The President of Uruguay is both the head of state … In 1994, he made an unsuccessful run for president as the Frente Amplio candidate, receiving 30.6% of the vote. "Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies? I ask you now: what would happen to this planet if Indians would have the same proportion of cars per household than Germans?
""Many sympathise with President Mujica because of how he lives.
Unlike his predecessor, Mujica did not veto it.Laundry is strung outside the house. "This is a matter of freedom. "I've lived like this most of my life," he says, sitting on an old chair in his garden, using a cushion favoured by Manuela the dog. He ran again in 1999, receiving 45.9 percent of the vote in the runoff election, losing to Jorge Batlle.Tabaré Vázquez and vice president, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, during inauguration ceremonies.Vázquez is married to María Auxiliadora Delgado and has three biological children with her (Ignacio, Álvaro and Javier) and an adopted son (Fabián).The Broad Front ran on a platform of social justice. In 1996, he was elected leader of the Frente Amplio, replacing the historic leader of the left-wing coalition, Liber Seregni. To get the masses out of poverty.This austere lifestyle - and the fact that Mujica donates about 90% of his monthly salary, equivalent to $12,000 (£7,500), to charity - has led him to be labelled the poorest president in the world. It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our planet.
In 2013, Uruguay was named The Economist’s Country of the Year. Most of his detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy.Some important changes are coming from 1st AugustThese are external links and will open in a new windowThose years in jail, Mujica says, helped shape his outlook on life.Mujica accuses most world leaders of having a "blind obsession to achieve growth with consumption, as if the contrary would mean the end of the world".This year, he added half of his wife's assets - land, tractors and a house - reaching $215,000 (£135,000).President Mujica has shunned the luxurious house that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and opted to stay at his wife's farmhouse, off a dirt road outside the capital, Montevideo.The Uruguayan opposition says the country's recent economic prosperity has not resulted in better public services in health and education, and for the first time since Mujica's election in 2009 his popularity has fallen below 50%.This year he has also been under fire because of two controversial moves. The former president shunned the luxurious lifestyle and was usually seen in casual clothes for official ceremonies and rarely, if ever, wore a tie. He initially took office in 2005 and served until 2010. "But what are we thinking? Uruguay's Congress recently passed a bill which legalised abortions for pregnancies up to 12 weeks. He became the first Uruguayan president who didn’t belong to the so-called “traditional” parties, the National (Blanco) and Colorado parties. Vázquez has initiated an “emergency plan” (in Spanish Plan de Atención Nacional a la Emergencia Social or PANES) intended to address the most urgent needs of an estimated 200,000 Uruguayans for two years by investing $100 million in a number of programs which range from food assistance to health care.
Vázquez was returned to office in the 2014 presidential election.In November 2005 his administration led a profound and significant victory in the investigation of human rights violations that had taken place during the military dictatorship. Vazquez was then reelected in 2015. Since becoming leader of Uruguay in 2010, however, he has won plaudits worldwide for living within his means, ... Uruguay's president José Mujica plans adoptions to teach children farming. Vázquez was elected President on October 31, 2004, took office on March 1, 2005, and relinquished the office on March 1, 2010. The current leader of Uruguay, President Tabare Vazquez, has served two terms as the nation's 39th and 41st President. In 1996, he was elected leader of the Frente Amplio, replacing the historic leader of the left-wing coalition, Liber Seregni. Even though his Finance Minister, Danilo Astori, has followed a conservative policy regarding macroeconomic policy and debt repayment, the government has introduced a bill that aims to widely reform the taxation system in Uruguay.From 1990 to 1995, Vázquez was the Broad Front coalition’s first Mayor of Montevideo. In 1994, he made an unsuccessful run for president as the Frente Amplio candidate, receiving 30.6% of the vote. Having appointed a team of anthropologists and forensic investigators, and having ordered the military to cooperate and indicate possible sites for the unmarked graves, his government succeeded in unearthing remains of leftists disappeared during the 1970s military rule.In 2006, Vázquez was chosen to receive the World Health Organization (WHO) Director General’s Award in recognition of his leadership on tobacco control in Uruguay, which has implemented some of the most stringent tobacco control measures in the world.Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas, President of UruguayVázquez has followed a cautious path regarding economic policy. Also, at 77, he is likely to retire from politics altogether before long.