Ever heard of José “Pepe” Mujica? “The worlds poorest president”? You know the country Uruguay? Well he was the president for Uruguay for 5 years until a few days ago.According to Uruguay law he could only be President for 5 years from 2010-2015. During his 5 years a lot of things happened in Uruguay. Although not much has been written about it in Europe, not to mention in Finland. The legalization of Marijuana might be the thing most people have heard of, and seen pictures of in social media.
To name a few of the things this extraordinary president did:
He’s a humble man Pepe, only took 10% of his salary and donating the rest to charity. This means he lived on a pretty average salary. Well average in Uruguay maybe…roughly 500€/month is less than we get from the government for free when we study in Finland…But still we want more..Think about that…
He didn’t live in the presidential palace or drive around in a fancy car. He lives on his wife’s farm on the countryside and drives an old Volkswagen Beetle. Which he also picks up hitchhikers in that needs a ride!
He legalized marijuana, abortion & gay marriages. He got the economy to rise with higher salaries and less unemployment. Even the nations football team has done better in both 2010 & 2014 Fifa World Cups than they have since 1970!
Well for a former guerrilla, that used to rob banks, been to prison for 14 years, shot 6 times he seems to have done pretty well. Makes you wonder what the world would look like if all presidents were down to earth like him, OR better yet, if normal people like you and me were a little bit more like this guy? Wouldn’t the world be a bit better off? Any thoughts?
He hardly wore a tie…
If you want to read more about him here’s a few links:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/15/10-reasons-to-love-uruguays-president-jose-mujica/
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20243493
Or use wikipedia…
Adios Pepe! Hope you inspired others!
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