A Climate for Change: Heroes of Sustainability #1

This may be a somewhat interesting, and controversial, choice for my first 'heroes' feature....

Jose Mujica doesn't fit any of the traditional elements that you might expect from a sustainability hero, and maybe he isn't - but there is one heck of a story to be told along the way!

Born in May 1935, of mixed Spanish-Basque and Italian heritage, on the outskirts of Montevideo, Mujica rose from being a 1960s revolutionary, to be being a President more than four decades later, as he approached his 75th birthday.

In the early '60s, Mujica joined the Uruguayan revolutionary group, the Tupamaro's, formed to try and undermine the repressive leadership that existed at that time. He was arrested several times along the way for his actions, and this culminated with his conviction in 1971, for the shooting of police officer in a barroom shootout.

He escaped jail twice, but was re-captured on both occasions, and ended up serving fourteen years in prison - often in very harsh conditions (including being held at the bottom of a well). By the 1980s, pressure was growing on the government to change, and the growing economic crisis forced the dictatorship to negotiate a return to some form of democracy by 1985.

This allowed for the political prisoners, including Mujica, to get released. From there, he joined the Broad Front, a left-wing political coalition, which then became re-organised as the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP). By the late '80s, Mujica was a leading voice in the movement, and finally ended up serving a term in the Chamber of Representatives between 1995 - 2000. Following on from that, Mujica was elected to the Senate, and then again in 2004, this time as part of the Progressive Encounter - Broad Front coalition. February 2005, saw him elected as Senate Leader.

He served as the Minister for Agriculture in the Vazquez government, between 2005 - 08, and this paved the way for his biggest political moment - defeating former President, Luis Herrera, in a run-off for the presidency, which he was sworn into in March 2010.

Mujica himself, reflecting on his early years (which many held against him, as effectively being a terrorist - or from the other side, relaxing on his principles), "I suffered, but you can't hold on to hatred. I wouldn't be the person I am if I hadn't lived through those years."

Pancho Vernazza, his publicist at the time of his presidency, said of him; "I've never met anyone with his capacity to learn and be flexible. He is the least authoritarian of all the politicians I've known."

So that gives you a very broad overview of where he came from - but why have I included him here?

One of his most famous traits is that he never moved into the presidential palace, and all of the trappings associated with that, choosing instead to live on a very basic farm belonging to his wife, just outside Montevideo. He donated around 90% of his salary (roughly £7,500 / month) to charities, including for the poor and single mothers, and also to benefit small entrepreneurs. His presidential limo? He still drove his old 1987 VW Beetle!

In 2013, he ensured that Uruguay became only the second country in South America to legalise same-sex marriage, saying that, "the best thing is that people can live as they want to live."

His socialist upbringing, reflected in his choice of home, also showed in his attempts to fight poverty and sexism. He castigated upper class women for treating their domestic staff like slaves, and proclaimed that, "the women most discriminated against are those in poverty... Poor girls are not well treated by our society."

The growing drug problems across the region also featured in his actions, and he legalised marijuana, not because he had any liking for it, but as an attempt to solve the issue of 'pasta base' - a toxic by-product of cocaine purification that was rampant in parts of the country, and was seen to be ruining his attempts to help get people out of poverty (it was estimated that at least 1% of Montevideans were users). He wanted to take the profits from the traffickers, and free up police resources for elsewhere.

There was also a rise in the minimum wage during his presidency of around 50%.

His progressive reforms though, were seen by many to be good for freedom and human rights, but didn't always do much to solve the class issues.

But he is a humanitarian who seems to have some very incisive perceptions of people, society and politics.

For our lives to be possible, we depend on society. It's one thing to overrun a government or block the streets. But it's a different matter altogether to create and build a better society, one that needs organisation, discipline and long-term work.

The world will always need revolution. That doesn't mean shooting and violence. A revolution is when you change your thinking.

At the Rio +20 summit in 2012, he made a scathing swipe at many of the other leaders in the room, noting their ability for meaningless talk, whilst seeming to protect many of the old ways that have caused the global problems of climate change and inequality;

We've been talking all afternoon about sustainable development. To get the masses out of poverty. But what are we thinking? Do we want the model of development and consumption of the rich countries? I ask you now: what would happen to this planet if Indians would have the same proportion of cars per household as Germans? How much oxygen would we have left?
Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our planet.

He also lambasted the UN more generally, for going to wasteful, expensive summits that achieve nothing.

I leave you with one of my favourite quotes, which to me encapsulates the way he can perceive humanity so clearly;