From the guerrilla movement to the presidency of Uruguay, the life of Jose “Pepe” Mujica, let's find out more.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00And from the guerrilla movement to the presidency of Uruguay, life of Jose Pepe Mujica, let's find out more.
00:08Jose Mujica has been one of Uruguay's most influential figures in recent history.
00:13From territorial militancy and the guerrilla movement to the presidency of the republic, his life was marked by struggle and political reflection.
00:19I think there is too much, too much, too much believing that we multiply happiness by piling up things and we live in a mirage.
00:40Politics has been transformed into a growing recipe book of economic character and an abandonment of philosophy, a serious mistake.
00:52Jose Pepe Mujica was born on May 20, 1935, in Montevideo.
00:56In the 1960s, he joined the national liberation movement, Tupo Maros, and in 1972, he was imprisoned and spent 13 years in harsh conditions of detention.
01:05After being released, when democracy was restored, he founded the popular participation movement and began his institutional path.
01:13He was legislator, senator, minister, and finally president of the republic.
01:17I pledge on my honor to loyally perform the office entrusted to me and to keep and defend the constitution of the republic.
01:35As president, he promoted social laws that marked Uruguay, such as the law of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, the legalization of cannabis, and the law on same-sex marriage.
01:53Its simple and direct style made him a relevant figure worldwide.
01:57He retired with more than 60% of popularity.
02:01I'm not leaving.
02:03I'm coming.
02:04I will leave with my last breath.
02:07And wherever I am.
02:12I will be for you.
02:16I will be with you.
02:18Because it is the superior way to be with life.
02:21Thank you, dear people.
02:23We don't know how to thank him for what he did for us, and for all of America, because he is the president of America, not of Uruguay alone.
02:34In 2024, Mojica was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and a year later, he publicly announced that he would not undergo any further treatment.
02:42The news shocked the region.
02:44I want to say goodbye to my colleagues, and my compatriots.
02:51What I ask is that they leave me alone, do not harass me with stupid interviews.
02:56My cycle has been over for a long time.
03:00Sincerely, I am dying, and the warrior has the right to rest.
03:04In recent months, he has been visited by many international personalities, including the presidents of Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Brazil.
03:14The latter said that Mojica was the most extraordinary personality he had ever met in his life.
03:23People do not choose siblings, and people do not choose parents, but people choose a comrade.
03:28And I can tell you that of all the presidents I have known, with whom I have been friends and lived with for many years,
03:40he is not a president, he is a companion chosen by me to be my companion.
03:44Therefore, he is not a president, he is a partner chosen by me to be my fellow.
03:49Thank you dear, you too are one of the best I have found in this long-suffering America of ours.
03:54Despite his delicate state of health, Mojica continued to reflect publicly on national and regional political issues,
04:04as well as on existential issues to which he always gave a great importance.
04:08Life is beautiful in spite of difficulties and setbacks.
04:15And to triumph in life is to start up every time you fall.
04:19And stop whining, lick your wounds, and move forward.
04:27I believe that we come from nothing and we go to nothing.
04:31Life is the adventure of molecules.
04:34And as such we have to interpret it.
04:36The idea that this is a valley of tears, and we have to behave well to go to paradise,
04:44no, hell, and paradise are here, and the battle for human happiness must be fought here.
04:50And we must live life with intensity.
04:52Flower grower, farmer, political activist, guerrilla fighter, hostage, congressman, senator, minister, and president of the republic.
05:01José Mujica retired from public life, having achieved the highest honors,
05:06faithful to a maxim he made his own, and which summarizes a legacy of those who transcend.
05:12To live one's life in such a way that life remains in death.
05:15Mateo Grille, Telesur, Montevideo, Uruguay.