Uruguay’s former president José Mujica enters final phase of illness

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Uruguay’s former president José “Pepe” Mujica, widely admired for his austere lifestyle and progressive politics, is in the terminal stage of cancer and receiving palliative care, according to his wife, Lucía Topolansky. The 89-year-old has been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, which he revealed earlier this year had spread. As a result, Mujica made the decision to halt medical treatment and is now being kept as comfortable as possible during this final stage.

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Mujica, a former guerrilla fighter, served as president from 2010 to 2015 and gained international recognition for his modest way of life—donating the majority of his presidential salary and driving a battered Volkswagen Beetle. During his tenure, Uruguay implemented a range of progressive reforms, including the legalisation of abortion, same-sex marriage, and the world’s first regulated cannabis market for recreational use.

Though respected by many, Mujica’s past as a member of the MLN-Tupamaros—an armed group active during the 1960s and 70s—remains controversial. The group’s actions were partly blamed for inciting the 1973 military coup, which led to a dictatorship lasting until 1985. Mujica himself spent over a decade in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, before returning to public life and eventually entering politics.

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Topolansky, who is also a former rebel and long-time political partner, expressed her commitment to remaining by Mujica’s side, stating: “I have been with him for more than 40 years, and I will be until the end.” Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi, a political ally of Mujica, urged the public to respect the family’s privacy during this time and to allow the former president dignity and peace.