The "poorest President In The World" Has Died

• 16.05.2025, 18:13

Former Uruguayan leader Jose Mujica has passed away at the age of 89.

Former Uruguayan leader Jose Mujica, dubbed the world's poorest president for his modest lifestyle, has died at the age of 89.

"It is with deep regret that we report the death of our comrade Pepe Mujica," Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on social media X.

Orsi said Mujica was not only a president, but also an activist, role model and leader.

"We will miss you very much, dear old friend. Thank you for everything you gave us and for your great love for our people," he added.

Mujica was born in Montevideo on May 20, 1935 and was elected president of Uruguay in 2009. He led the country until 2015.

As a young man in the 1960s and 70s, he fought as part of squads of the left-wing Tupamaros movement, which was inspired by the ideas of the Cuban Revolution and used guerrilla methods to fight the authorities, VBC wrote.

He was wounded six times and spent 14 years in prison. Mujica was kept in a solitary confinement cell for most of his sentence.

He escaped from prison twice, once through a tunnel with 105 other inmates, one of the largest escapes in Uruguayan prison history.

He was released in 1985, when Uruguay's democracy reignited.

The day of his release was Jose Mujica's happiest memory. "Becoming president was nothing compared to this," he said.

In May 2024, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, which later spread to his liver.

In January, Mujica announced that the esophageal cancer he had been diagnosed with had spread to other organs and was untreatable, he refused further treatment and said goodbye to his countrymen.

Mujica did not live to see his 90th birthday for a few days.