Jose "Pepe" Mujica, a former guerrilla who ruled Uruguay from 2010 to 2015, a prominent figure of the Latin American left and a critic of excessive consumption, has died at the age of 89, as reported by AFP.
"It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of our comrade Pepe Mujica," the current President of Uruguay, Yamando Orsi, wrote on social networks.
Three days of national mourning have been declared in the country.
"Pepe" Mujica, who is called the "poorest president in the world" for donating almost all of his presidential income to the social housing program, announced earlier this year that his esophageal tumor, diagnosed in May 2024, had spread significantly through the body.
"Obviously, I'm going to die soon. The warrior deserves a rest," the politician said.
Until the end of his days, Mujica defended the interests of the left forces in Uruguay. A leading figure in the coalition that first brought the leftists to power in 2005, he led the presidential campaign of Yamandou Orsi last November.