Jose Mujica, President of Uruguay, prepares to step down from power - Polidicks

[quote]The outgoing and highly popular president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, will step down on Sunday as his successor and fellow leftist Broad Front member, Tabare Vazquez, will take over the direction of the country for the next five years.. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica will step down on Sunday after having carried out many important social-economic reforms during his time, as the country’s head-of-state. The world-renowned Mujica is leaving office with a 65 percent approval rating, making him one of the world’s most popular presidents. Mujica is known for maintaining an austere life style and for passing many socially progressive laws including same sex marriage, the legalization of marijuana and the right to an abortion. In the humanitarian front, the Mujica administration started receiving Syrian refugees from that country’s civil war. It was the first Latin American country to do so, receiving 42 Syrians and also assuming all the relocation costs of about US$2.9 million, as well as guaranteeing jobs for the adults and schooling for the children arriving in the country.[/quote] [url]http://www.telesurtv.net/english/telesuragenda/Farewell-Uruguayan-President-Jose-Mujica-Hello-Tabare-Vazquez-20150228-0006.html[/url] Posting this because he is such a great president that I wish more were like. I mean he's finishing off with a [b]65%[/b] approval rating. fuck he donates around 90% of his earnings to charity. [quote]His humble lifestyle is reflected by his choice of an aging Volkswagen Beetle as transport.[38] In 2010, the value of the car was $1,800 and represented the entirety of the mandatory annual personal wealth declaration filed by Mujica for that year. In November 2014, the Uruguayan newspaper Búsqueda reported that he had been offered 1 million dollars for the car, which was manufactured in 1987; he said that if he did get 1 million dollars for the car it would be donated to house the homeless through a programme that he supports[/quote] [quote]“I’m called ‘the poorest president, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more,” he says.[/quote] [img]http://cdn.truthandaction.org/wp-content/uploads/jose-mujica-farm.jpg[/img]

It's crazy that we live in a world where 65% approval is one of the highest approval ratings in the world.

Such a shame, he sounds like one of the most humble politicians alive today. I wish him and his country all the best.

[QUOTE]I live in Montevideo, and it's a great place, but Mujica is not a great president. Uruguay needs a free trade agreement to get out of Mercado Sur desperately (and a nuclear power plant). The energy costs are absolutely ridiculous down here (gas is ~$9/gallon) and 1 KWH of electricity is about 0.21USD [/QUOTE] [QUOTE]As an Uruguayan it is very strange to see such praise of my president on reddit. Most Americans see a humble pot legalizing man and just rush for the upvote button. This is a mistake, as he is not a very good president. Humble and somewhat honest, yes, but he is not ready to negotiate with the big boys. Every time he goes to Argentina to negotiate something with Christina Kirchner Uruguayans lose something. She plays him like a fucking violin and its so sad to see.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Are you joking? As someone that LIVES in Uruguay (moved from the US to here a year ago) allow me to correct your BS. Mujica and Chavez have been close the last few years, and many of his reforms have slowed down the bustling Uruguayan economy (which grew at 9% GDP last year). Mujica's made several sweeping changes to our healthcare system that has caused massive problems, lines, and also many people are going with worse care cause of it. Additionally, though some things he's done are good, there's been more strikes in the last few years than there's ever been, and it's caused massive public transit issues, trash pick up issues etc. The middle class in Uruguay is actually shrinking, despite the growth here of late. The lack of ability to capitalize off the influx of new business (and now OIL) is Mujica's greatest weakness. People here are not a big fan of his... He also violated the laws here to get elected in the first place, as he was part of the old dictatorship and they are prohibited from running in elections. Marijuana reform was seen as a big smokescreen by most of the people I know here, to hide the issues funneling money into energy production, which is OIL based in Uruguay (they desperately need a nuclear power plant, as energy here is so expensive).[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]As a Uruguayan, I can't believe you are actually supporting this clown. He is an incompetent president who has destroyed the years of buildup of regional international relationships of the country in favor of relationships with countries such as Venezuela, has been using this social policies which I actually agree with(gay unions, marijuana, etc) to lead attention out of the economic disasters this government has caused, and has done so much retarded shit I could spend a week explaining it. Oh, and regarding the "good guy" part, did I mention the fact that he used to be a terrorist who bombed civillian populations, violently robbed banks and casinos and belonged to the group that triggered the 12 year dictatorship our country had?[/QUOTE] Good person, not a very good President.

IIRC, he said he just wants to live a normal life but help others in his country. He legalised Marijuana but doesnt smoke it. I think I remember him saying he's resigning because he wants to just live on his farm with his family too, which he chose to live in over the presidential building.

Why can't all politicians be like this? if so most of the country's fucking problems would be solved.

That's just his PR guys. Take a gander. [url]http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120912/uruguays-jose-mujica-was-liberals-dream-too-good-be-true[/url]

I remember a thread ages ago where FPers who lived there told us how fucking shit he was

[QUOTE=Fayez;47236018]Good person, not a very good President.[/QUOTE] Sorry, but the people who wrote those points, don't have a clue about politics. First of all, saying the costs are ridiculous doesn't mean a thing. Because it's not taking into account the average income per capita. Second, saying it needs a free trade agreement is just being completely ignorant of the implications of said agreement. As of now, the Uruguayan industry is not completely competitive evidenced by the impact our protectionism had, so entering a free trade agreement could flood the market with goods that are cheaper being imported rather than produced locally, leading to a loss of jobs. Regarding the second quote. Sorry? But WHAT? Lose something? I don't recall the Uruguayans closing down the paper factory...what have they lost? If they mean some economic growth, then that's a completely unilateral decision made here, which Uruguayans would never have a saying in it. Regarding the third point....I would call that guy names, but let's just leave it there. To begin with, "They need a nuclear plant"....dude? Do you know how fucking much does it cost to get a nuclear plant for a developing country? You have to get the money, the people who know how to build it and the people who know how to run it....hasn't it occurred to you that with all that money you can afford a lot more of electricity?.....Opportunity costs, elemental concepts. Go grab Mankiw before you spew out that. Health Care is by all means cheaper than the US. I won't say that it's better due to the fact that the US is always on the lead in terms of innovation and procedures, but I will say that it covers a lot more of people than in the US. Economic disasters? I'm going to use Wikipedia for this...and as far as I see....there's no economic disaster. Inflation is below 10% annual. Below poverty line, 11%. Services industry participation in the PBI is 70% which indicates a very developed economy and unemployment is below 10%. Plus the GINI coefficient is almost the same than of the US...so congrats in getting more people into med care while having the same inequality. And the last quote...that guy is just completely retarded.

I like how the main complaint about this guy is that he is too submissive when it comes to relations with Argentina, and as soon as this gets posted an argentinian shows up in the thread saying that nooo, he is a very good president

So, good person but horrible president? If there are any Uruguay posters, what are the other options for president running for office?

[QUOTE=LtKyle2;47238373]So, good person but horrible president? If there are any Uruguay posters, what are the other options for president running for office?[/QUOTE] *An "ex" cocaine addict that spews complete BS during interviews and had teamed with assholes who wanted to militarize police. Also very young and can't really trust the country to him. I hate his guts and face. *A guy who internally destroyed his party via bad decisioning. Son of past dictator. One of his presidential ad campaigns focused on marginalizing the poor population. These are the two that had a major chance to win.

[QUOTE=Zero Ziat;47245276]*An "ex" cocaine addict that spews complete BS during interviews and had teamed with assholes who wanted to militarize police. Also very young and can't really trust the country to him. I hate his guts and face. *A guy who internally destroyed his party via bad decisioning. Son of past dictator. One of his presidential ad campaigns focused on marginalizing the poor population. These are the two that had a major chance to win.[/QUOTE] Damn they're almost as bad as the choices you get in America