Uruguay’s president, José Alberto “Pepe” Mujica Cordano, became famous for his unconventional presidency. When he visits the doctor to check his health, he sits in the waiting room of the public hospital, waiting for his turn. When he goes to work, he rides in his 1987 VW Beetle for which he got a $1million offer from an Arab sheikh.
“Human beings have a bit of fetishism; we need certain material symbols,” said Mr. Mujica, adding that he still keeps his father’s old hammer and shovel: “They [material symbols] are little things to the world, but are worth a lot to you.” he said.
Mexico’s ambassador to Uruguay told BBC News it was he who suggested that Mujica sell off the car. According to an anonymous source within the embassy, the ambassador and President Mujica joked that they could buy ten 4WD trucks for the money. Mr. Mujica, however, could not care less.
“I didn’t give it any importance,” the humble ex-guerilla leader told a news conference, after the Uruguayan weekly Busqueda broke the story. He has “no commitment to cars”, however, if he really sells his Beatle for a $1 million, Mujica plans to donate the entire proceedings to a housing support program for the homeless. If he gets trucks, he will donate them to the country’s public health office, or to his campaign workers, he said.
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