This picture is by Matilde Campodonico. I like the tea kettle: something about it mirrors Mujica's solidity and simplicity.
Simon Romero has an interesting profile of Jose Mujica, the president of Uruguay, in this morning's Times (here).
Mujica (age 77) is a former Cuban-revolution inspired urban guerilla who spent 14 years in prison. He entered politics in 2004 and became president in 2009.
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Mujica is a committed leftist, but Romero's piece focuses more on his personal choices: he lives in a simple house on the outskirts of Montevideo, farms chrysanthemums (I love this detail), and donates 90% of his salary to a program for expanding housing to the poor.
Mujica has raised the hackles of some of his countrymen for his lifestyle choices. His push to legalize marijuana has also been controversial.
I think Mom and Dad visited Montevideo on their trip last year, and I will have to ask them if they heard anything about Mujica or Uruguayan politics generally.
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Mujica has a nice quote (from Seneca) on wealth: "It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor."
