In an era where political office often comes with lifelong privileges, executive suites, and lucrative post-government pensions, former Uruguayan President José Mujica lived by a radically different code. From donating the majority of his salary to rejecting his official senatorial retirement, his refusal to profit from public service redefined modern leadership.
“Former Uruguayan leader José Mujica, who was dubbed “the world’s poorest president” for his modest lifestyle, says he does not want any pension from his time as a senator.
Mr Mujica resigned on Tuesday from the post of senator, which he had held since 2015, when his five-year-term as president had ended. He said he would not serve out his term until 2020.
The ex-president made his resignation official in a letter to the head of the Senate, Lucía Topolansky, who is also Uruguay’s vice-president and Mr Mujica’s wife of 13 years. In it he said “the motives [for resigning] are personal, I would call them ‘tiredness after a long journey’.”
His down-to-earth lifestyle and refusal to live in the presidential palace during his time in office [made him] famous. Then and now, he and his wife, who was his life partner and fellow guerrilla fighter long before they married in 2005, live on a modest flower farm on the outskirts of Montevideo.
He donated most of his salary as president to charity and the only possession he had when he took office in 2010 was his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. The light-blue, beat-up Beetle became so famous he was offered $1m (£780,000) for it in 2014, but turned the offer down because he said he would have no way of transporting his three-legged dog without it.”
BBC News, August 15, 2018
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45195188
Source: https://www.weboflove.org/
Pic courtesy: Wikipedia
Sept. 26 unpdate: José Mujica passed away in May 2025 at the age of 89 following a battle with oesophageal cancer. In accordance with his lifelong principles of modesty and simplicity, his remains were cremated, and his ashes were interred at his rural flower farm in Rincón del Cerro—a final reflection of his philosophy: “I’m not poor, I’m sober. I live with little so things don’t steal my freedom.”
A commemorative philatelic souvenir sheet issued by Correo Uruguayo on May 12, 2026, honouring the late former President José “Pepe” Mujica on the first anniversary of his passing. The postage stamps illustrating key moments from Mujica’s life and public leadership, alongside his enduring philosophy: “Los sueños hay que pelearlos para que sean menos sueños y más realidad” (“Dreams must be fought for, so they become less of a dream and more of a reality”). Courtesy https://srestampilla.com/