President "Pepe" - an interview

He's no longer President, elected prior to the end of his term and now serving in the Senate. This is an interview he did shortly before leaving office.

José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (born 20 May 1935) is a Uruguayan politician who was President of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015. A former urban guerrilla fighter with the Tupamaros, he was imprisoned for 13 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. A member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as President on 1 March 2010.



He has been described as "the world's 'humblest' president", due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 (£7,500) monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs. (Wikipedia)

An Interview with Uruguay's José Mujica: From Armed Struggle to the Presidency

Quote:

It’s worth fighting for people to have a bit more food, a better roof over their heads, better health, better education, and to be able to spend their days on this earth the best they can. So nothing is more beautiful, more precious than life… And that’s true under capitalism, it was so under feudalism, and it was also true for primitive man… and it will continue to be so under socialism. There’s nothing like life…That’s what we learned in those years, that life itself is the main value, and in any case the second value is society. That’s why now we go more slowly, but firmly, trying to fortify the transformations that are relevant; slowly, because they need to be consensual; and not so definitive, because death is really the only thing definitive…

Quote:

Yesterday I hurt myself with some pliers right here (he points to a scab on the tip of his nose) twisting some wire (laughter). I’m President of the Republic, sure, but I was running around on the tractor breaking ground over there, came home a total mess, took a bath, cleaned up my nose and straightened myself out a bit… I know those are small details for most people, but for me they’re essential; I can’t live any other way… Other people have their own ways; fine, that’s the beauty of human freedom, everybody needs to have the time, at least some time set aside to do things they feel motivated to do. That’s true liberty; it’s such a grandiose word, so French, it has to be brought down to earth…

Quote:

Some people say that I’m a “poor” President, but in reality I just have a simple lifestyle. I get by with little, keep my bags light on purpose, it’s a choice. Why? To have the free time and be able to spend it on the things that truly motivate me. If I spend all my effort making money, then I’ll have to constantly run around anxiously looking after it; worrying if someone’s going to steal from me here or screw me over later and so on, and all the while I’m taking time out of my life –time that you can’t buy – on things that don’t motivate me. For some maybe that is a motivation; there again, that’s freedom for them, there has to be a margin of free choice… I’m not arguing for a State or a society where everything is regulated either: you wear a coat and tie if you want, or wear… just whatever you like! Do as you wish, as long as you don’t offend anyone… Maybe I’m part anarchist after all…

(Upside-Down World)

via ehMac.ca http://ift.tt/1M1lXJA