SOURCE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20334136

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20243493

Jose Mujica: The world's 'poorest' president
The President of Uruguay Jose Mujica has been dubbed by international media as 'the poorest president in the world'.

In his latest official declaration of wealth, he says he owns just two vehicles, a small amount of property and his farmhouse. He donates 90% of his salary to charity.

Mujica became president of Uruguay after a landslide victory more than two years ago.
His charitable donations - which benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs - mean his salary is roughly in line with the average Uruguayan income of $775 (£485) a month.
       

All the president's wealth - a 1987 VW Beetle
In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration - mandatory for officials in Uruguay - was $1,800 (£1,100), the value of his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.

This year, he added half of his wife's assets - land, tractors and a house - reaching $215,000 (£135,000).

That's still only about two-thirds of Vice-President Danilo Astori's declared wealth, and a third of the figure declared by Mujica's predecessor as president, Tabare Vasquez.

Elected in 2009, Mujica spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, a leftist armed group inspired by the Cuban revolution.

He was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail. Most of his detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy.

Those years in jail, Mujica says, helped shape his outlook on life.

Continue reading the main story
Tupamaros: Guerrillas to government

Left-wing guerrilla group formed initially from poor sugar cane workers and students
Named after Inca king Tupac Amaru
Key tactic was political kidnapping - UK ambassador Geoffrey Jackson held for eight months in 1971
Crushed after 1973 coup led by President Juan Maria Bordaberry
Mujica was one of many rebels jailed, spending 14 years behind bars - until constitutional government returned in 1985
He played key role in transforming Tupamaros into a legitimate political party, which joined the Frente Amplio (broad front) coalition
Uruguay profile
"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," he says.

"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 says.

"I may appear to be an eccentric old man... But this is a free choice."

The Uruguayan leader made a similar point when he addressed the Rio+20 summit in June this year: "We've been talking all afternoon about sustainable development. To get the masses out of poverty.

LET NIGERIAN LEADERS LEARN.WHEN WE DIE WE WONT TAKE ANYTHING AWAY

Post Reply

Posted: at 17-11-2012 06:33 PM (11 years ago) | Newbie

Wish Mr president can read

Posted: at 20-12-2012 02:36 PM (11 years ago) | Hero

 

Posted: at 4-04-2014 01:46 PM (10 years ago) | Gistmaniac

What a selfless service to his nation???

Posted: at 4-04-2014 01:56 PM (10 years ago) | Hero

 

Posted: at 4-04-2014 08:45 PM (10 years ago) | Hero

Noted

Posted: at 5-04-2014 04:56 AM (10 years ago) | Upcoming

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