Former Uruguay Jose “Pepe” Musica, famous for her humble lifestyle, passed away at the age of 89.
After spending nearly 15 years in prison as a young man to be a guerrilla, Musica, a flower farmer by trade, became politically prominent in later years.
After being released from prison in 1985 with amnesty, he was elected to Congress in 1994 as part of the Broad Front Coalition of the Left. He later became a senator and served as president of the country from 2010 to 2015.
His presidency was characterized by the rejection of the usual trap enjoyed by the head of state.
Instead of living in the Presidential Palace, Musica stayed in his tin roof house outside the capital Montevido. He sometimes drove to work in his beaten blue 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.
Under Musica’s leadership, Uruguay became the world’s first country to legalize and fully regulate marijuana, allowing same-sex marriages and completely regulating a second Latin American nation to decriminalize abortion.
Although no immediate cause was given due to his death, Musica was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last spring.
His death led to the pouring of messages from leftist leaders across Latin America.
Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi expressed his deep sadness over the death of his political leader, calling him “the president, activist, guide, leader.”
“We miss you so much, dear old man. We appreciate everything you have given us and for the deep love for your people,” he said.
Elsewhere, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum described the late Uruguayan Prime Minister’s leader as “a model for Latin America and the whole world,” while Chilean left-wing President Gabriel Borik said Musica “leaved people with no hope that things could be made better.”
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo, of the Semira Party on the center left, also paid tribute to him as an “example of humility and greatness.”
“Your work and your words are legacy, both pathway and hope,” he said.
Guerilla Year
Musica was born on May 20, 1935, outside of Montevid. He said his mother, a flower merchant, had instilled him in love with politics, books and the work of the land.
In the 1960s he helped establish the Tupamaros National Liberation Movement, a guerrilla movement aimed at stimulating an uprising in Uruguay that led to Cuban-style socialism.
As part of their rebellion, Tupamaros planted bombs, lured civilians, and executed executions. Musica always claimed he had not committed the murder.
Musica was shot six times in a shootout with police as the country’s violence escalated.
He fled custody twice, but from 1973 he spent a long stretch of solitary confinement under a military dictatorship that ruled the country for 12 years.
Twenty years after he was released from prison, he became Minister of Agriculture in 2005. Four years later, he was elected the 40th president of his country and received 52% of the vote.
Mujica took office in 2015 with a 60% approval rate, as he was unable to seek reelection due to a constitutional ban on consecutive terms.
Despite his popularity, the opposition accused the rise in crime and the fiscal deficit of rising during his tenure.
Musica was survived by his wife, Lucia Topolansky. He was also a politician who turned guerrillas. The couple, who had been together for over 40 years, got married in 2005 and had no children.
The late Uruguayan leader was sometimes referred to as “the poorest president in the world” due to the modest way he lived. He rejected the title and instead said that the real poor are people who long for more possessions.
