Spanish
Santo Domingo.– On May 13, 2025, the world said goodbye to José “Pepe” Mujica, former president of Uruguay, ex-Tupamaro guerrilla, farmer, and popular philosopher who won hearts beyond political borders. His death marks the end of a simple, coherent, and deeply human life. But his thought, embodied in phrases that traveled the planet, remains alive as a guide and testimony to an ethic rare in power.
Throughout his life, Mujica left phrases that today take on a deeper dimension. With them, he not only questioned the system, but also invited us to live differently: more freely, more austerely, and with more meaning. These are some of the most memorable expressions of a man who chose sobriety by conviction, not by necessity.
1. “Poor are those who want more, those for whom nothing is enough”
With this reflection, Mujica redefined the concept of poverty. It is not the lack of material goods, he said, but the insatiable ambition of those who fail to fill their voids. For him, happiness was in the small things.
2. “To those who like money, they must be chased from politics”
A front-page warning: money and politics should not mix. Mujica was consistent with this idea, donating a large part of his salary as president and living in a modest farm without luxuries.
3. “It's good to live as you think, otherwise you will think as you live”
A constant invitation to personal coherence. Mujica lived with just enough, not as a sacrifice, but as an ethical choice that reflected his thinking.
4. “Me comí 14 años en cana (...) aprendí que si no puedes ser feliz con pocas cosas, no vas a ser feliz con muchas”
The pain of prison did not break him. On the contrary, it transformed him into a man even firmer in his convictions. His resilience was born of suffering, and from there emerged a philosophy of life that distanced him from resentment.
5. “Lo imposible cuesta un poco más”
Mujica did not give up, not even when they called him “the poorest president in the world”. For him, just causes deserve persistence, even in defeat.
6. “I am not poor, I am sober (...) to live with just enough so that things do not steal my freedom”
That was his maxim. For Mujica, each material object implies invested life time. His fight was to preserve the most valuable thing: inner freedom.
7. “La vida siempre es porvenir y todos los días amanece”
With this phrase, he bequeathed us unwavering optimism. Despite adversity, he always bet that the future could be better.
8. “That old woman is worse than the one-eyed man”
Among his most colloquial and controversial sayings, this phrase about Vice President Lucía Topolansky was part of the direct, unfiltered style that characterized Mujica. He loved with the same intensity with which he criticized.
9. “Gay marriage is older than the world”
Mujica legalized what was already part of reality. With respect and simplicity, he defended rights without imposing moral visions, understanding politics as a space for inclusion.
10. “Being free is spending time on what we like”
For him, freedom was concrete: deciding how we spend our lives. His entire life was a battle against the clock imposed by consumption and alienation.
11. “El poder no cambia a las personas, solo revela quiénes son”
A phrase that unmasks power and the politician. Mujica did not deify himself. He was president without an official car, without a retinue, without privileges.
12. “Pobres no son los que tienen poco. Son los que quieren mucho”
One of its central ideas, repeated with variants, but always with the same root: greed dehumanizes.
13. “The war will continue until nature calls us”
Mujica was also a voice of environmental alert. His criticism of the extractivist and consumerist model was firm and prophetic.
14. “We face loneliness with electronics”
A critic of modern individualism, he warned that progress is not always synonymous with well-being. He denounced how technology can isolate more than it connects.
15. “The only healthy addiction is love”
A summary of his political and personal vision. Governing, living, and loving should be acts permeated by commitment to others.
16. “I was crushed, defeated, pulverized, but I keep dreaming”
Neither prison nor defeat took away his dream of a more just world. His testimony inspired entire generations in Latin America and the world.
17. “Esto no para hasta el día que me lleven en un cajón”
And so it was. Mujica worked and gave his opinion until the last stretch of his life. He died as he lived: true to himself, without giving up, without luxuries, but with dignity.
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