José Mujica: President Of Uruguay 2010-2015

Too few good politicians now.

Thought For The Day: President José Mujica

We apply a very simple principle: to recognize the facts. Abortion is as old as the world... Same-sex marriage, please, it's older than the world. We had Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, please. To say it is modern? Please. It's older than all of us. It is a matter of objective reality. For us, not to legalize it would torture some people unnecessarily. Our criterion is making only one organisation of facts already existing.

José Mujica, president of Uruguay, the former guerilla fighter who has overseen the legalisation of abortion, marijuana, and gay marriage. O Globo. Tried to change the economy, too, but best not talk about that.

Dude.

The Economist: Country of The Year

The Economist has decided, for the first time, to nominate a country of the year, but how to choose it...

The accomplishments that most deserve commendation, we think, are path-breaking reforms that do not merely improve a single nation but, if emulated, might benefit the world. Gay marriage is one such border-crossing policy, which has increased the global sum of human happiness at no financial cost. Several countries have implemented it in 2013—including Uruguay, which also, uniquely, passed a law to legalise and regulate the production, sale and consumption of cannabis. This is a change so obviously sensible, squeezing out the crooks and allowing the authorities to concentrate on graver crimes, that no other country has made it. If others followed suit, and other narcotics were included, the damage such drugs wreak on the world would be drastically reduced.

Better yet, the man at the top, President José Mujica, is admirably self-effacing.* With unusual frankness for a politician, he referred to the new law as an experiment. He lives in a humble cottage, drives himself to work in a Volkswagen Beetle and flies economy class. Modest yet bold, liberal and fun-loving, Uruguay is our country of the year. ¡Felicitaciones!

The Economist.

* Saturday's Guardian profile of President Jose Mujica.