José Mujica
Encyclopedia
José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (xoˈse muˈxika; born May 20, 1935) is a Uruguay
an politician and former guerrilla fighter, a member of the Broad Front
(left-wing coalition) and current President of Uruguay.
Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. He won the 2009 presidential election
and took office as President on 1 March 2010.
ancestry and Lucy Cordano of Italian descent.
As a youth, Mujica was active in the National Party
, where he became close to Enrique Erro.
movement, an armed political group inspired by the Cuban revolution
. 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. Mujica was captured by the authorities on four occasions, and he was among those political prisoners who escaped Punta Carretas Prison in 1971. 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 where he served 14 years. During the 1970s, this included being confined to the bottom of a well for more than two years. 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 democracy was restored, Mujica was freed under an amnesty law that covered political and related military crimes committed since 1962.
Several years after the restoration of democracy, Mujica and the Tupamaros joined other left-wing organizations to create the Movement of Popular Participation
, 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
.
.
His 'folksy' 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. He has been variously described as an "antipolitician" and a man who "speaks the language of the people" while also receiving criticism for untimely or inappropriate remarks. Unlike president Vázquez, who vetoed a bill put forward by parliament that would make abortion
s legal, Mujica has stated that should it come before him in the future, he would not veto such a bill. 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. 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. Asked about Lula's decision to receive Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he answered it was a "genius move" because "The more you fence in Iran
, the harder it will be for the rest of the world".
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 December 14, 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 June 28, 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.
In October, 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 November 29 to determine the winner; on November 30 Mujica emerged as the victor, with more than 52% of the vote over Lacalle’s 43%. 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", a statement that has been interpreted as an acknowledgment of the mistakes by the armed revolutionaries in the 1960s.
, 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, the country's capital. His humble lifestyle is reflected by his choice of an aging Volkswagen Beetle
as transport, his only asset. His wife owns the farm they live on. The Economist
describes him as "a roly-poly former guerrilla who grows flowers on a small farm and swears by vegetarianism" He also donates 87% of his state salary to charitable causes.
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Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an politician and former guerrilla fighter, a member of the Broad Front
Broad Front (Uruguay)
The Broad Front is a Uruguayan left-wing coalition of political parties. It is led by Jorge Brovetto. Frente Amplio has close ties with PIT-CNT trade union and the cooperative housing movement.-History:...
(left-wing coalition) and current President of Uruguay.
Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. He won the 2009 presidential election
Uruguayan general election, 2009
General elections for President and Parliament took place in Uruguay on 25 October and 29 November 2009. In parliamentary election results, the Broad Front emerged the winner, electing 16 senators and 50 deputies, while the National Party elected 9 senators and 30 deputies, the Colorado Party 5...
and took office as President on 1 March 2010.
Early life
Mujica was born 20 May 1935 to Demetrio Mujica, of BasqueBasque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
ancestry and Lucy Cordano of Italian descent.
As a youth, Mujica was active in the National Party
National Party (Uruguay)
The National Party , also known as the White Party , is a major right-wing conservative political party in Uruguay, currently the major opposition party to the ruling Frente Amplio government....
, where he became close to Enrique Erro.
Guerilla leader
In the early 1960s, he joined the newly formed TupamarosTupamaros
Tupamaros, also known as the MLN-T , was an urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, Raúl Sendic, and his brand of social politics...
movement, an armed political group inspired by the Cuban revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
. He participated in the 1969 brief takeover of Pando
Pando
-People:*Pando of Capua , "Pando the Rapacious", Count of Capua*Gabriela Pando , Argentine field hockey player*José Manuel Pando , 29th President of Bolivia*Juan Pando , Spanish historian...
, a town close to Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, and was later convicted by a military tribunal under the government of Jorge Pacheco Areco
Jorge Pacheco Areco
Jorge Pacheco Areco was a Uruguayan politician and member of the Colorado Party. He served as President of Uruguay from December 6, 1967 to March 1, 1972.-Vice President of Uruguay:...
, who had suspended certain constitutional guarantees. Mujica was captured by the authorities on four occasions, and he was among those political prisoners who escaped Punta Carretas Prison in 1971. 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 where he served 14 years. During the 1970s, this included being confined to the bottom of a well for more than two years. 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
Raúl Sendic
Raúl Sendic Antonaccio was a prominent Uruguayan Marxist and founder of the Tupamaros.Born in a rural area, near the village of Juan Jose Castro, in the Flores Department, Sendic worked with his father as a peasant on a crab apple farm until he finished high school and left his home to study in...
.
In 1985, when democracy was restored, Mujica was freed under an amnesty law that covered political and related military crimes committed since 1962.
Several years after the restoration of democracy, Mujica and the Tupamaros joined other left-wing organizations to create the Movement of Popular Participation
Movement of Popular Participation
The Movement of Popular Participation is a Uruguayan political party. It is a member organisation of the ruling left-wing party Broad Front.- Background :...
, a political party that was accepted within the Broad Front
Broad Front (Uruguay)
The Broad Front is a Uruguayan left-wing coalition of political parties. It is led by Jorge Brovetto. Frente Amplio has close ties with PIT-CNT trade union and the cooperative housing movement.-History:...
coalition.
In the 1994 general elections
Uruguayan general election, 1994
The Uruguayan presidential elections that took place on November 27, 1994, resulted in a narrow victory for the Colorado Party, and the election of Julio María Sanguinetti to a second term in office.- External links :*...
, Mujica was elected deputy
Deputy (legislator)
A deputy is a legislator in many countries, particularly those with legislatures styled as a 'Chamber of Deputies' or 'National Assembly'.-List of countries:This is an list of countries using the term 'deputy' or one of its cognates....
and in the elections of 1999
Uruguayan general election, 1999
General elections were held in Uruguay on 31 October 1999. A second round of the presidential election was held on 28 November 1999.- First round :In the first round of voting, no candidate won the necessary 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off....
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
Broad Front (Uruguay)
The Broad Front is a Uruguayan left-wing coalition of political parties. It is led by Jorge Brovetto. Frente Amplio has close ties with PIT-CNT trade union and the cooperative housing movement.-History:...
. 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
Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas is a former President of Uruguay. A physician by training, he is a member of the leftist Frente Amplo coalition . Vázquez was elected president on October 31, 2004, took office on March 1, 2005, and relinquished the office on March 1, 2010...
.
Minister of Agriculture
On March 1, 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 that can think outside the boxThinking outside the box
Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking....
.
His 'folksy' 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. He has been variously described as an "antipolitician" and a man who "speaks the language of the people" while also receiving criticism for untimely or inappropriate remarks. Unlike president Vázquez, who vetoed a bill put forward by parliament that would make abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s legal, Mujica has stated that should it come before him in the future, he would not veto such a bill. In the sphere of international relations, he hopes to further negotiations and agreements between the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the regional trade bloc Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
, of which Uruguay is a founding member. 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. Asked about Lula's decision to receive Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he answered it was a "genius move" because "The more you fence in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, the harder it will be for the rest of the world".
Presidential candidate
Even though President Vázquez favored his Finance Minister Danilo AstoriDanilo Astori
Danilo Astori is a Uruguayan social democratic politician who was the Minister of Economics and Finance of Uruguay from 2005 to 2008...
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 December 14, 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 June 28, 2009, Mujica won the primary elections becoming the presidential candidate of the Broad Front for the 2009 general election
Uruguayan general election, 2009
General elections for President and Parliament took place in Uruguay on 25 October and 29 November 2009. In parliamentary election results, the Broad Front emerged the winner, electing 16 senators and 50 deputies, while the National Party elected 9 senators and 30 deputies, the Colorado Party 5...
. 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
Luis Alberto Lacalle
Luis Alberto Lacalle de Herrera is a Uruguayan lawyer and politician who served as President of Uruguay from 1990 to 1995.-Background:His mother, María Hortensia de Herrera de Lacalle, was the daughter of the Blanco political leader Luis Alberto de Herrera, after whom Lacalle was named. Luis...
. During the campaign, Mujica distanced himself from the governing style of presidents like Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
(Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
) or Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
(Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
), claiming the center-left governments of Brazilian Luis Inácio Lula da Silva or Chilean socialist Michelle Bachelet
Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Social Democrat politician who was President of Chile from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country...
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.
In October, 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
Constitution of Uruguay
The Constitution of Uruguay is the supreme law of Uruguay. Its first version was written in 1830 and its last amendment was made in 2002. A new amendment is in talks as of April 2007....
, while at the same time renewing the Broad Front's parliamentary
General Assembly of Uruguay
The General Assembly of Uruguay has two chambers.*the Chamber of Deputies has 99 members, elected for a five year term by proportional representation....
majority for the next legislature (2010–2015). A runoff was then held on November 29 to determine the winner; on November 30 Mujica emerged as the victor, with more than 52% of the vote over Lacalle’s 43%. 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", a statement that has been interpreted as an acknowledgment of the mistakes by the armed revolutionaries in the 1960s.
Personal life
In 2005, Mujica married Lucía TopolanskyLucía Topolansky
Lucía Topolansky is a Uruguayan Senator, wife of Uruguay's President José Mujica and the First Lady of Uruguay.- Background :During her childhood she studied in the College Sacré Cœur de las Hermanas Dominicas in Montevideo with her twin sister...
, 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, the country's capital. His humble lifestyle is reflected by his choice of an aging Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
as transport, his only asset. His wife owns the farm they live on. The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
describes him as "a roly-poly former guerrilla who grows flowers on a small farm and swears by vegetarianism" He also donates 87% of his state salary to charitable causes.
Further reading
Biography by CIDOB Foundation- Uruguay's President-Elect: Che Guevara’s Spiritual Heir by The Daily Maverick Mujica, el viaje de un tupamaro Mujica por Pagina 12: “En mi paisito vale la pena invertir” http://www.infolatam.com/entrada/biografia_de_jose_mujica-16122.html
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