Former Uruguay president José Mujica, who died last month, lived in a humble house on the outskirts of the capital Montevideo during his presidency, drove a Volkswagen Beetle and had little security.
He died aged 89. In 2024 he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. When it spread to his liver he chose to forgo further treatment, saying in an interview: “My cycle is over.”
He was president from 2010 to 2015. Mujica, fondly nicknamed “Pepe”, was a beloved figure because of his down-to-earth personality and simple lifestyle in the same type of township lived in by the majority of his supporters. He dressed casually. He and his wife Lucía Topolansky had no domestic help, doing household chores themselves. He gave away a portion of his presidential salary to charities and for small and medium-size business entrepreneurs.
On retirement, he rejected a pension from his time as a senator. Before he retired he apologised to those who he may have “personally hurt in the heat of the debate”.
I was grateful to have seen Mujica in person when I was invited in 2014 by the Uruguay government to share my thoughts on reforms to improve the efficiencies of state-owned entities (SOEs).
Mujica told Al Jazeera in an interview in 2022 that living in opulence on taxpayers' money could “divorce” leaders from the struggles of ordinary people. “I believe that politicians should live like the majority of their people, not like how the privileged minority lives,” he said.
In an interview with the BBC in 2012 he dismissed comments from abroad that he was the “poorest president” in the world because he lived so modestly. “They say I'm the poorest president. No, I'm not. Poor are those who want more [...] because they're in an endless race.”
Shortly before he left presidential office Mujica expressed amazement that his humble lifestyle had caught the world’s attention. “So what is it that catches the world's attention? That I live with very little, a simple house, that I drive around in an old car? Then this world is crazy because it's surprised by [what is] normal.”
So-called “revolutionary” Robert Mugabe, at the time of his death in 2019, was the country’s largest land baron with at least 24 farms. He used his so-called land reform programme to benefit himself, his family and leaders of his Zanu-PF party. They captured the most commercially viable farms and land from white farmers.
“Revolutionary” Jacob Zuma extended his Nkandla compound with R280m of taxpayers' money
“Revolutionary” Jacob Zuma extended his Nkandla compound with R280m of taxpayers' money.
“Revolutionary” Julius Malema defended his partying at Ibiza to a news outlet saying: “I am not fighting [for economic freedom] to live in Alexandra [township]”.
Sadly, many young people in South Africa admire opportunistic politicians who claim to be “revolutionary” but use the term to win votes and power so they can live the bling life. Here, and in many other African countries, this tactic is used to secure votes from the desperately poor, the uninformed and the naïve.
Mujica should be an example to South Africa’s “revolutionary” leaders who use public funding to live in ostentatious palaces and drive luxury cars . While claiming to represent “our people”, they surround themselves with armies of bodyguards to defend themselves against “our people”.
After he was elected president at age 74, Mujica strengthened democratic rights, leaving a thriving economy and a peaceful society. He was not corrupt, and left a legacy of not only honest, clean government and a strong rule of law, but also a society with low levels of corruption.
Mujica's support base was on the left — he was the presidential candidate of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties — but he consciously governed inclusively, seeking out the advice of centre-right opposition leaders and inviting them regularly to his home for braais. He pursued pragmatic, evidence-based policies rather than outdated ideological, populist, emotional and revenge-based policies. His pragmatism and inclusive approach are uncharacteristic of so-called “revolutionaries” in Africa and other developing countries.
As he departed the presidency he said: “Life is beautiful. Life can set us a lot of snares, a lot of bumps, we can fail a thousand times in life, in love, in the social struggle, but if we search for it, we'll have the strength to get up again and start over. The most beautiful thing about the day is that it dawns. There is always a dawn after the night has passed. Don't forget it, kids. The only losers are the ones who stop fighting.”
* Gumede is professor of practice, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand and author of Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg).
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