The former president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, has passed away. Known as Pepe, he was 89 years old. Muhika, who is also a former guerrilla, was also known as the 'world's poorest president' due to his simple lifestyle.  He was the president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015.

The President of Uruguay, Yamandu Orsi, informed about Mujica's death and wrote on X, 'Thank you for what you gave us and for your deep love for the citizens .' Although the cause of Muhika's death was not disclosed, he was suffering from bowel cancer for some time. 

During his 5-year tenure, Muhika held office in his own house instead of staying in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He lived in a two-room house. He used to donate 90 percent of his salary. Together with his wife, he also did flower farming. Even when he was president, pictures of him filling water from the well and washing his clothes were published. Muhika was a proponent of simple life and a staunch critic of consumerism. During his time, Uruguay became a country that legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

Raised in a middle-class family in Montevideo, Muhika said that his interest in politics, books and working in the fields came from his mother. In his youth, he belonged to Uruguay's traditional political power, the National Party. In the 1960s, he played a key role in forming the Tupamaros National Liberation Movement (MLN-T). The left-wing urban guerilla group launched attacks, kidnappings and extermination of the enemy. Muhika had been saying that he had never killed anyone.

MLN-T, influenced by the Cuban revolution and international socialism, launched a secret resistance campaign against the Uruguayan government. In that process, Muhika was arrested four times. In 1970, he was shot 6 times and managed to survive. He even escaped from prison twice. once  He escaped through the tunnel along with 105 other MLN-T prisoners.

In 1973, he was also taken hostage during the military coup. During that time, he also stayed in jail for about 14 years . Democracy was restored in Uruguay in 1985 after almost a decade of military rule. Muhika used to say that he was going crazy while he was in jail. According to him, he used to talk to Kamila during his captivity. He used to say that the time he was released from prison was the happiest moment of his life. 'Being president is not comparable to that moment,' he used to say.

Some time after he was released from prison, he became a member of the lower house 'Chamber of Representatives' and the upper house 'Senate' of Uruguay . In 2005, he became a minister in the government of the left-wing coalition 'Broad Front'. He became the President in 2010 at the age of 74. Left-wing leaders such as Lula de Silva in Brazil, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the ascension of President Banda Mujica were seen as important political events in Latin American countries.

According to political commentators, Muhika ran the government in his own style. Several times he introduced practicality and courage. Under his administration, Uruguay's economy grew at an average annual rate of 5.4 percent. He also played a significant role in reducing poverty and unemployment in Uruguay.

is called, 'Muhika remained poor, made the country rich.' During his tenure, Uruguay also managed to attract global attention with social reform laws such as the legalization of abortion and the recognition of same-sex marriage. Muhika, who is usually seen in casual clothes, drives a 1987 model blue Volkswagen Beetle.