José Alberto Mujica, president of Uruguay, addressed world leaders at the 68th session of the United Nations’ General Assembly.
“I´m from the South and I come from the South to this assembly. I carry the burden of millions of my fellow people in the cities, in the hills, in the pampas, in the deserts and in the skid roads of Latin America,” said Mujica during his opening statement.
A new president, this was Mujica’s first attempt in gaining recognition in the international political community.
During his term, Mujica allegedly refused to move into the country’s official presidential residence—opting to live with his wife and current senator Lucía Topolansky, on the outskirts of Montevideo.
According to his sworn statement, the sum of Mujica’s financial assets totals to a modest $200,100.
Mujica’s personality has been shaped by various life experiences, including his work in the fields, his involvement in Tupamaro´s guerrilla militancy and his captivity in a military prison for almost 14 years.
In an interview with the Argentinean journal La Nacion, Mujica recalled his time as a political prisoner: “In prison, I became a pantheist. I´ve always loved nature, and one way to avoid feeling alone is to have something alive close-by. In my cell, I discovered that ants can, actually, shout. If you take them and put them beside your ear, you will agree with me.”
Known in South America as “Pepe,” Mujica became president on May 1, 2010. He is known for backing controversial policies, namely the legalization of marijuana.
Environmental associations such as the Pesticide and Alternatives Action Network for Latin America (RAP-AL in Spanish), blame the Uruguayan president for his approval of the RR2 —technology that facilitates the growth of transgenic soybeans introduced by Monsanto. Critics fear that the technology could have a negative impact on small, rural economies and the environment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw-9XvcoHXo
Mujica enacted a law last December that allows women to have access to abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. Before this legislation, those who would agree to such a practice could receive three to nine months in prison.
On April 10, same-sex marriages were legalized in Uruguay, making the country the second in Latin America to pass this legislation.
At age 78, Mujica emerges as an undisputed leader in Latin America, with charisma and opinion that few leaders possess. As he told the AFP news agency: ‘I’m called ‘the poorest president’, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more.”