By: Villamor C. Visaya Jr.
(Published in its print edition on August 17 – 23, 2024)
If only we have a President of the country who is as simple as Jose Mujica, then we can a prosperous nation.
Mujica who? He is the “poorest President” in the small country of Uruguay, according to a BBC television report.
For him, humility is the name of the game. What caught my attention in the BBC report is Mujica donates–yes, he donates–about 90-percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small traders.
Reports have it that President Mujica has been farming and selling flowers. He does not own expensive cars (not just like Napoles!) but only has an old 1987 Volkswagon Beetle. The BBC report says that Mujica was elected in 2009 and spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, a leftist armed group inspired by the Cuban revolution. “He was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail. Most of his detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy,” the report adds.
How about living in the Uruguay Presidential Palace? For him, it is a “No,no” thing. He lives in a decrepit farmhouse. Unlike many Presidents of different countries who tag along hundreds of sidekicks. For him, he only has two guards and a three-legged dog named Manuela.
I truly admire the simplicity of this poorest President. I wish that there will more Mojicas across the world.#
