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Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

theguardian.com

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Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#21

Post by bpodgursky »

jules wrote: post #13
bpodgursky wrote: post #11

Uruguay's population is 3.3 million, which is a bit smaller than Oklahoma, for comparison. It's not shocking to me that a head of state of a small country like that doesn't have all the trappings and security a of a country of 100mm / 300mm / a billion people.

I'm pretty sure Uruguay can afford a palace and a motorcade ;-)

Oh I'm sure they COULD if they really wanted one, you just don't generally have the same security concerns you have with a large country. It's just not as surprising to me that they decided they didn't need one.

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#22

Post by cwp »

bpodgursky wrote: post #11

Uruguay's population is 3.3 million, which is a bit smaller than Oklahoma, for comparison. It's not shocking to me that a head of state of a small country like that doesn't have all the trappings and security a of a country of 100mm / 300mm / a billion people.

He doesn't even have the trappings of the Governor of Oklahoma.

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#23

Post by glesica »

eudox wrote: post #9

I'm so god damn tired. First Gawker, then HuffPo, and now the Guardian. "The President is so austere!". With his own money. This is who he is: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=ht... "Weed!" That only the State can grow and sell (Smoking it was always legal, and buying/selling has always been and will continue to be illegal). If you think Uruguay is a "liberal dreamboat", as one Gawker article…

So what is actually wrong with it?

Nothing you mentioned sounds bad at all (and the translation of that article seemed pretty poor, so hard to draw conclusions). I would LOVE to live in a more "socialist" country. I'd much rather be poorer in a place where my basic needs are met and I don't have to fear starvation or freezing to death if I catch an unlucky break. Instead of a rising tide lifting all boats, I'd rather lower all the boats but make sure that none of them sink.

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#24

Post by notanidiot5 »

[deleted] wrote: post #14
saryant wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Move to Wyoming. I used to run into the governor and his daughter at Baskin Robbins, no security detail or entourage.

[deleted]

Oh, the horrors of fiscal responsibility!

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#25

Post by VladRussian2 »

jere wrote: post #5
xweb wrote: post #2

Immediately searched for "moving to Uruguay" after reading this. The thought of a sane politician is so refreshing.

I had a similar thought. AMURICA ? More like A Mujica ? Am I right? >1972 Imprisoned again. Remains in jail for more than a decade, including two years' solitary confinement at the bottom of a well, where he speaks to frogs and insects to maintain his sanity. There's something amazing about politicians who spend decades in prison but still have the drive to go into politics afterwards (e.g. Mandela).

fascinating.

"The president is a former member of the Tupamaros guerrilla group, which was notorious in the early 1970s for bank robberies, kidnappings and distributing stolen food and money among the poor. He was shot by police six times and spent 14 years in a military prison, much of it in dungeon-like conditions."

Is t-word applicable here ? :)

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#26

Post by notanidiot5 »

glesica wrote: post #23
eudox wrote: post #9

I'm so god damn tired. First Gawker, then HuffPo, and now the Guardian. "The President is so austere!". With his own money. This is who he is: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=ht... "Weed!" That only the State can grow and sell (Smoking it was always legal, and buying/selling has always been and will continue to be illegal). If you think Uruguay is a "liberal dreamboat", as one Gawker article…

So what is actually wrong with it? Nothing you mentioned sounds bad at all (and the translation of that article seemed pretty poor, so hard to draw conclusions). I would LOVE to live in a more "socialist" country. I'd much rather be poorer in a place where my basic needs are met and I don't have to fear starvation or freezing to death if I catch an unlucky break. Instead of a rising tide lifting all boats, I'd rather…

Yes, because we see news reports of poor American citizens dying everyday because of starvation.

Keep pushing your propaganda though.

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#27

Post by ojii »

bpodgursky wrote: post #21
jules wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure Uruguay can afford a palace and a motorcade ;-)

Oh I'm sure they COULD if they really wanted one, you just don't generally have the same security concerns you have with a large country. It's just not as surprising to me that they decided they didn't need one.

how is security of the head of state, or anyone for that matter, related to the size/population of the country?

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#28

Post by macspoofing »

tcdent wrote: post #17
jules wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure Uruguay can afford a palace and a motorcade ;-)

The article states there is a palace, but he has repurposed it as a shelter for the homeless. This is is a deliberate decision, not becasue of a lack of resources.

Such a meaningless populist gesture. I suppose the symbolism is...something.

Re: Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills

#29

Post by notanidiot5 »

tcdent wrote: post #17
jules wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure Uruguay can afford a palace and a motorcade ;-)

The article states there is a palace, but he has repurposed it as a shelter for the homeless. This is is a deliberate decision, not becasue of a lack of resources.

Or...maybe a political decision? Who would have thunk!
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