Biography and Wiki
José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano was born on May 20, 1935, in Montevideo, Uruguay. He served as the 40th President of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. Before entering politics, Mujica was a farmer and a member of the Tupamaros, a guerrilla group, which led to his imprisonment during the military dictatorship. He passed away on May 13, 2025, at the age of 89.
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| Age | 90 Years |
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Height, Weight & Measurements
There is limited information available regarding Mujica's physical measurements such as height and weight. However, his modest lifestyle and frugal living habits are well-documented.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Mujica was married to Lucía Topolansky; they had no children together but were known for their long-lasting relationship, which began in the 1970s when both were imprisoned for their political activities.
Demetrio was a descendant of a Spanish Basque family who arrived in Uruguay in 1842. Through his paternal grandmother, Mujica is a distant relative of several prominent Uruguayan politicians, including Gabriel Terra, who served as the country's 26th president between 1931 and 1938. Demetrio's parents owned several agricultural properties, which were used as training grounds for soldiers to combat the uprisings led by revolutionary leader Aparicio Saravia. A farmer by profession, Demetrio went bankrupt shortly before his death in 1940 when José was five years old. Her father was an active member of the National Party and a follower of Herrerism, and he was selected on several occasions as an alderman for Colonia and became closely acquainted with Luis Alberto de Herrera.
Mujica's maternal uncle, Ángel Cordano, was a member of the National Party and had a prominent influence on Mujica's political formation. In 1956, Mujica met politician Enrique Erro through his mother, who was a militant in the same sector. From that point on, Mujica began to actively support the National Party, eventually becoming its general secretary.
In 2005, Mujica married Lucía Topolansky, a fellow former Tupamaros member, after many years of living together. They had no children and resided on a farm owned by Topolansky on the outskirts of Montevideo, where they cultivated chrysanthemums for sale. The couple owned several pets, formerly including a three-legged dog, Manuela. Topolansky briefly served as acting president in November 2010 while her husband took part in a business delegation in Spain and then-vice president Danilo Astori was on an official trip to Antarctica. Before then, she served in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
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Net Worth and Salary
Mujica's net worth at the end of his presidency in 2015 was approximately $300,000 USD, declared in Uruguayan pesos. However, recent reports suggest that at the time of his death, his net worth was less than $2,000, reflecting his lifelong commitment to frugality and charitable giving. During his presidency, he earned a monthly salary of $12,500 but donated about 90% of it to charity.
While in office, Mujica was described as being "the world's poorest president" due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his US$12,000 monthly salary to charities that support low-income individuals and small entrepreneurs. He was an outspoken critic of capitalism's focus on stockpiling material possessions which do not contribute to human happiness.
Mujica's policies were generally in line with the previous administration. The share of social expenditure in total public expenditure rose from 60.9% to 75.5% between 2004 and 2013. During this period, the unemployment rate remained at about 7%, the national poverty rate was reduced from 18% to 9.7% and the minimum wage was raised from 4,800 pesos to 10,000 pesos (outpacing an average annual inflation rate of 7%). His government also supported strengthening trade unions. According to the International Trade Union Confederation, Uruguay became the most advanced country in the Americas in terms of respect for "fundamental labor rights, in particular freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike".
During a talk at the 28th Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico on 7 December 2014, Mujica was interviewed by Mexican journalist Ricardo Rocha (journalist). He addressed several topics, such as drug trafficking, drug legalization, poverty, and social injustice: "We live on the most unjust continent in the world, probably the richest, but with the worst distribution [of wealth]." On Latin America, Mujica stated that he was "passionate about bringing Latin Americans together, about what defines us as belonging to a great nation that is to be created. There are multinational states, like China, like India, like what Europe is doing after a history of wars." Mujica also addressed the question of the shared linguistic heritage of Latin Americans, remarking with respect to the region's two major languages that "Portuguese is a sweet Spanish, if you speak it slowly... and even more so if it has a feminine sweetness." And he pointed out another element that unites the countries in Latin America: "We have another identity: the Christian and Catholic tradition." He concluded his talk by adding: "I see that there are many young people here; as an old man, a little advice: Life can set us a lot of snares, a lot of bumps, we can fail a thousand times, in life, in love, in the social struggle, but, if we search for it, we'll have the strength to get up again and start over. The most beautiful thing about the day is that it dawns. There is always a dawn after the night has passed. Don't forget it, kids. The only losers are the ones who stop fighting."
Mujica drew worldwide attention for his simple lifestyle. He declined to live in the presidential palace or to use its staff during his presidency and used a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle and his 60-year-old bicycle as means of transportation. In 2010, the value of the car was US$1,800 and represented the entirety of the mandatory annual personal wealth declaration filed by Mujica for that year. In November 2014, the Uruguayan newspaper Búsqueda reported that he had been offered US$1,000,000 for the car; he said that if he did receive the US$1,000,000 for the car, it would be donated to house the homeless through a program that he supported.
Career, Business and Investments
Mujica's career spans from being a guerrilla fighter with the Tupamaros to serving as the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008, and later as a senator. He was elected President in 2009 under the Broad Front coalition and implemented significant social reforms during his tenure. His presidency was marked by progressive policies such as the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage. He maintained a modest lifestyle, famously owning a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.
In the 1994 general elections, Mujica was elected deputy and in the elections of 1999 he was elected senator. Due in part to Mujica's charisma, the MPP continued to grow in popularity and votes, and by 2004, it had become the largest faction within the Broad Front. In the elections of that year, Mujica was re-elected to the Senate, and the MPP obtained over 300,000 votes, thus consolidating its position as the top political force within the coalition and a major force behind the victory of presidential candidate Tabaré Vázquez. On 1 March 2005, Vázquez designated Mujica as the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (Mujica's own professional background was in the agricultural sector). Upon becoming minister, Mujica resigned his position as senator. He held this position until a cabinet change in 2008, when he resigned and was replaced by Ernesto Agazzi. Mujica then returned to his seat in the Senate.
Social Network
Mujica was not known for his active presence on social media platforms. His influence was more through his political actions and public speeches.
Even though President Vázquez favored his Finance Minister Danilo Astori as the presidential candidate of the then-unified Broad Front to succeed him in 2010, Mujica's broad appeal and growing support within the party posed a challenge to the president. On 14 December 2008, a special party convention proclaimed Mujica as the official candidate of the Broad Front for the 2009 primary elections, but four more precandidates were allowed to participate, including Astori. On 28 June 2009, Mujica won the primary elections to become the presidential candidate of the Broad Front for the 2009 presidential election. After that, Astori agreed to be his running mate. Their campaign was centered on the concept of continuing and deepening the policies of the highly popular administration of Vázquez, using the slogan Un gobierno honrado, un país de primera ("An honorable government, a first-class country") – indirectly referencing cases of administrative corruption within the former government of the major opposition candidate, conservative Luis Alberto Lacalle. During the campaign, Mujica distanced himself from the governing style of presidents like Hugo Chávez of Venezuela or Evo Morales of Bolivia, claiming the center-left governments of Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or Chilean socialist Michelle Bachelet as regional examples upon which he would model his administration. Known for his informal style of dress, Mujica donned a suit (without a tie) for some stops in the presidential campaign, notably during visits to regional heads of state.
In June 2012, Mujica's government made a controversial move to legalize state-controlled sales of marijuana in Uruguay in order to fight drug-related crimes and health issues, and stated that global leaders would be asked to do the same. Mujica said that by regulating Uruguay's estimated US$40 million-a-year marijuana business, the state would 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 the treatment afforded to alcoholics. Mujica also passed a same-sex marriage law and legalized abortion.
Education
Details about Mujica's formal education are not widely documented, but his life experiences and political involvement played a significant role in shaping his ideologies and leadership style.
During the final months of 2013, Serbian film director Emir Kusturica started shooting a documentary on the life of Mujica, whom he considered "the last hero of politics". The film, titled El Pepe, una vida suprema, was released in 2018. In 2014 Italian author Frank Iodice wrote the book Breve dialogo sulla felicità, which centers on Mujica's life. Ten thousand copies of the book were printed and distributed for free to school children. In June 2016, Mujica received the Order of the Flag of Republika Srpska from the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik.
