This Beloved Global Leader Died With $1,800 In His Pocket. He's the Anti-Trump.

Uruguay's Jose Mujica was a political prisoner before becoming President. Mujica is not just a great man -- he represents a model of governance that deeply threatens corporate power and oligarchy.

Jose Mujica at his inauguration for President of Uruguay in 2010. He drove an old car and lived on a small farm before passing away last month.

(This platform is one of the few ways I can generate income after Chevron wiped out my bank accounts and had my law license confiscated following our victory in the landmark pollution case in Ecuador. If possible, please consider a paid subscription. If not, please read on. —Steven)

Please join me in celebrating the exceptional life of the global leader whose values stand in the starkest contrast to the narcissism of the billionaire Donald Trump. This person is Jose Mujica, the former President of Uruguay who passed away last month at the age of 89 with a net worth of less than $2,000. See the pictures to get a feel for a man who cut the poverty rate of his country in half while leaving Uruguayans with an unprecedented level of social and economic stability.

What’s even more interesting is how few people have heard of Mujica. Must of the western media ignores him because his model of governance is deeply threatening to societies based on deep inequality, such as the United States. (For more on how Mujica is appreciated in Uruguay, read this account of his recent funeral.)

Mujica was offered $1 million for his 1987 VW Beetle. He thought of donating the money to the homeless, but ultimately declined the offer.

While Trump flies around the world in a luxury 747, President Mujica refused official transportation and continued to drive his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle while in office (he served as President from 2010 to 2015). While Trump rides in a black stretch limousine, President Mujica often got around on a 60-year-old bicycle. While Trump lives in the 132-room White House, President Mujica lived in a 3-room house on a small farm at the end of a dirt road that was owned by his wife.

Unlike Trump, President Mujica’s economic plan did not take from the poor to give to the rich. While in office, he actually cut the poverty rate from 19% to 9% while doubling the minimum wage. He also spent 14 years as a political prisoner — while being tortured repeatedly — under the country’s military government in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mujica shunned the opulent presidential palace in Montevideo to live with his partner Lucia Topolonsky on this small farm at the end of a dirt road.

I’ve always admired Mujica. He’s proof positive that there is an effective leadership and governance model that actually serves the interests of the majority of working people. It’s based on humility, intelligence, integrity, courage, self-sacrifice and service. I find it interesting that this special person was largely ignored by western media outlets. Actually helping the majority and living humbly is a threat to those like Trump who want to further concentrate wealth in a tiny sector of the elite.

The people of the United States deserve their own Jose Mujica. Maybe the only United States politician in modern times who possibly could be compared to Mujica is Bernie Sanders. Bernie almost was elected President in 2016 — and probably would have been had we had a free and fair election in the Democratic primary. So there clearly is a thirst in this country for this type of leader. That said, I shudder to think how many good women and men of the Mujica leadership style have stayed away from electoral politics in the United States thinking it could not be done.

Does anyone think a Jose Mujica can happen here?

-Steven

Mujica and his longtime partner, Lucia Topolonsky.

Supporters walk behind the casket of Uruguay's former President Jose Mujica during his funeral procession on May 14, 2025.

Mourners watch the casket of Uruguay's former President Jose Mujica from the sidelines of his funeral procession.