KEY TOPICS: Uruguay, President Jose Mujica, consumerism
SUMMARY: Uruguay's President, Jose Mujica, plans to legalize marijuana in an effort to stem criminal activity in his country and the wider region. However, Mujica's personal philosophy is equally news-worthy. In our (maddening) era of consumer capitalism, the President's modest lifestyle is a poignant reminder that we can all live without.
Jose Mujica wasn't always Uruguay's president. He was once a guerrilla fighter who sometimes used violence to achieve his political goals. Later, he became a state prisoner who for many years lived on meagre rations while confined to his cell. Back then, there was a revolution to wage: Uruguay was under a dictatorship, like much of Latin America, and capitalist excesses were reducing many to poverty. Jose Mujica or Pepe, as he is affectionately known, believed in a just society for his people - at any cost.
Now 77, Mujica's activism has taken on a different hue. Elected in 2010 to Uruguay's highest office, President Mujica effects change through government, which today oversees a stable democracy of three million. As President, he could enjoy many privileges that would afford him a luxurious lifestyle. The presidential palace, servants, security detail and handsome salary - a far cry from prison life - are all part of the presidential job package. Few would take up running a country, however small, without these kinds of privileges to make up for the heavy responsibilities, loss of privacy and constant politicking. Yet, in his earnest attempt to live simply, Mujica has rejected these excesses and shown us that he's still a revolutionary man. Living on just ten percent of his monthly salary, Mujica might in fact be the poorest president in the world, but donating ninety percent of his earnings makes perfect sense to a man who doesn't need more, just enough.
For many of us, power and wealth hold obvious appeal. They mean independence, opportunity and access, and comfort. We may know they don't bring ultimate happiness but we believe they can still be deeply satisfying. So, we strive. In the west, the infrastructure we've built counts on (most of) us seeking ever more profits and pleasures with some being rewarded with significant power and wealth. However, we're beginning to understand that our current levels of material production and consumption are simply unsustainable.
Mujica, whose vision is long, has known this for some time. Given the pressures that we and our planet are under, he feels compelled to ask: how can we afford to consume mindlessly? The short answer is: we can't. As Mujica explained at last year's UN General Assembly: "It seems that we have been born only to consume, and to consume, and when we can no longer consume, we have a feeling of frustration and we suffer from poverty, and we are auto marginalized." His blunt assertions that bend toward the philosophical set him apart from other world leaders who get stuck politicking and appeasing special interests, let alone inspiring.
Al Jazeera recently interviewed President Mujica at his farm house outside the capital of Montevideo to find out more about the man's much publicized humility. The interview is no routine question and answer exchange for Mujica is no typical man. It - or rather he - inspires us to question ourselves - habits and desires - more than anything. His call to action, ironically, is for us to think. Think more; think differently; think for ourselves.
To call Mujica a hero would betray my romantic tendencies, but I don't care. The humble president is heroic to me because in spite of his power and (potential) wealth he lives with integrity, the kind found in those who try to live in accordance with their values. I admit Mujica reminds me of my deceased father who always taught me to think for myself. I've taken to watching the interview again and again as a sort of meditation, lecture and a call to action from the President himself and my dear ol' dad.
Thank you, Pepe.
Addendum: Jose Mujica cannot seek re-election so this fall he will hand over power to Uruguay's next President.
Related Articles: (Feb. 28/15) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31679475
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| Jose Mujica: "I am frugal not poor." |
Now 77, Mujica's activism has taken on a different hue. Elected in 2010 to Uruguay's highest office, President Mujica effects change through government, which today oversees a stable democracy of three million. As President, he could enjoy many privileges that would afford him a luxurious lifestyle. The presidential palace, servants, security detail and handsome salary - a far cry from prison life - are all part of the presidential job package. Few would take up running a country, however small, without these kinds of privileges to make up for the heavy responsibilities, loss of privacy and constant politicking. Yet, in his earnest attempt to live simply, Mujica has rejected these excesses and shown us that he's still a revolutionary man. Living on just ten percent of his monthly salary, Mujica might in fact be the poorest president in the world, but donating ninety percent of his earnings makes perfect sense to a man who doesn't need more, just enough.
For many of us, power and wealth hold obvious appeal. They mean independence, opportunity and access, and comfort. We may know they don't bring ultimate happiness but we believe they can still be deeply satisfying. So, we strive. In the west, the infrastructure we've built counts on (most of) us seeking ever more profits and pleasures with some being rewarded with significant power and wealth. However, we're beginning to understand that our current levels of material production and consumption are simply unsustainable.
 |
| Jose Mujica at the United Nations in New York |
Al Jazeera recently interviewed President Mujica at his farm house outside the capital of Montevideo to find out more about the man's much publicized humility. The interview is no routine question and answer exchange for Mujica is no typical man. It - or rather he - inspires us to question ourselves - habits and desires - more than anything. His call to action, ironically, is for us to think. Think more; think differently; think for ourselves.
Thank you, Pepe.
Addendum: Jose Mujica cannot seek re-election so this fall he will hand over power to Uruguay's next President.
Related Articles: (Feb. 28/15) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31679475
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