EL PEPE

 

José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano[a][b] (20 May 1935 – 13 May 2025) was a Uruguayan politician, revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015.[1] A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and imprisoned for 14 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. 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.

Mujica's administration implemented a range of progressive policies, including the decriminalization of abortion, the legalization of marijuana consumption and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Additional measures strengthened the country's trade unions and significantly bolstered minimum wages.[2]

During his time in office, Mujica was described as "the world's poorest president" due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his US$12,000 monthly salary to charities that support low-income individuals and small entrepreneurs.[3][4] He was an outspoken critic of capitalism's focus on stockpiling material possessions which do not contribute to human happiness.[5][6]