mujika
He was born on the outskirts of Montevideo in 1935. His father’s family were immigrants from Tolosa in The Basque Country, and his mother’s family were originally from Piedmont, Italy.
His infancy was spent on the farm with his parents and in the local school. As a teenager he was a cyclist and he raced in the biggest races in Uruguay.
In the 1960s, he got involved in the Tupamaro movement. He was forced to give up farming and go on the run when the police went to arrest him one day.
In gunfights with the police he was wounded by gunshot six times. He has been in prison on four occasions and during two of those prison stays he escaped. He suffered the inhuman prison conditions the dictatorship had specifically designed for the Tupamaro leadership. He spent a total of 15 years in prison.
He was named Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries in 2005. His simple, politically-incorrect plain-speaking style was frowned upon by other politicians. The people of Uruguay, however, voted him President in 2009.
He still lives on his humble “chakra” (farm) with Lucia Topolansky, his partner and comrade-in-arms from his Tupamaro days.
They have earned their living from the small flower garden they keep.
Mujica’s social change and new way of doing politics are not only confined to the beautiful speeches he gives.
His infancy was spent on the farm with his parents and in the local school. As a teenager he was a cyclist and he raced in the biggest races in Uruguay.
In the 1960s, he got involved in the Tupamaro movement. He was forced to give up farming and go on the run when the police went to arrest him one day.
In gunfights with the police he was wounded by gunshot six times. He has been in prison on four occasions and during two of those prison stays he escaped. He suffered the inhuman prison conditions the dictatorship had specifically designed for the Tupamaro leadership. He spent a total of 15 years in prison.
He was named Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries in 2005. His simple, politically-incorrect plain-speaking style was frowned upon by other politicians. The people of Uruguay, however, voted him President in 2009.
He still lives on his humble “chakra” (farm) with Lucia Topolansky, his partner and comrade-in-arms from his Tupamaro days.
They have earned their living from the small flower garden they keep.
Mujica’s social change and new way of doing politics are not only confined to the beautiful speeches he gives.
