José Mujica, Uruguay

The former Uruguayan president, José Mujica, a Marxist farmer and Marxist flowers whose brand of democracy, simple voice philosophy and simple lifestyle fascinated throughout the world, have died. He was 89 years old.

His death was announced by Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi. In a publication on the social media platform X, Orsi called Mujica a “president, activist, guide and leader.” Mujica had been under treatment for esophagus cancer since the spring of 2024, when affliction was diagnosed.

Even when the treatment left him weak and barely capable of eating, Mujica reappeared on the political scene in the fall of 2024, campaigning for his leftist coalition in the national elections that jumped to his favorite and protected candidate, Orsi, to the presidency.

In September 2024, his doctor reported that radiation had managed to eliminate much of the tumor. But in January 2025, Mujica’s doctor announced that cancer in his esophagus had returned and extended to the liver. His autoimmune disease and other underlying medical problems led Mujica to decide not to look for additional treatment.

“Honestly, I’m dying,” Mujica told Weekly magazine I am looking for what she said would be her final interview. “A warrior has the right to rest.”

During his 2010-2015 presidency, Mujica, widely known as “Pepe”, supervised the transformation of his small South American nation into one of the world’s socially liberal democracies. He obtained admiration at home and the state of cult abroad for legalizing marijuana and same -sex marriage, promulgating the first abortion rights law in the region and establishing Uruguay as an alternative energy leader.

In:
• Uruguay