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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

#31

Post by mullingitover »

VladRussian2 wrote: post #25
jere wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ? :)

Don't be so quick to cast judgment until we've established whether he was a left-wing terrorist or a right-wing freedom fighter. /s

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

#32

Post by cesarbs »

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…

Is it as bad as Brazil? I have Uruguayan citizenship but never quite "exercised" it i.e. I've never lived and worked in Uruguay. I grew up in the border with Rivera though, and it was a much nicer place than Livramento on the Brazilian side: good street lighting, WAY better streets and sidewalks, nice parks, cops patrolling the streets. I remember finding it much safer to stay out late with my friends in Rivera than in Livramento. And not to mention the duty free shops where we could buy electronics and stuff for a much lower price than anywhere in Brazil :)

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

#33

Post by deletes »

macspoofing wrote: post #28
tcdent wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

He is showing what kind of person he is. The gesture is probably unprecedented in the world.

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

#35

Post by BrokenPipe »

xacaxulu wrote: post #10

And marijuana is legal. Uruguay is an adult in a room full of children.

Come on, the rest of the world is not "children" they are adults which intentionally lie and deceive the larger population into prohibition and other things that fuel criminality and state oppression.

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

#36

Post by grecy »

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.

These size comparisons always seem strange to me.

Uruguay has 3.3 million people, so they collect tax from that many to spend on important stuff like schools, firemen and healthcare.

The US has 310 million people, so they collect tax from that many to spend on important stuff like schools, firemen and healthcare.

The fact that the US has more people to collect taxes from means it's spendings pot is obviously much bigger, but that absolutely does not mean it can be wasted on "trappings" for the leaders. Each and every person still needs all the basic services, so at the end of the day, there is the same basic amount per person to spend.

Why do you think that a country with more taxpayers has more money for "trappings"?

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

#37

Post by bpodgursky »

grecy wrote: post #36
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.

These size comparisons always seem strange to me. Uruguay has 3.3 million people, so they collect tax from that many to spend on important stuff like schools, firemen and healthcare. The US has 310 million people, so they collect tax from that many to spend on important stuff like schools, firemen and healthcare. The fact that the US has more people to collect taxes from means it's spendings pot is obviously much big…

I agree with you on stuff like schools, firemen, and healthcare. But it's a different calculation for a head of state. When 300mm people look to an individual as a leader (rather than 3mm people) there are 100x as many threats to their security via disgruntled citizens, crazy people, etc, so physical security has to scale.

It's like saying, "why does the mayor of my town not need the same number of secret service as the president?" There are just far fewer things they feel the need to defend from.

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

#38

Post by yodsanklai »

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…

I live in a more socialist country where health care and education are free, and where we have have a good balance between work and personal time and I hope it'll stay the same despite the international pressure. I don't know why "socialism" is such a bad word in the US. Probably propaganda from the rich to keep their privileges.

I had the chance to live in the US for a couple of years (it was a child dream of mine to do so) and now I have much more mixed feelings about its ideology. Overall, I think I have a better life in Europe.

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

#39

Post by smtddr »

notanidiot5 wrote: post #26
glesica wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Don't forget, for most Americans... one unexpected hospital bill is all that stands between them and financial ruin. USA can be an okay place to be as long as you don't get sick...

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

#40

Post by Of_Prometheus »

bpodgursky wrote: post #37
grecy wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These size comparisons always seem strange to me. Uruguay has 3.3 million people, so they collect tax from that many to spend on important stuff like schools, firemen and healthcare. The US has 310 million people, so they collect tax from that many to spend on important stuff like schools, firemen and healthcare. The fact that the US has more people to collect taxes from means it's spendings pot is obviously much big…

I agree with you on stuff like schools, firemen, and healthcare. But it's a different calculation for a head of state. When 300mm people look to an individual as a leader (rather than 3mm people) there are 100x as many threats to their security via disgruntled citizens, crazy people, etc, so physical security has to scale. It's like saying, "why does the mayor of my town not need the same number of secret service as…

The comparison, then, should be with the governor of Oklahoma, who lives in the Governor's Mansion.[1]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Fallin

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