The former president, José Mujica, spoke about various aspects of Uruguayan politics, society, geopolitics, life and death, in a recent interview with the newspaper El Observador. One of Mujica’s most striking statements was his description of death as a reflective aspect of life. “We are born programmed to want to live and fight to live,” he noted, emphasizing that, as we age, our relationship with death transforms.
Mujica has been an introspective thinker since his youth, finding value in reflecting on life and the issues that affect us all. “Talking to yourself is looking for answers.” This type of introspection is not only personal, but also reflects your approach to social and political challenges.
The former president also emphasized the duality of human progress: “The world is always better and worse at the same time.” Despite the advancement of science and technology, there is an increase in barbarism and conflict. “There are 52 wars right now. “It’s crazy!” he expressed, highlighting the danger that knowledge can represent in the wrong hands.
What Mujica leaves behind after his time around the world
Regarding his legacy, Mujica expressed his desire to be remembered as “an old man who valued life,” arguing that true freedom requires letting go of the needs imposed by contemporary culture. For him, being free means not being a “bill payer” for social demands.
His personal story, marked by poverty and the absence of a father figure, gives a nuance of authenticity to his reflections on freedom and daily struggle.
One of the most provocative points that Mujica addressed was the overcoming of capitalism. While he acknowledges that capitalism has failed at various stages, he questions whether this system can be “overcome even by capitalism itself” due to its internal contradictions. “I have the defect of believing in the human race despite all the sorrows,” he added, suggesting a resilient faith in humanity’s capacity for change.
The conversation delved into contemporary political issues, especially in relation to the Frente Amplio, the party he helped found. Mujica was critical about the need for the party to adapt and form points of agreement with the rest of Uruguayan society: “We cannot be half the country against half the country. “There have to be some points of agreement.” This underlines his belief in the importance of unity and pragmatic political practice in the face of polarization.
Mujica on the social security plebiscite
Finally, he analyzed the plebiscite on social security reform, describing it as “chaos” and emphasizing that the real problem lies in who controls the government: “The most dramatic thing is not having control” of the government.
Mujica persists in pointing out that policy must be flexible and evolutionary to face the demographic and economic challenges in Uruguay. “We have to realize that we are going to have to tinker every three or four years,” he warned, underscoring the need for a dynamic approach.
Regarding the position that the MLN had, regarding what happened in Venezuela in the questioned last elections, Mujica distanced himself at the time, and stated in the interview: “I have no idea what it (the MLN) is. I have enough with the MPP and my bones that I barely move them. I have no idea… There must be a lot of nostalgia. Nicaragua and Venezuela are indefensible as they are today. On the one hand they play at democracy and do not have the courage to say: ‘We are for the dictatorship of the proletariat.’ At the end of the day that is what the Cubans decided, it will be a mess, but it is a political decision they made a lot of years ago. These people play at democracy, but when it doesn’t work for them… nah, it’s bullshit.”
