Uruguay’s frugal president
President José Mujica lives in a one-bedroom farmhouse in the middle of a field.
José Mujica is the world’s most frugal national leader, said Jonathan Watts in The Guardian (U.K.). Uruguay’s president lives in a one-bedroom farmhouse in the middle of a field—he turned the presidential palace into a homeless shelter—drives an old Volkswagen Beetle, and donates 90 percent of his salary to charity. Mujica, 78, has been called “the world’s poorest president,” but dislikes the title. “I’m not the poorest president,” he says. “The poorest is the one who needs a lot to live.” Mujica learned to live modestly in the 1970s, when his involvement with a Marxist revolutionary group led to his being jailed for 14 years—including two years spent in solitary confinement at the bottom of a well, where he kept his sanity by speaking to frogs. “My lifestyle is a consequence of my wounds. There have been times when I would have been happy just to have a mattress.” The president has struggled to reconcile his thrifty philosophy with the need to grow Uruguay’s economy. “I’m president,” he sighs. “I’m fighting for more work and more investment because people ask for more and more.” At the same time, he encourages Uruguayans to recycle, use renewable energy, and live within their means. “That’s an ideal, but it may not be realistic because we live in an age of accumulation.’’
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will North Korea take advantage of Israel-Hamas conflict?
Today's Big Question Pyongyang's ties with Russia are 'growing and dangerous' amid reports it sent weapons to Gaza
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published