José Mujica, former president of Uruguay, fought against dictatorship and donated 90% of his salary to those in need. He lived modestly, rejecting presidential lodgings and driving a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. Uruguay provides free laptops to schoolchildren and generates 95% of its electricity from renewable sources.
People get into politics for a variety of reasons, from wanting to change the world to wanting to become rich and famous. And then there’s former Uruguayan president José Mujica, who wanted to change the world but seemed to care very little about fame and fortune. Mujica’s political career began after he decided to fight the dictatorship that had controlled his nation in the 1970s and 1980s. Mujica was jailed as a guerrilla for 14 years, but after his release he started working to improve things, first as a senator and then as the 40th president of Uruguay, from 2010 to 2015. Mujica realized that change begins at home, so he has donated 90 per cent of his $12,000 USD (£8,645 GBP) a month salary to those in need. He also rejected a comfortable lifestyle, forgoing presidential lodgings for a small, modest home and eschewing classy cars for a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. He also kept his clothes simple and cheap. In his five years as leader of Uruguay, Mujica sought to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots by being himself one of the have-nots.
Let’s go to Uruguay:
Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America, but boasts the longest national anthem in the world.
Uruguay was one of the first countries to provide every schoolchild with a free laptop, under a program that started in 2009.
Uruguay generates about 95% of its electricity from renewable sources.
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