The Poorest President

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He's a vegetarian, drives a 1987 VW Beetle, and runs a flower farm. Did we mention he's also the ruler of Uruguay? Jose Mujica is known as the world's 'poorest' president, but the one-time guerrilla revolutionary has chosen to shun the state's grand presidential home for his wife's ramshackle farmhouse. He chooses to give 90% of his monthly salary—about $12,000—to charities supporting the poor and small businesses, reports the BBC. He says spending 14 years as a political prisoner helped change his perspective on life.

"If you don't have many possessions then you don't need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself," he explains. His lifestyle also exemplifies his environmental views: At a world summit this summer, he asked whether Earth has "enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies?" But this doesn't mean he's a popular president. In fact, his approval rating has dipped below 50% after two controversial decisions: signing a bill to allow abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and supporting a debate on the legalization of marijuana.

What Makes This Man The 'Poorest' President? - Uruguay's Jose Mujica gives 90% of his pay to charity

 

[Type Username Here]

Great speech:


PRESIDENT MUJICA SPEECH IN RIO +20 WITH TEXT OF PROPER ENGLISH TRANSLATION TEXT - YouTube


Text:

To all of the authorities present here, from every latitude and organization, thank you very much. I want to thank the people of Brazil and Mrs. President, Dilma Rousseff. Thank you all for the good faith undoubtedly expressed by all of the speakers that preceded me.

We hereby express our innermost will as rulers, to adhere to all the agreements our wretched humanity, may chance to subscribe.

Notwithstanding, let us take this opportunity to ask some questions out loud. All afternoon long, we have been talking about sustainable development, about rescuing the masses from the claws of poverty.

What is it that flutters within our minds? Is it the model of development and consumption, which is shaped after that of affluent societies? I ask this question: what would happen to this planet if the people of India had the same number of cars per family as the Germans? How much oxygen would there be left for us to breathe? More clearly: Does the world today have the material elements to enable 7 or 8 billion people to enjoy the same level of consumption and squandering as the most affluent Western societies? WIll that ever be possible? Or will we have to start a different type of discussion one day? Because we have created this civilization in which we live: the progeny of the market, of the competition, which has begotten prodigious and explosive material progress. But the market economy has created market societies. And it has given us this globalization, which means being aware of the whole planet.

Are we ruling over globalization or is globalization ruling over us? Is it possible to speak of solidarity and of “being all together” in an economy based on ruthless competition? How far does our fraternity go?

I am not saying any of to undermine the importance of this event. On the contrary, the challenge ahead of us is of a colossal magnitude and the great crisis is not an ecological crisis, but rather a political one.

Today, man does not govern the forces he has unleashed, but rather, it is these forces that govern man; and life. Because we do not come into this planet simply to develop, just like that, indiscriminately. We come into this planet to be happy. Because life is short and it slips away from us. And no material belonging is worth as much as life, and this is fundamental.But if life is going to slip through my fingers, working and over-working in order to be able to consume more, and the consumer society is the engine-because ultimately, if consumption is paralyzed, the economy stops, and if you stop economy, the ghost of stagnation appears for each one of us, but it is this hyper-consumption that is harming the planet. And this hyper-consumption needs to be generated, making things that have a short useful life, in order to sell a lot. Thus, a light bulb cannot last longer than 1000 hours. But there are light bulbs that last 100,000 hours! But these cannot be manufactured, because the problem is the market, because we have to work and we have to sustain a civilization of “use and discard”, and so, we are trapped in a vicious cycle. These are problems of a political nature, which are showing us that it’s time to start fighting for a different culture.

I’m not talking about returning to the days of the caveman, or erecting a “monument to backwardness.” But we cannot continue like this, indefinitely, being ruled by the market, on the contrary, we have to rule over the market.

This is why I say, in my humble way of thinking, that the problem we are facing is political. The old thinkers. Epicurus, Seneca and even the Aymara put it this way, a poor person is not someone who has little but one who needs infinitely more, and more and more.” This is a cultural issue.

So I salute the efforts and agreements being made. And I will adhere to them, as a ruler. I know some things I’m saying are not easy to digest. But we must realize that the water crisis and the aggression to the environment is not the cause. The cause is the model of civilization that we have created. And the thing we have to re-examine is our way of life.

I belong to a small country well endowed with natural resources for life. In my country, there are a bit more than 3 million people. But there are about 13 million cows, some of the best in the world. And about 8 or 10 million excellent sheep. My country is an exporter of food, dairy, meat. It is a low-relief plain and almost 90% of the land is fertile.

My fellow workers, fought hard for the 8 hour workday. And now they are making that 6 hours. But the person who works 6 hours, gets two jobs, therefore, he works longer than before. But why? Because he needs to make monthly payments for: the motorcycle, the car, more and more payments, and when he’s done with that, he realizes he is a rheumatic old man, like me, and his life is already over.

And one asks this question: is this the fate of human life? These things I say are very basic: development cannot go against happiness. It has to work in favor of human happiness, of love on Earth, human relationships, caring for children, having friends, having our basic needs covered. Precisely because this is the most precious treasure we have; happiness. When we fight for the environment, we must remember that the essential element of the environment is called human happiness.

 

[WhiteDawg3000]

wow

 

[Type Username Here]

It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay. Meet the president - who lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.

Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds. Only two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside.

This is the residence of the president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, whose lifestyle clearly differs sharply from that of most other world leaders.

President Mujica has shunned the luxurious house that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and opted to stay at his wife's farmhouse, off a dirt road outside the capital, Montevideo.

The president and his wife work the land themselves, growing flowers.

This austere lifestyle - and the fact that Mujica donates about 90% of his monthly salary, equivalent to $12,000 (£7,500), to charity - has led him to be labelled the poorest president in the world.

In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration - mandatory for officials in Uruguay - was $1,800 (£1,100), the value of his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.

"I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more," he says.

"This is a matter of freedom. If you don't have many possessions then you don't need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself," he says.

"I may appear to be an eccentric old man... But this is a free choice."

The Buddha has returned to us.

 

[Slaimon Khan Shah]

I have never thought of a poor president before.

 

[WeDemBoyz]

Great speech:


PRESIDENT MUJICA SPEECH IN RIO +20 WITH TEXT OF PROPER ENGLISH TRANSLATION TEXT - YouTube


Text:

 

[KENNY DA COOKER]

this cat is TOO REAL for our shallow ass synthetic society

"If you don't have many possessions then you don't need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself," he explains



those are words to live by, and i can vouch for that because when i moved into my new place recently i decided that i didn't feel the need to have every new gadget i.e (ipad, iphone,) to enjoy life...i kept it simple and not only i saved more money..i feel less stressed, i don't have to slave myself to maintain a lifestyle that isn't neccesary....

he COULD never be president in the United States.....that logic don't work here....we too damn capitilist and insecure to leave a meager humble lifestyle.....

erebody wanna be a baller...shot calla.....

 

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

Surprised he slipped my knowledge base. Seems like a boddhisattva type leader for sure.

 

[Nascimento]

Much respect. Bet this dude is a greater Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist/etc than most of the adherents of any religion. Life ain't about you, it's about providing value for others, and not only in a materialistic sense. This is what brings true happiness, yet too few actually live by it.

 

[sm0ke]

People like this are some of the most impressive humans on Earth. Reminds me of the CEO of that Japanese Airline company, who made a huge cut to his own salary and takes the bus to work, trying to save the business.

The type of person we should aspire to be like, but are moving further away from.

 

[88m3]

What Makes This Man The 'Poorest' President? - Uruguay's Jose Mujica gives 90% of his pay to charity

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[TLR Is Mental Poison]

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