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Courage and Commitment
José Mujica spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of an Uruguayan guerrilla group Tupamaros, a leftist group inspired by the Cuban revolution. His participation in the Uruguayan conflict, in defense of his beliefs, shows his passion and courage as a leader. He was shot a total of 14 times and then imrisoned for 14 years. After the war, Mujica helped make the Tupamaros a formal political party, demonstrating his commitement to the values he defended while with them and his ability to lead change. -
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José Mujica's Political Carreer
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Optimism
In 1985, Uruguay returns to democracy and Mujica is freed from prison. Today, he says that his 14 years in imprisonment helped shape a lot of his perspectives on life, which serves to show how able he is to look at terrible things through an optismistic and opportunistic lense. -
Accepts and handles power responsibly
Mujica's Presidential term begins the 1st of March 2010. Mujica accepts that he will be shouldering a very large responsability as President, yet, to this day, he has not fallen to corruption and has, all throughout his presidential term worked for a better Uruguay, demonstrating his commitment and his accpetance and responsibility of power. -
Presidential Palace Announcement
Mujica announces that the Urguayan presidential palace can be used as a shelter for homeless people. -
Aware of Sorroundings
In an interview with Urguayan newspaper E Mundo, Mujica epxlained that he deicded to give up a large part of his salary because many Urguayans live with much less. This shows how perceptive and aware Mujica is of who his followers are and how they view him. It also shows that he is willing to stand by his personal values of humble living no matter hwat the situation which also shows commitment. -
Change Maker and Decision Taker
Mujica attends the Sustainability leads with a speech about mass consumption and the need for more responsible methods of energy and consumption. His speech has been labeled as controversial but it exemplifies how Mujica leads the movement for change and takes big decisions, often with riks, to make it happen. -
Commitment
José Mujica officially shuns opulence and begins to donate 90% of his Presidential salary to charity.
The global news community nicknames him "world's poorest President" he says this is incorrect, because, according to him, the poor are those who spend all their life chasing material benefits. This also shows how committed he is to his personal beliefs and his role as President. He could have chase a very lavish lifestyle, but he decide dhe'd rather help his country. -
Risk Taker and Change Maker
The topic of drug legalization has long been debated in Latin America. Mujica's move to legalize it Uruguay was a bold move, which was based on the arguement that legalization would help reduce violence and ensure governemnt control over the drug trade. This exemplifies Mujica's open mind to non-traditional policies and his ability to take well reasoned risks, as well as how he is leading the new policy movement impulsing for change. -
New School System Proposal
In a recent interview with the Economist, José Mujica mentioned his desire to reform the Uruguayan public school system. Uruguay's current school system is organized by the top and is global and uniform for the entire country. Mujica feels that his system is not applicable to the current world, and he wisehs to reform the entire system and create a much more specizlied and diverse curriculum. This exemplifies how he is receptive to change and circumstances and impulses change based on that. -
Risk taker, Open Minded and Sense of Humor
José Mujica legalizes same sex marriage, making Uruguay one of the most socially liberal countries in Latin America. Uruguay, like most of Latin America, is mostly traditional, and Mujica's move and his expressed approval of same-sex marriage demonstrates how openminded he is and how willing he is to take risks for the good of his country. Also, when asked about his controversial stance, Mujica laughed off critiiscism with a small joke which eased the tension.
