Posted by The WORD in other words (2016) by Fr Ronnie R. Crisóstomo SVD – Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay City
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
José “Pepe” Mújica, the president of Uruguay who finished his 5-year term in March 2015, spoke on CNN Español of the incompatibility of politics and financial affluence: “People who love money should dedicate themselves to industry, to commerce, to multiply wealth. But politics is the struggle for the happiness of all.” At the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2013, he blasted consumerism, excess and frivolity: “We have sacrificed the old immaterial gods, and now we are occupying the temple of the Market-god. He organizes our economy, our politics, our habits, our lives and even provides us with rates and credit cards and gives us the appearance of happiness.”
In his encounter with Pope Francis, Mújica said: “the State can send people to help but can’t ensure love and care, so this requires the commitment of many groups, [the Church’s] militant presence,” emphasizing the non-material aspect of poverty and the role of the Church and human community in the fight against poverty in all its dimensions.
In his speech to his people before leaving his office, he thanked them for their affection, constructive criticisms and fellowship and assured them: “If I had two lives, I would spend them entirely to help in your struggles because it is the greatest form of loving life that I could find in my nearly 80 years of life.”
Mújica’s speeches and declarations reveal what his heart treasures: the common good or happiness of all, simplicity of lifestyle, service to others especially the poor –congruent with gospel values, even though Mújica himself claims to be an atheist. Dubbed as the “poorest president of the world,” he donated 90% of his salary to charity; he shunned the presidential palace and chose to live with his wife in a tiny, one-storey home at the outskirts of Montevideo; he drove a beat-up old VW Beetle instead of a presidential limousine; he wore casual clothes even in formal functions. In response to questions about his lifestyle he said: “This world is crazy, crazy! People are amazed by normal things and that obsession worries me! All I do is live like the majority of my people, not the minority. I’m living a normal life and Italian, Spanish leaders should also live as their people do. They shouldn’t be aspiring to or copying a rich minority.”
With such vision of life and that kind of lifestyle, “this enigmatic leader remains an inspiration to many and is a reminder that politics is meant to be a humble and honourable profession” wrote Wyre Davies, BBC Latin America and Caribbean correspondent. Indeed, he is a concrete example of a faithful steward spoken about in today’s Gospel: someone who used his position of power for the service of the majority and not for his personal benefits and interests.
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