Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkMR_8eiT2I
When I hear the millions of dollars the
Argentine government officials hold, I cannot help but bring to my head to Uruguay's
president José Mujica. The international media have described him as "the
most incredible politician" or indeed "the best leader in the
world". Some have suggested he should win the next Nobel peace prize. He
spent 14 years in prison, 10 of them in solitary confinement, under the
military dictatorship in Uruguay, which held power from 1973 to 1985. He is
also thought to be the world's poorest president, because he gives almost 90%
of his income to low-income housing organizations (Hernandez, 2012). His
donations leave him $800 dollars monthly. "That money is enough for me, and it has
to be enough because there are other Uruguayans who live with much less.”, he utters
to the four winds. Meanwhile he lives with his wife in a modest house in a land
where they grow chrysanthemums for sale on the local market.(Romero, 2013). (I
strongly recommend the video posted here to witness his lifestyle).
What I wonder is what it is that makes him excel
or be different among the other presidents. Now, going over his life I realize that
it is humility what makes him one in a hundred. This virtue goes along with his
life and his actions because I see that he is consistent with the values and
ideals that he asserts. I mull over the
subject and question myself, Isn´t humility a virtue of the civilized people? I
agree with the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov when he declares, "what
distinguishes a real and authentic cultivated person is someone who somehow has
understood that wisdom is such when it ennobles a man not makes a boastful man;
or when it distinguishes a man between others but it does not places him, in certain
way, above anyone.” (Pijamasurf, 2013). Above and beyond I ask myself, how real
are the ideals that some people, mainly politicians, claim to follow, if they
do not interpret the position they hold which should be working tool in the
service of others?
Finally I can say that Mujica is a man who in
spite of the power he has and the money he could have he maintains his humility.
What is more, this man leads by example and it is clear that power has not
corrupted him. He leads for his people. We need more leaders like him.
In order to conclude I would like to cite
Mujica´s reply to those that accuse him of being poor: "I'm called 'the
poorest president', but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work
to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more. I have
few things, it is true, the minimum, but only to be rich. I want to have time
to devote it to the things that motivate me." he says. (Falety, n.d.)"This
is a matter of freedom. If you don't have many possessions then you don't need
to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more
time for yourself," he states.(Hernandez, 2012)
Reference list:
Falety,
Nany (n.d.). El presidente uruguayo Pepe Mujica: "Yo no soy pobre". Retrieved from: http://esnoticia.co/noticia-1474-el-presidente-uruguayo-pepe-mujica-yo-no-soy-pobre
Hernandez, Vladimir (2012). Jose
Mujica: The world's 'poorest' president. BBC
News Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20243493
Pijamasurf,
(2013). 8 cualidades de las personas verdaderamente cultas (según Antón Chéjov).
Rertieved from: http://pijamasurf.com/2013/03/8-cualidades-de-las-personas-verdaderamente-cultas-segun-anton-chejov/
Romero,
Simon (2013). La austera vida de Mujica, un presidente sin privilegios. La
Nación. Retrieved
from: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1544000-la-austera-vida-de-mujica-un-presidente-sin-privilegios
I really admire Mujica. I do not know much about his precidency, only about his life. This made me think about an announcement our president made last week in which the Minister of Economy said that if people sense that an economic crisis was to come they stopped buying. They didn't want that to happen so they designed a program for people to buy more stuff "easily". We need to think about what we do and I think Mujica is an example to follow.
ReplyDeleteWooow! He's definetely a wise man!
ReplyDelete"I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more. I have few things, it is true, the minimum, but only to be rich. I want to have time to devote it to the things that motivate me." To me this quote sums up almost everything life is about. You can say he's happy without having thousands and thousand dollars or pesos. Our politicians should see this and realise they do not need that much money! They more they get, the more they want. They're eaten by greed! what a pity! Because not only greed affects them but also us as well ! He's so humble that greed, money and power haven't corrupted him.
Thank your for your comments girls. These really enrich my post. I agree with what you say, Mujica is an admirable man. It would be great if our politicians would learn from him. But well...we don´t have to lose the faith :)
ReplyDelete