- He died at 89
By Abiola Olawale
Uruguayans have started mourning the loss of José “Pepe” Mujica, Uruguay’s former president, who passed away yesterday, May 13, 2025, at the age of 89.
Known as the “world’s poorest president” for his humble lifestyle and dedication to social justice, Mujica’s death has triggered an outpouring of tributes and mourning.
Mujica, a former guerrilla fighter turned progressive statesman, led Uruguay as president from 2010 to 2015.
Despite enduring over a decade of imprisonment, including brutal solitary confinement, Mujica emerged with a message of unity, humility, and equality upon becoming president.
As president, Mujica gained international acclaim for his modest lifestyle. He famously donated 90% of his salary to charity, lived in a simple farmhouse instead of the presidential palace, and drove a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.
Current Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi who announced his predecessor’s death on X, write: “Thank you for everything you gave us and for your deep love for your people.”
As a young man, Mujica was a member of the National Party, one of Uruguay’s traditional political forces, which later became the centre-right opposition to his government.
Influenced by the Cuban revolution and international socialism, the MLN-T launched a campaign of clandestine resistance against the Uruguayan government, which at the time was constitutional and democratic, although the left accused it of being increasingly authoritarian.
During this period, Mujica was captured four times. On one of those occasions, in 1970, he was shot six times and nearly died.
He escaped from prison twice, on one occasion through a tunnel with 105 other MLN-T prisoners, in one of the largest escapes in Uruguayan prison history.
When the Uruguayan military staged a coup in 1973, they included him in a group of “nine hostages” who they threatened to kill if the guerrillas continued their attacks.During the more than 14 years he spent in prison during the 1970s and 1980s, he was tortured and spent most of that time in harsh conditions and isolation until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy.
He used to say that during his time in prison, he experienced madness first-hand, suffering from delusions and even talking to ants.
The day he was freed was his happiest memory, he says: “Becoming president was insignificant compared to that.”
A few years after his release, he served as a lawmaker, both in the Chamber of Representatives and in the Senate, the country’s lower and upper houses respectively.
In 2005, he became a minister in the first government of the Frente Amplio, the Uruguayan leftist coalition, before becoming Uruguay’s president in 2010.
During his administration, amid a fairly favourable international context, the Uruguayan economy grew at an average annual rate of 5.4%, poverty was reduced, and unemployment remained low.
