José “Pepe” Mujica, Uruguay’s humble former president, Guerrilla leader, dies at 89

José Mujica, the former guerrilla fighter turned beloved president of Uruguay whose ascetic lifestyle and progressive vision made him an icon of humility and leadership far beyond Latin America, died Tuesday at the age of 89.

Known affectionately as “Pepe” by millions, Mujica served as president from 2010 to 2015, overseeing sweeping social reforms while rejecting the trappings of power.

He famously donated most of his salary to charity, lived on a modest flower farm instead of the presidential palace, and drove a weathered blue Volkswagen Beetle that came to symbolize his deeply held belief in simplicity and authenticity.

Mujica’s death marks the end of a singular chapter in Latin American politics, one that bridged revolutionary idealism and pragmatic governance. Born on May 20, 1935, in Montevideo, Mujica became a prominent member of the Tupamaros, a left-wing guerrilla group inspired by the Cuban Revolution. During Uruguay’s brutal military dictatorship in the 1970s, Mujica was captured multiple times, shot six times, and spent over a decade in prison — much of it in solitary confinement.

Emerging from prison in the 1980s after the return of democracy, Mujica renounced violence and entered politics with the Broad Front coalition.

By the time he won the presidency in 2009, voters had come to see him not as a militant radical, but as a weathered sage — a man who had survived the darkest chapters of his country’s history and emerged with a message of tolerance, justice, and compassion.

During his five-year term, Mujica legalized same-sex marriage, abortion, and recreational cannabis — placing Uruguay at the forefront of liberal reforms in the region.

International observers praised his efforts to make Uruguay a more equitable society, while his humility won admiration from figures as varied as Pope Francis and global celebrities.

“Power does not change people,” Mujica once said. “It only reveals who they truly are.”

Following his presidency, Mujica remained an influential voice in Uruguayan politics and global affairs, often speaking out on climate change, consumerism, and the excesses of modern capitalism.

His speeches at the United Nations and other forums, delivered in simple yet piercing prose, drew standing ovations and viral acclaim.

“He was the conscience of a continent,” said current Uruguayan President [Name], in a statement mourning Mujica’s passing. “A man of the people, a revolutionary who taught us that dignity lives not in palaces, but in the soul.”

Mujica is survived by his wife, Lucía Topolansky, herself a former guerrilla and senator, and a nation that saw in him the rarest of leaders: a politician who walked the talk, and did so in dusty boots.

A state funeral is expected later this week in Montevideo, with mourners from across the political spectrum already gathering to pay tribute to Uruguay’s most unlikely president — and its most beloved.