Latin American left-wing leader remembers Uruguay's “Pepe” Mujica is a generous, charismatic leader
Montevideo, Uruguay (AP) – In the towering palace of the Uruguay Parliament, the left-wing president of the region commemorates former President Jose Mujica on Thursday as a generous and charismatic leader whose legacy of humility remains a role model for world politicians.
“People like Pepe Mujica will not die,” said Brazilian President Luizinácio Lulada Silva, paying homage to his long-time friend (the well-known Pepe) in the legislative palace in Montevidio.
Lula said: “His body has disappeared.
As he approached the coffin, tears flowed down his face. Lula hugged Mujica's lifelong politician, 80-year-old Lucía Topolansky, and kissed her on the forehead.
Mujica, a member of the left-wing coalition in Uruguay in 2009, started his second term in 2007, and he belonged to a generation of left-wing leaders who served in Latin America at the beginning of this century.
In recent years, the power of the movement has faded away as some governments are involved in corruption scandals. But Mujica stands out because his honesty and humility are intact.
Lula often meets Mujica in a three-bedroom farmhouse in the suburbs of Montevideo. After retiring from the Senate, the former president leaned towards his chrysanthemums and assigned his wisdom to a range of visitors, from rock band Aerosmith to philosopher Noam Chomsky. After more than a year of fighting esophageal cancer, it is also where Mujica died at the age of 89.
Chile's President Gabriel Boric paid another leftist leader to Montevideo's Mujica on Thursday.
Boric and Lula both rode in Uruguay from Beijing when they learned of Mujica's death on Tuesday, and they had been meeting with Chinese officials.
They were received by Uruguay’s moderate left-wing president Yamandú Orsi, the first candidate in the presidential election last fall.
“Life continues, and the reasons remain,” Boric wrote on social media. “Thank you, dear Pepe, we will take you with you in every battle.”
