamentary majority for the next legislature (2010–2015). A runoff was then held on 29 November to determine the winner; on 30 November Mujica emerged as the victor, with more than 52% of the vote over Lacalle's 43%.[22] In his first speech as president-elect before a crowd of supporters, Mujica acknowledged his political adversaries and called for unity, stating that there would be no winners or losers ("Ni vencidos, ni vencedores"). He added that "it is a mistake to think that power comes from above, when it comes from within the hearts of the masses (...) it has taken me a lifetime to learn this".[23]
Government
Mujica formed a cabinet made up of politicians from the different sectors of the Broad Front, conceding the economics area to aides of his vice president Danilo Astori. The expectations were high, as Mujica is the first former guerrilla fighter to become President in Uruguay.
In June 2012, his government made a move to legalize state-controlled sales of marijuana in order to fight drug-related crimes and health issues, and stated that they would ask global leaders to do the same.[24] Time magazine featured an article on the matter.[25] Mujica said that by regulating Uruguay's estimated $40 million-a-year marijuana business, the state will take it away from drug traffickers, and weaken the drug cartels. The state would also be able to keep track of all marijuana consumers in the country, and provide treatment to the most serious abusers, much like what is done with alcoholics.[26]
In September 2013, Mujica addressed the United Nations General Assembly, with a very long discourse devoted to humanity and globalization.[27]
Personal life
In 2005, Mujica married Lucía Topolansky, a fellow Tupamaro member and current senator, after many years of co-habitation. They have no children and live on an austere farm in the outskirts of Montevideo where they cultivate chrysanthemums for sale, having declined to live in the opulent presidential palace or use its staff.[28] His humble lifestyle is reflected by his choice of an aging Volkswagen Beetle as transport.[29] His wife owns the farm they live on. The Economist in an article writes that some Uruguayans see him as "a roly-poly former guerrilla who grows flowers on a small farm and swears by vegetarianism",[1][30][31][32][33] but he is not vegetarian.[34] He does not believe in God.[35]
Honours and awards
Award or decoration | Country | Date | Place | Note | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Grand Collar of the National Order of Merit | ![]() |
16 August 2010 | Asunción | Paraguayan highest order of merit. | [36][37] |
![]() |
Grand Collar of the Order of the Sun | ![]() |
25 January 2011 | Lima | Peruvian highest award. | [38][39] |
![]() |
Order of the Aztec Eagle | ![]() |
28 January 2014 | La Habana | Mexican highest award. | [40][41] |
References
- ^ a b Hernandez, Vladimir (14 November 2012). "Jose Mujica: The World's 'Poorest' President". BBC News Magazine.
- ^ Jonathan Watts (13 December 2013). Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ Mujica paseará por Muxika, la tierra de sus antepasados, Diario La República
- ^ Mujica recibió las llaves de la ciudad de Muxika, Diario La República
- ^ Maria Ximena Alvarez. "Tupamaros revolution – La revolución imposible".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) Template:Es icon - ^ Mallinder, Louise. "Uruguay's Evolving Experience of Amnesty and Civil Society's Response".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ %5b%5b:Template:Es icon%5d%5d "El 13 de junio de 1968: hace 40 años nació el Pachequismo". Espectador.com. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
{{cite web}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - ^ "The Tupamaros".
- ^ Hennigan, T. (12 October 2009). "Ex-guerrilla who sought to overthrow state is now set to run it". IrishTimes.com. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ^ "Ley 15.737". .parlamento.gub.uy. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "Uruguay – Broad Front". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ Warren, Michael (29 November 2009). "Ballot box gives ex-guerrilla Uruguay's presidency". The Seattle Times.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Carroll, Rory (25 October 2009). "Former guerrilla Jose Mujica favourite in Uruguay election". London: TheGuardian. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Ex-guerrilla wins Uruguay presidency". cnn.com. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Runoff forced in Uruguay's election". AS/COA online. 21 October 2009.
- ^ "Mujica headed for presidential victory in Uruguay".
- ^ "El acuerdo entre la UE y el Mercosur es prioritario para Mujica". 29 November.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) Template:Es icon - ^ "Mujica and Mrs. Kirchner to meet next week in Montevideo". mercopress. 1 December 2009.
- ^ "Mujica supports Lula da Silva's Iran policy". en.mercopress.com. 27 November 2009.
- ^ "Mujica elogió a Lula por recibir a Ahmadinejad". lanacion.com.ar. 28 November 2009.
- ^ "Mujica se compra para traje para ver a Lula". 29 July 2009. Template:Es icon
- ^ "Mujica invites opposition to a unity pact". Template:Es icon
- ^ ""El poder no está arriba sino en el corazón de las grandes masas", dice Mujica"". Template:Es icon
- ^ "BBC News – Uruguay government aims to legalise marijuana". Bbc.co.uk. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "Should the world follow Uruguay's legalization of marijuana?". Time Magazine. 26 June 2012.
- ^ Oppenheimer, Andres (23 August 2012). "Uruguay's plan to sell pot may not be that crazy". The Korea Herald.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Mujica addressing the UN". El Observador. 25 September 2013. Template:Es icon
- Documentation of the address.
- ^ Romero, Simon (4 January 2013). "THE SATURDAY PROFILE: After Years in Solitary, an Austere Life as Uruguay's President". New York: The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ^ "Clarín.com > El Mundo > Carlos Mujica, de tupamaro en los años 70 a nuevo líder del Senado". Clarin.com. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "Uruguay's elections: The mystery behind Mujica's mask". The Economist. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ "Mujica en "El Pato Encadenado" – LR21.com.uy" (in Spanish). Larepublica.com.uy (LaRed21). 18 February 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "Monocolumn – South America's unsung political hero". Monocle.com. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ Zap, Claudine (20 September 2012). "'Poorest president' donates 90% of his salary". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ «Folclórico deslumbramiento primermundista», artículo de Adolfo Castells en El Diario (Montevideo) del 10 de enero del 2013. Consultado el 30 de marzo de 2013.
Afirma: «El [periódico] francés Liberation [...] ―en el colmo de la desinformación― afirma que nuestro presidente es vegetariano. Seguramente piensa que los chorizos del Quincho de Varela están rellenos de berenjena y soja». - ^ "La suerte de Chávez es la suerte de muchos: presidente de Uruguay" (in Spanish). El Espectador. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "Lugo entrega a Mujica Orden Nacional al Mérito Mcal. Francisco Solano López". Diario ABC Color. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2013. Template:Es icon
- ^ "José Mujica fue condecorado con la Orden Nacional del Mérito en Paraguay". TeleSUR. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2013. Template:Es icon
- ^ "José Mujica agradece condecoraciones y afirma que América es la "gran causa" por seguir". Andina.com.pe. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013. Template:Es icon
- ^ El Presidente recibirá condecoración creada por José de San Martín en 1821 Presidencia.gub.uy, 25 January 2011 Template:Es icon
- ^ Enrique Peña Nieto condecora a Mujica "José Mujica agradece condecoraciones y afirma que América es la "gran causa" por seguir". 28 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
{{cite news}}
: Check|url=
value (help) Template:Es icon - ^ Mujica fue condecorado por el presidente mexicano Republica.com.uy, 28 January 2014 Template:Es icon
External links
Interview with José Mujica in AlJazeera
Further reading
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Template:Es icon Biography by CIDOB Foundation
- Template:Es icon Editorial publicada el 2011-7-11, en La Red 21 Uruguay, del filósofo Eduardo Sanguinetti: "Mujica gesto de una fundación"
- Template:Es icon Editorial publicada el 21 de junio de 2012, en el diario La Republica (Uruguay), del filósofo Eduardo Sanguinetti: "El Nobel de la Paz para Pepe Mujica"
- Uruguay's President-Elect: Che Guevara’s Spiritual Heir by The Daily Maverick
- Template:Es icon Lessa (2001). La revolución imposible: los Tupamaros y el fracaso de la vía armada en el Uruguay. Fin de Siglo.
- Template:Es icon Mujica, el viaje de un tupamaro
- Template:Es icon Mujica por Pagina 12: “En mi paisito vale la pena invertir”
- Template:Es icon Infolatam.com
- 1935 births
- Broad Front (Uruguay) politicians
- Candidates for President of Uruguay
- Living people
- Ministers of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Uruguay
- Movement of Popular Participation politicians
- Presidents of Uruguay
- Prisoners and detainees of Uruguay
- Uruguayan atheists
- Uruguayan farmers
- Uruguayan guerrillas
- Uruguayan people of Basque descent
- Uruguayan people of Italian descent
- Uruguayan people of Spanish descent
- Uruguayan prisoners and detainees
- Uruguayan socialists