José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse muˈxika]; born 20 May 1935) has been President of Uruguay since 2010. A former guerrilla fighter and a member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as President on 1 March 2010. He has been described as "the world's 'poorest' president", due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 (£7,500) monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs. Mujica formed a cabinet made up of politicians from the different sectors of the Broad Front, conceding the economics area to aides of his vice president Danilo Astori. The expectations were high, as Mujica is the first former guerrilla fighter to become President in Uruguay. In June 2012, his government made a move to legalize state-controlled sales of marijuana in order to fight drug-related crimes and health issues, and stated that they would ask global leaders to do the same.[25] Time magazine featured an article on the matter.[26] Mujica said that by regulating Uruguay's estimated $40 million-a-year marijuana business, the state will take it away from drug traffickers, and weaken the drug cartels. The state would also be able to keep track of all marijuana consumers in the country, and provide treatment to the most serious abusers, much like that which is done with alcoholics.[27] In September 2013, Mujica addressed the United Nations General Assembly, with a very long discourse devoted to humanity and globalization. In 2005, Mujica married Lucía Topolansky, a fellow Tupamaro member and current senator, after many years of co-habitation. They have no children and live on an austere farm in the outskirts of Montevideo where they cultivate chrysanthemums for sale, having declined to live in the opulent presidential palace or use its staff.[29] His humble lifestyle is reflected by his choice of an aging Volkswagen Beetle as transport. His wife owns the farm they live on. The Economist in an article writes that some Uruguayans see him as "a roly-poly former guerrilla who grows flowers on a small farm and swears by vegetarianism". He describes himself as atheist. Mujica's political ideology has evolved over the years from orthodox to pragmatist. In recent times he has expressed a desire for a more flexible political left.[13] His speaking style and manner is credited as part of his growing popularity since the late 1990s, especially among rural and poor sectors of the population.[14] He has been variously described as an "antipolitician"[15] and a man who "speaks the language of the people" while also receiving criticism for untimely or inappropriate remarks.[16] Unlike president Vázquez, who vetoed a bill put forward by parliament that would make abortions legal, Mujica has stated that should it come before him in the future, he would not veto such a bill.[17] In the sphere of international relations, he hopes to further negotiations and agreements between the European Union and the regional trade bloc Mercosur, of which Uruguay is a founding member.[18] Throughout the ongoing dispute between Argentina and Uruguay regarding pulp mills on the shared river, Mujica has remained closer to the Argentine government than the previous administration, taking a position that could possibly help to resolve the conflict.[19] Asked about Brazilian President Lula da Silva's decision to receive Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he answered it was a "genius move" because "The more Iran is fenced in, the worse it will be for the rest of the world". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mujica

• published: 26 May 2014
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