The poorest and richest president in the world: this is interesting! President of Uruguay: the poorest president in the world or the president that any country would like to have? In a country led by the poorest president

Simple, liberal, and most importantly - the poorest in the world. This is the President of Uruguay, 78-year-old Jose Mujica, who with his initiatives managed to make almost all the country’s youth fall in love with him.

This man's lifestyle amazes the world community. Mujica, who won the presidential election in 2009, gives 90% of his own salary (about $12 thousand) to charity. He himself is content with little, living on a modest farm near the capital Montevideo. His estate differs from its neighbors only in that it is guarded by two policemen.

The president's best friend is his three-legged dog Manuela, with whom he is practically inseparable. The Uruguayan leader's vehicle is a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle, the current cost of which does not reach $2 thousand.

“This is a question of freedom,” Mujica succinctly explains his refusal to respect the respectability befitting a president.

It matches the lifestyle of the head of state and his style of government, during which gay marriage, abortion and marijuana were legalized.

With the light hand of Mujica, Uruguay acquired the reputation of the most liberal state in Latin America. The tiny country of just over 3 million people, sandwiched between giants Argentina and Brazil, is coming under scrutiny.

For example, the authoritative British publication The Economist at the end of last year announced the country of the year for the first time in its history, and Uruguay became it. Analysts positively assessed the legalization of gay marriage and marijuana. The first, in their opinion, simply makes people happier at no cost, and the second helps law enforcement officers concentrate on more serious crimes. The magazine also spoke approvingly of Mujica himself.

“Modest, liberal and cheerful,” the publication wrote about the unique poor president.

However, Mujica does not consider himself poor.

“The poor are those who need more and more. They are constantly chasing something in circles, and they are constantly running out of time,” says the Uruguayan leader.

According to Mujica, he himself chose a modest life, but he can live the way he wants. The President recognizes the fact that in the eyes of the world he looks like an eccentric old man, and at the same time he has the great luxury of being able to live as he sees fit.

And most modern leaders, through their policies, force people into mass consumption, which then results in an economic crisis, justifying Mujica’s own asceticism.

Modest and honest

The path to the modest estate of the Uruguayan president lies through a dirt road, and he himself dresses like an ordinary farmer, carries water and grows flowers.

The middle-aged Mujica has a turbulent past. Coming from a family of poor farmers, in his youth he was a member of the radical left-wing Tupamaros movement, which became popular after the victory of the Cuban revolution in 1959. Apart from spreading Marxism, the movement's main focus was on capturing the rich and powerful and then exacting a ransom for their release - the so-called revolutionary tax.

In memory of this period of his life, Mujica was left with traces of six bullet wounds and memories of a 14-year prison sentence. Moreover, he was kept in solitary confinement for most of his time. Knowing firsthand what it means to live in inhumane conditions, Mujica openly talks about how, upon being released, he was glad to be able to sleep on a simple mattress.

After his release in 1985, Mujica, together with other members of Tupamaros and representatives of some left-wing organizations, created the political party Popular Participation Movement. It quickly gained popularity, and already in 1994 Mujica was elected to parliament.

By 2004, the Popular Participation Movement turned out to be a major party that became part of the Uruguayan Broad Front, a left-wing political coalition in the country. In the summer of 2009, Mujica won the party elections, running as a presidential candidate from the Broad Front. This was followed by victory in the election of the head of state.

And it’s not just the legalization of marijuana initiated by the country’s leader. For example, now almost every Uruguayan child has access to a laptop or personal computer with the Internet without any restrictions. The government is doing everything possible to ensure that children even from the poorest families can use a PC.

Thus, with Mujica coming to power, the country began implementing the program “A laptop for every child,” under which all children of the poor, without exception, who do not have computers at home, received them from the state. In the first two years of the program, 362 thousand students acquired computers.

Poor children are Mujica's main headache. According to the president, after the end of his term of office, he plans to adopt and settle 30-40 homeless and abandoned children on his farm and personally teach them how to farm.

In addition, significant steps have been taken to provide low-cost housing for young people. Even Mujica's wife, Lucia Topolanski, a former guerrilla fighter and now senator, donates most of her income to a fund for low-income housing.

The first couple of the state does not want either wealth or motorcades. The philosophy of life of the Uruguayan president is simple: if a person does not set himself the task of buying a lot of expensive things, there is no point in him working tirelessly all his life. This frees up more time for yourself.

In turn, Areshe reminds that her country is small and inhabited mainly by simple, peaceful people. In such conditions, the president does not require large-scale security measures.

Stable and liberal Uruguay is one of the most economically developed countries in Latin America. The per capita GDP here is $16,600. For comparison: in oil-rich Venezuela it is $13,600, and in neighboring Brazil it is $12,100.

Among all Latin American states, Uruguay, according to experts, has the most even distribution of income, which is why this country is often called the Switzerland of Latin America. And although many local industries are controlled by the state, the government has in recent years turned its course toward free markets and begun to encourage foreign investment. To ensure them, free trade zones, exempt from taxes, have been created.

At the same time, as Uruguayan Rodrigo Orozco notes, in other parts of the country taxes are high and goods are more expensive than in neighboring Argentina. For example, a car whose price in Uruguay reaches $25 thousand can be bought in Argentina for $15 thousand.

This does not prevent international experts from praising Uruguay's successes. According to the Legatum London Research Institute's Quality of Life Index, Uruguay is the best place to live in Latin America. The index takes into account such indicators of countries as the state of the economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, education, health, safety, and personal freedoms.

According to the Quality of Life Index, Uruguay ranks 30th. For comparison: the Czech Republic is on the 29th line, and Italy is on the 32nd. Uruguay's neighbors, Argentina and Brazil, are in 45th and 46th places, respectively.

However, Mujica is skeptical about all kinds of ratings and claims that if he “worried about sociologists, he would not be president.”

Full legalization

At the instigation of the current president of Uruguay, this country was the first in the world to fully legalize marijuana. The law adopted here allows not only the use, sale or cultivation of narcotic grass for non-commercial purposes, but also its commercial cultivation under state supervision.

Marijuana, according to the adopted law, can be sold in pharmacies at prices set by the authorities, and only adult citizens have the right to purchase it and in limited quantities. The sale of marijuana is prohibited for foreigners.

For all his innovations on the internal structure of Uruguay, Mujica was even nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. His candidacy was submitted by the leftist party Frente Amplio, the farmers' association PlantaTu Planta and the Dutch Institute for Peace on Drugs.

Mujica thanked for the high honor.

“We only suggested trying a different path, since repression no longer works,” Mujica commented on his initiative. - We don’t know if we will succeed. We propose to fight not against marijuana, but against drug trafficking.”

Today in Uruguay they are confident that legalizing the production and sale of weed will not lead to people consuming it more, but will simply allow them to control this business.

The marijuana will most likely be grown in fields owned by the Department of Defense. The authorities are inclined to make this decision for security reasons - they say that the military will provide reliable security for the narcotic plants.

With all this, Mujica does not see any sedition, much less a breakthrough, in the extensive liberalization of the country’s legislation.

“We apply a simple principle: recognize the facts. Abortion is as old as time. Gay marriage - I beg you, it’s older than the world,” says the President of Uruguay.

He also clarifies that he is not a reformer, but merely recognizes the objective reality: according to Mujica, not legalizing gay marriage and drugs would simply be torture for some people.

Another innovation was the legalization of abortion. There is still a lot of controversy around it, but, according to Areshe, this is another step towards democracy and giving women the right to choose.

“Uruguay is becoming an increasingly attractive country,” writes the American magazine International Living. - Peaceful and stable, Uruguay is protected from natural disasters. He’s like the Old World, but with Latin American charm and flair.”

In general, the Uruguayans interviewed by the Correspondent value the government for a stable and calm life, but they perceive the lifestyle and eccentricities of their president ambiguously. Some believe that the head of state should still have a more respectable image, and that Mujica, who lives like ordinary people, thus popularizes poverty, which is also not very good.

The president himself says that you must always remain true to yourself.

“My lifestyle is a consequence of my wounds. I am the son of my history,” Mujica once said.

This material was published in No. 11 of the Correspondent magazine dated March 21, 2014. Reproduction of Korrespondent magazine publications in full is prohibited. The rules for using materials from the Korrespondent magazine published on the Korrespondent.net website can be found.

Recently I again came across an article on Wikipedia about Jose Mujica, the President of Uruguay. Member of "Tupamaros", wife too. Two (!) years out of fourteen - at the bottom of a well in prison. He doesn’t take 90% of the president’s salary. Among the available property - an old "Beetle" and a farm.



Well, as you can see, in order to develop human qualities and remain human, even while in power, belief in the supernatural is not a necessary element.

I also recommend the photo report:

Uruguayan President José Mujica is called “el presidente mas pobre” by his compatriots, which means “the poorest president” in Spanish. Mujica, 77, donates almost his entire presidential salary to charity, making him the poorest (or most generous) president in the world.

Of the $12,500 the president receives each month, he keeps only $1,250 (that is, 10%). “This money is quite enough for me,” Mujica said, “it should be enough, because the incomes of many of my compatriots are much lower.”

By the way, Uruguay is far from a poor country. It is often, and not unreasonably, called the Switzerland of South America. The capital, Montevideo, is home to the headquarters of the continent's largest banks and the offices of the world's leading industrial companies. The reason is a favorable investment climate. The country ranks 17th in the world in terms of attractiveness for business. And all this is largely thanks to President Mujica.

The president's wife, a senator, also donates most of her income. The couple live in a house on a farm near Montevideo. Mujica's largest personal purchase during his presidency was an old Volkswagen Beetle, costing $1,945.

Muhaka has no bank accounts and no debts.

José Mujica Cordano (also known as El Pepe) was born on May 20, 1935 in Montevideo to strict parents. As a young man, he joined the Tupamaros guerrilla movement, becoming one of the leaders of the Uruguayan partisans, fighters against the dictatorship.

Having become a partisan, Jose Mujica showed considerable organizational abilities and strategist skills. In 1969, within a few hours, he and his comrades captured the city of Pando. During clashes with security forces, Mujica was wounded by six bullets. As a result, he was captured and spent 14 years in military prisons (1973-85), where he was repeatedly subjected to severe torture.

In 1985, with the fall of the dictatorship, José Mujica was released. He united his old comrades in arms, creating a party that was joined by socialists, communists, and Christian Democrats to form the Broad Front.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, right, exchanges documents with Uruguayan President Jose Mujica after signing them in Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 2, 2011.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

In 2005, José Mujica married Lucia Topolanski, a Senate colleague and historical leader of the Popular Participation Movement. From 2005 to 2008 he was the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay, then a senator.

Photo: El Pinar, Uruguay: Uruguayan President Jose Mujica drives his blue VW Beetle during one of the two laps of honor that open the "Super-Beetle" race, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the race in El Pinar highway, May 13, 2012.

As a senator, José Mujica said the famous phrase: “I don’t want to destroy the bourgeoisie...I want to milk it,” meaning that he was not going to fight the “bourgeoisie,” but wanted to use it for the benefit of the economy and people.

Photo: El Pinar, Uruguay: Uruguayan President Jose Mujica arrives in his blue VW Beetle for the ceremonial opening race of the "Super-Beetle" race, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the race at the El Pinar circuit. Pinar, May 13, 2012. In his hands he holds his beloved dog named Manuela.
REUTERS/Uruguayan Presidency/Handout

In 2009, José Mujica became the candidate of the Broad Front in the 2009 presidential elections. In the second round of elections on November 29, he defeated his main competitor and was elected president of Uruguay. On March 1, 2010, he took office as President of Uruguay.

Photo: Uruguayan President José Mujica, in his blue VW Beetle, takes part in the ceremonial opening race of the Super-Beetle race, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the race at the El Pinar circuit, May 13, 2012 . Journalists are trying to ask questions to the president.
REUTERS/Uruguayan Presidency/Handout

Currently, José and his wife live on a farm near Montevideo. In their free time from the presidency, they grow flowers and vegetables on a plot of 34 hectares.

In the photo: Jose Mujica pets his beloved dog Manuela on his farm.
Photo source: blogs.estadao.com.br

Jose Mujica loves his dog, Manuela, who has remained devoted to her owner for 16 years.

In the photo: Uruguay President Jose Mujica on his farm, 2009.
Photo source: EL-PAIS, AP

Jose hates protocol meetings and ceremonies. Now he uses a beat-up 1982 Volkswagen Beetle to get around. Before that, for twenty years, Jose had been using a motor scooter, which he had repaired several times and eventually, as his friends say, fell apart.

Photo: First Lady and Senator Lucia Topolanski (right) and Uruguay President Jose Mujica in Montevideo, November 26, 2010.
AFP PHOTO / Pablo PORCIUNCULA

Lucia, Jose's wife, leads a Spartan lifestyle along with her husband. At one time, she actively participated in the partisan movement, and later exchanged her rifle for a hoe and a shovel. Local residents say that Jose and his wife could often be seen riding around on a two-wheeled jalopy.

José Alberto Mujica Cordano (Spanish José Alberto Mujica Cordano; also known as El Pepe, Spanish El Pepe; born May 20, 1935, Montevideo) is a Uruguayan politician, the 40th President of Uruguay (from 2010 to 2015).

He was a member of the left-wing radical guerrilla movement Tupamaros, was captured and spent 14 years in military prisons. From 2005 to 2008 he was the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay, then a senator. Broad Front candidate in the 2009 presidential election. In the second round of elections on November 29, he defeated his main competitor and was elected president of Uruguay. On March 1, 2010, he officially took office.

During his reign, all key energy and telecommunications industries were nationalized, and the state invested heavily in national projects. The country's government began to strictly control prices for essential goods, as well as provide universal free education, providing every student with an inexpensive computer.

During his reign, he managed to transform a poor agricultural country into an energy-exporting state, significantly boost the economy (since 2005, it has grown by an average of 5.7% annually), significantly reduce the national debt and reduce the poverty level. One of the most progressive leaders in Latin America, Mujica earned the respect of politicians in many countries for living within his means, rejecting luxury and not breaking away from his people, legalizing marijuana, abortion and same-sex marriage (smoking marijuana, abortion and same-sex marriage are prohibited in Islam) . All this allowed Uruguay to earn the title of the most liberal South American state.

Having won the presidential elections in November 2014, on March 1, 2015, Tabare Vazquez (Spanish: Tabare Ramon Vаzquez Rosas) replaced Jose Mujica, who left his high post and retired. However, the political career of the “most popular president” is not over. According to the results of the Senate elections, he received the largest number of votes and returned to parliament again. It is possible that Jose Mujica will replace Vazquez again in 2019.

In 2005, Mujica married Lucia Topolanski, a Senate colleague and historical leader of the Popular Participation Movement.

Mujica was called "el presidente más pobre" - "the poorest president." Mujica donated almost his entire presidential salary to charity, making him the poorest (or most generous) president in the world. Of the $12,500 the president received each month, he kept only $1,250 for himself. “This money is quite enough for me,” Mujica assures, “it should be enough, because the incomes of many Uruguayans are much lower.”

The president's wife, a senator, also donates a portion of her income. The couple live in a rural house on a farm in Montevideo. The president carries water for the household himself from a well in the yard. Mujica's largest personal purchase during his presidency was a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle, costing $1,945. Mujica has no bank accounts or debts. His greatest pleasure comes from communicating with his dog named Manuela.

How many of us are ready to think and live like this?

Let us remember the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who throughout his life also led an ascetic lifestyle and was content with what he had.

May the Almighty help us not to waste and live, knowing about the needs and concerns of others, striving to help them as well

We invite you to watch a very interesting interview with Mujica:

Any person is sure that being the head of a country is great. This means honor and respect, communication with the world elite, as well as considerable income. But what do you say when you find out about the poorest president in the world? It turns out that there are politicians who have experienced first-hand how ordinary people live...

The poorest president in the world today is Uruguayan politician Jose Mujica. From 2010 to 2015, he held this position, and if not for the law in the country, he would definitely have been re-elected for a second term. Mujica chose asceticism as the meaning of his life and donates 90% of his income to charity. From a monthly salary of 12,500 dollars, he keeps the 10th part for himself - 1,250. And, as he himself claims, this money is quite enough, because the cost of living of his fellow citizens is much lower.

Jose Mujica's life path was never easy - he spent 14 years in prison (most of them in solitary confinement), as the leader of the Tupamaros guerrilla movement. He was tortured, he was wounded, but he never turned away from his chosen path. It was there that the president's life position was formed - he is a strong opponent of economic growth through increased consumption (as in most countries). “I don’t want to work all the time because I don’t have the desire to buy more things.” “Does the planet have enough resources for 8 billion people to live like in the richest countries (with several cars and constantly updated technology)?” - asks the president.

After his release from prison, Jose Mujica organizes the Broad Front party, which unites all the significant political forces in the country. The signature phrase: “I don’t want to destroy the bourgeoisie - I want to milk it” conveys his main idea: to use this money for the needs of ordinary people.

The President has abandoned the official residence and lives in the family villa in Montevideo in the company of animals and his wife. Lucia Topolanski, being a senator, also donates part of her income to various funds. The house is guarded by two policemen and a beloved dog, Manuela, on three legs. In the yard, laundry is dried on lines, water needs to be drawn from a well, and in his free time, the head of government is engaged in growing flowers for sale. The family's most prized possession during the presidency is a blue Volkswagen Beetle (which will soon be 30 years old), costing less than $2,000. Previously, the politician rode a motor scooter, but the vehicle could not withstand repeated repairs and fell apart.

Along with the title of the poorest president in the world, 77-year-old Mujica can quite deservedly be awarded the title of the most generous, and this, you see, cannot but inspire respect...

One cannot help but recall the poorest president (monthly income - $450) who has ever existed in the world. In just three years of rule (before his death in 1987), Thomas Sankara, the head of Burkina Faso, completely eradicated corruption in the country, halved the infant mortality rate, and for the first time the backward African country began to provide itself with food. In general, there would be a desire to change something...

Uruguayan politician, President of Uruguay. Known as the “poorest president in the world,” Mujica regularly donates about 90% of his salary to charity.

Mujica was born to Lucy Cordano and Demetrio Mujica. Jose's mother came from a family of poor Italian immigrants. Demetrio Mujica, a descendant of Spanish Basques, was engaged in farming, but did not achieve much success; his farm went bankrupt, and he himself died. At the time of his father's death, Mujica Jr. was only 5 years old.

In his youth, José was a member of the National Party; there he became quite close friends with Enrique Erro. He also had the usual hobbies for a teenager - for example, Jose was quite actively involved in cycling.

In the early 60s, Mujica joined the Tupamaros movement, an armed rebel group inspired by stories of the Cuban revolution. In 1969, Jose took part in the capture of the city of Pando; alas, this city did not remain in the hands of the rebels for long. José Mujica was arrested and tried before a military court. In general, during his time in Tupamaros, Mujica more than once fell into the hands of the authorities; He was arrested at least four times. During his arrest in 1972, Jose received six bullet wounds at once; however, this did not force him to search for a more peaceful profession.

After the military mutiny of 1973, José was transferred to a military prison; there he spent 14 years - and for more than 2 years he had to sit at the bottom of a specially dug well. Mujica, however, did not break this - even from prison he continued to contact other Tupamaros leaders.

In 1985, constitutional democracy came to the country, and Mujica was released under an amnesty. A few years later, José - along with other Tupamaros - joined a number of left-wing organizations, creating the political party Movement of Popular Participation.

In 1994, Mujica was elected deputy, and in 1999, senator. His movement continued to gain popularity, not least thanks to the unique charisma of Mujica himself; by 2004, the Movement had become the second largest party within the Uruguayan Broad Front.

In 2004, Mujica was re-elected to the Senate. On March 1, 2005, President Tabaré Vázquez appointed José Mujica Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries; Jose held this position until the personnel changes in 2008. After leaving the post of Minister M

Ujica returned to the Senate.

Finance Minister Danilo Astori was widely considered Vázquez's most likely successor; however, Jose Mujica also had many supporters.

On July 28, 2009, Mujica won the party elections, becoming the presidential candidate of the Broad Front.

In the presidential elections, José Mujica received more than 48% of the votes; his competitor, ex-president Alberto Lacalle, managed to get only 30%. Since Mujica still failed to get an absolute majority of votes, a second round was organized; here Jose already received 52% - against Lacalle's 43%.

The new Mujica government was assembled from members of various branches of the Broad Front; Danilo Astori became its vice president. High hopes were placed on Jose Mujica - he was the first ex-rebel who managed to sit in the presidential chair of Uruguay.

In June 2012, Jose Mujica and his government started talking about legalizing the marijuana trade; this measure was supposed to reduce the number of crimes related to drugs in one way or another and bring additional income to the treasury. Mujica called on the leaders of other countries to also follow his example