The warrior has the right to rest, says Mujica

One of the most important and beloved leaders of the global left, the former president of Uruguay, Pepe Mujica, aged 89, stated, in a farewell tone, that the cancer that affects him has spread and that he will no longer be able to try to treat it. “I’m dying,” he said. The statements were given to a local newspaper and published this Thursday (9).

According to Mujica, the cancer in the esophagus is spreading to the liver. “I can’t stop him. Why? Because I am elderly and I have two chronic illnesses. I can’t have biochemical treatment or surgery because my body can’t handle it.”

Mujica also stated: “What I ask is that you leave me alone. Don’t ask me for any more interviews or anything. My cycle has already ended. Honestly, I’m dying. And the warrior has the right to rest.”

In April, Mujica announced that he had cancer and, in November, he had surgery to allow the passage of food, which was already impaired due to the tumor.

In early December, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Mujica and his wife, former senator Lucia Topolansky, at their farm on the outskirts of Montevideo. On that occasion, Lula decorated him with the National Order of the Southern Cross, the highest honor granted by the Brazilian State.

Also read: “He’s the most extraordinary person I’ve met”, says Lula when paying tribute to Mujica

“Of all the presidents that I have known, that I have been friends with, and that I have lived with for many years, Pepe Mujica is the most extraordinary person that I have met,” said Lula alongside the former Uruguayan president, with a choked voice, during the meeting .

Mujica was one of the most important presidents of Uruguay, a position he held between 2010 and 2015, succeeding Tarbaré Vazquez, the first left-wing president in the history of Uruguay.

Both came to power through the Broad Front, a group of popular and left-wing parties, which elected the new president, Yamandu Orsi, last year. He takes command of the country in March and is considered a pupil of Mujica.

During the period in which he was president, Mujica had a mandate marked by significant social improvements and the standard of living of Uruguayans.

Uruguay also approved very advanced laws relating to issues that, in countries like Brazil, are still considered taboo. Among them are the permission to abort under any circumstances up to the 12th week of pregnancy; same-sex marriage, in addition to being the first country in the world to legalize the cultivation, sale and consumption of marijuana.

Mujica’s arrival as president also marked the triumph of a man marked by the fierce persecution that occurred during the Uruguayan civil-military dictatorship, which lasted from 1973 to 1985.

At the time, he was a member of the Tupamaros National Liberation Movement, which fought against the dictatorial regime. For his actions, he and other companions were imprisoned for more than a decade and suffered torture, a story richly told in the film “A Night of 12 Years”.

Also read: Mujica: “When my arms are gone there will be thousands replacing them in the fight”

Later, under the democratic regime, Mujica was elected deputy and minister until, years later, he became one of the country’s most beloved presidents. After leaving the presidency, he was elected senator, a seat he held between 2015 and 2018.

Despite all his importance, Mujica’s personality has always had the mark of simplicity — his small farm and his Beetle are material symbols of this trait. Another mark is his wisdom in the face of life and the challenges that humanity needs to go through to become fair and equal.

At a rally held during Orsi’s campaign in October, Mujica, in an emotional speech, declared: “I am an old man who is very close to undertaking the retreat from which there is no return. But, I’m happy because when my arms are gone there will be thousands of arms replacing them in the fight.”

And he added: “All my life, I’ve said that the best managers are those who leave behind a group that surpasses them by far. And today you are. There is Yamandú, there is Pacha, there will be thousands of others waiting, and other young arms to continue in the continuous fight for a better world”.