Saturday, December 14, 2013

Current Event 4: Uruguay

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/uruguay-president-jose-mujica-humble-leader-donates


Is Uruguay’s president José Mujica the world's most humble leader?

Uruguay’s President lives in a farmhouse, flies economy and donates most of his salary to social projects. How does your country's leader compare?

José Mujica, the Uruguayan president, at his house in Montevideo.
José Mujica, the Uruguayan president, at his house in Montevideo. Photograph: MARIO GOLDMAN/AFP/Getty Images
José Mujica, President of Uruguay, made the headlines last year for his humble lifestyle, offering a stark contrast to the lavish lives of many modern day politicians.
Speaking to the Guardian from his small one-bedroom Montevideo home, Mujica says he realises that asking his counterparts to adopt a more sober lifestyle may not go down well.
However, as Pope Francis preaches humility, calling on hundreds of Argentinians not to fly to Rome to celebrate with him but to donate the money they would have spent on travel to the poor, is the tide changing on world leaders leading extravagant lives?
How do your politicians compare? And who do you think is leading the way? Share your stories in the thread.

7 comments:

  1. THIS IS AMAZING. This man can have SO MUCH. But no he says "Why". What will all that space and alot of unessecary things do me in life? This man is not only rich in his wallet. But he has something worth billions more. He's rich in the inside. Rich as a person and how he deals with things. It's awesome that he said to give the money they were going to use on trips to the poor. The majority of the Rich could care less about the poor.

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  2. mostly rich people are snobby and stingy but this guy is rich and generous...his heart for people is only bigger than his wallet.

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  3. You might ask yourself, why would the Uruguayan president live such a modest lifestyle? Maybe he realizes that living an extravagant lifestyle is not fulfilling. He lives in a one-bedroom home. Most of us live in houses bigger than his home. He realizes that not all politicians will adopt his way of life. WOW! Even Pope Francis is preaching humility. We as Spanish Learners should try to live modest lives and not extravagant lives. Having a rich life is not about how many things you have or how much money you have in the bank.

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  4. I agree with Marty and Rohan on this one. The way he lives shows a lot about him. He doesn't seem to be all about money.
    -Nitia Hawthorne

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  5. José Mujica does have a humble lifestyle and a humble personality. Its good to have people like this in our world.

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  6. Jose Mujica is a rich humbled man , he can have anything in this world but he chooses to live a regular lifestyle not no extravagant lifestyle he cares about the poor ,what other rich person do you see that really cares about the poor and not just there self ? He is a good man for the things his trying to achieve for his people.

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  7. Jose Mujica is clearly a example of how to live. He has money but lives a normal life and that has to be hard. When you have everything and your country is struggling it is best to live a low profile. The United States is finacially struggling but not to the point of Uruguay and our finacnes are in different classes. I enjoy reading this article.

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