José “Pepe” Mujica, Uruguay’s beloved former president and one of Latin America’s most iconic political figures, has died at the age of 89 following a battle with cancer. In January, Mujica announced the disease had spread and he would cease treatment.
“With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica — president, activist, guide, and leader. We will miss you dearly, old friend,” current Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi wrote on X.
Mujica served as president from 2010 to 2015 and gained international admiration for his modest lifestyle, earning the nickname “the world’s poorest president.” Known for donating most of his salary to charity and continuing to live on his small farm with his wife and their three-legged dog, Mujica became a symbol of humility in leadership. Despite the global moniker, Mujica once told AFP in 2012: “I do not live in poverty, I live in austerity… I need little to live.”
Tributes poured in from across Latin America and beyond. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum described Mujica as “an example for Latin America and the entire world,” while Colombian President Gustavo Petro called him “a great revolutionary.”
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales praised Mujica’s “experience and wisdom,” and Brazil’s government called him “one of the most important humanists of our time.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Mujica had dedicated his life to “a better world,” and Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo hailed him as “an example of humility and greatness.”
Mujica’s political journey was as unconventional as his lifestyle. As a young man, he initially joined the National Party but later helped found the left-wing Tupamaros National Liberation Movement (MLN-T) in the 1960s — a guerrilla group inspired by the Cuban revolution and socialist ideals.
The MLN-T conducted a campaign of armed resistance against what it viewed as an increasingly authoritarian Uruguayan government, though Mujica always maintained he never committed murder.
Captured multiple times, Mujica was shot six times in 1970 and survived. He escaped prison twice, once through a tunnel with more than 100 fellow guerrillas in one of Uruguay’s most dramatic prison breaks. Following the 1973 military coup, Mujica became one of the regime’s “nine hostages,” held in brutal conditions for over a decade. He spent more than 14 years in prison, often in solitary confinement, enduring torture and mental deterioration. “I went mad,” he later admitted, recalling how he spoke to ants to stay sane. His happiest memory, he once said, was not becoming president, but the day he was released in 1985, when democracy was restored.
After his release, Mujica entered mainstream politics. He served as a representative and senator, and in 2005 became agriculture minister under the leftist Frente Amplio coalition. In 2010, he was elected president at age 74, joining a wave of progressive leaders across Latin America. Yet Mujica always forged his own path, balancing leftist ideals with pragmatic governance.
True to his principles, Mujica refused to move into the presidential palace, choosing instead to remain at his humble home on the outskirts of Montevideo with his wife, Lucía Topolansky — also a former guerrilla and long-time political partner — living without staff or formal security.
José Mujica’s legacy transcends politics. He will be remembered not only for his leadership but for his integrity, his authenticity, and his unwavering belief in simplicity and justice.
