A 'Philosopher President' has passed from this world: Jose Mujica

Uruguay's former President José Mujica (El Pepe) was laid to rest on May 13, 2025, one week before his 90th birthday, at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Montevideo. However, Turkish newspapers and our media world did not show enough interest.

Who was “El Pepe,” as he was known among the people?

In articles and news reports about El Pepe, only two characteristics have been reflected.

The first is that he was one of the most humble leaders in the world, and the second is that he inspired the world with his simple life, honesty, and dedication to his people.

However, this is incomplete.

In my opinion, the most important feature of “El Pepe” was that, in addition to his lifelong struggle against capitalism, he was a philosopher leader of the last century who revealed how the production and consumption relations of the system enslave humanity.

If you wish, let us briefly summarize his life.

El Pepe was a former guerrilla of the Tupamaros in Uruguay. During the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s, he was tortured and imprisoned for 12 years. A member of the Broad Front coalition, which consists of left-wing parties, El Pepe served as the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries between 2005 and 2008. He won the 2009 presidential election and became president on March 1, 2010.

During his presidency, he implemented reforms to improve the lives of the vast majority. He took significant steps in areas such as fighting poverty and improving education and healthcare services. He strengthened the country's unions and significantly increased minimum wages.

El Pepe developed a stance against capitalism, which focuses on hoarding material goods that do not contribute to human happiness. As I mentioned due to his philosophical lifestyle, he was referred to as the "Philosopher President" by Times Higher Education in 2015.

The description of El Pepe as the “Philosopher President” was not in vain.

Let us give a few examples.

In 2013, at the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, El Pepe called for a return to simplicity with approaches based on human relationships, love, friendship, adventure, solidarity, and family, instead of lives chained to the economy and markets.

In a speech he gave at the 28th Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico in 2014, he said: “I see many young people here; as an old man, a small piece of advice: Life can put many traps, many obstacles in our way; we can fail thousands of times in life, in love, in social struggle, but if we seek it, we have the strength to get back up and start over. The most beautiful part of the day is that it dawns. After the night passes, there is always a dawn. Do not forget this, children. The only losers are those who stop fighting.”

Is it possible to define life, struggle, and hope more beautifully than this?

During his presidency, El Pepe led a simple life, far from luxury and ostentation. Instead of living in the presidential residence, he continued to live in his modest farmhouse outside Montevideo with his wife, Lucía Topolansky.

He traveled in his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle and donated the vast majority of his salary to the poor.

When El Pepe came to Istanbul in 2015 at the invitation of the CHP, he rode in a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle throughout his visit and stayed with his wife at a three-star hotel in Taksim.

In an interview, he had said, “Politics is not for saving money. I think those who love money very much should be interested in trade.”

He also joined the sit-in protest of the Saturday Mothers, who gather every week at Galatasaray Square to ask about the fate of their children who disappeared in custody.

El Pepe in Culture

Serbian film director Emir Kusturica made a film titled “El Pepe, a Life Supreme,” which was released in 2018.

In 2014, Italian author Frank Iodice wrote a book titled “Breve dialogo sulla felicità,” which focuses on El Pepe’s life.

Uruguayan film director Álvaro Brechner's 2018 film, A Twelve-Year Night (La noche de 12 años), was the story of El Pepe’s 12-year prison sentence under the military dictatorship.

In 2021, Carolina De Robertis penned a novel for El Pepe titled “The President and the Frog.”

In the final days of his life, El Pepe had said that he wanted to be buried next to his one-eyed dog, Manuela, with whom he lived. This testament was a reflection of the value he placed on people, simplicity, and loyalty.

With his memory, El Pepe will continue to show Turkish socialites from across the ocean that another order is possible.