the poor President of Uruguay - Jose Alberto Mujica !

This is the car of – ‘José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano’ ~ and what is special about this ?  Uruguay is in  the southeastern region of South America. It is bordered by Argentina, Brazil and  the Atlantic Ocean; its capital is  Montevideo.

Globally, politicians are rich and famous.   In advanced countries, people are richer – many Americans grumble about the wealth of their politicians, but according to a report, they are paupers compared with their Chinese counterparts. The 50 richest members of America's Congress are worth $1.6 billion in all. In China, the wealthiest 50 delegates to the National People's Congress, the rubber-stamp parliament, control $94.7 billion. Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, is the richest man in Congress, with $355m. China's richest delegate is Zong Qinghou, boss of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, a drinks-maker, is reportedly worth almost $19 billion.   According to the Hurun Report, as cited by Bloomberg, the 70 richest delegates in China’s National People’s Congress have a combined net worth of 565.8 billion yuan or $89.8 billion. That’s more than 10 times the combined net worth of all the members of Congress, the Supreme Court and the President.  What’s more, China’s politicians are getting richer more rapidly. Last year, their combined wealth grew by about 15%.

Globally,  rich have more influence in politics !  According to a  Duke University Professor,  "If millionaires in the United States formed their own political party, that party would make up just 3% of the country," he says, "but it would have a majority in the House of Representatives, a filibuster-proof super-majority in the Senate, a 5-4 majority on the Supreme Court and a man in the White House."

India has a long list of ‘Crorepati’ politicians.  At a time, when charges of misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs. 71 lakh were leveled against the then Union Minister Salman Khurshid, another union minister reportedly quipped – ridiculing the allegations by retorting that a union minister will not do anything wrong for a petty amount of Rs. 71 lakhs.  It’s not that all politicians have made money through inappropriate means. There are many politicians who have earned good money through sheer hard work , dedication and commitment. Some have a Princely background, some are industrialists, yet some have rise to greater heights after entering politics ! ….  Mahendra Prasad, a Member of Parliament from Bihar in Rajya Sabha is  reported to be the wealthiest of the lot with total assets worth Rs 692 crore. Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of ex-Andhra Pradesh CM late Y S Rajashekhar Reddy reported to have 446 crores as declared to the EC before parliamentary elections.

In Indian democracy, poor and middle class to have their representation – however, the definition of middle class often are different between the version of politician and that of economist.  Away, the car that you saw is owned by Jose Mujica, who is touted to be the ‘poorest President’ of the World.

It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay – where the president lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay. According to this report in BBC, 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. ~ and that 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. Later, he added half of his wife's assets - land, tractors and a house - reaching $215,000 (£135,000).  That's still only about two-thirds of Vice-President Danilo Astori's declared wealth, and a third of the figure declared by Mujica's predecessor as president, Tabare Vasquez.  Elected in 2009, Mujica spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, a leftist armed group inspired by the Cuban revolution. He was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail. Most of his detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy. Those years in jail, Mujica says, helped shape his outlook on life.

Mujica played key role in transforming Tupamaros into a legitimate political party, which joined the Frente Amplio (broad front) coalition.  To him, his lifestyle is by choice and when one does not have many possessions, one does not need to work all through life like a slave to sustain them.  At the Rio+20 summit – he asked – ‘Do we want the model of development and consumption of the rich countries? I ask you now: what would happen to this planet if Indians would have the same proportion of cars per household than Germans? How much oxygen would we have left? "Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our planet."  Mujica accuses most world leaders of having a "blind obsession to achieve growth with consumption, as if the contrary would mean the end of the world".

Though there are many sympathisers to his way of life, there is criticism on the Govt’s functioning.   The Uruguayan opposition says the country's recent economic prosperity has not resulted in better public services in health and education, and for the first time since Mujica's election in 2009 his popularity has fallen below 50%.  This year he has also been under fire because of two controversial moves. Uruguay's Congress recently passed a bill which legalised abortions for pregnancies up to 12 weeks. Unlike his predecessor, Mujica did not veto it. He is also supporting a debate on the legalisation of the consumption of cannabis, in a bill that would also give the state the monopoly over its trade.

So like liquor providing revenue here, cannabis is seen as source of revenue for the Government.   Uruguayan law means he is not allowed to seek re-election in 2014. Also, at 77, he is likely to retire from politics altogether before long.  When he does, he will be eligible for a state pension - and unlike some other former presidents, he may not find the drop in income too hard to get used to.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

2^nd Feb 2015.

News source on Mujica – www.bbc.com