Mujica Cordano, José Alberto
Mujica Cordano, José Alberto
1935–, Uruguayan political leader. Popularly known as "Pepe," he had minimal formal education. During the 1960s, Mujica, a farmer and a socialist, was one of the founders of the TupamarosTupamaros, urban guerrilla organization and political party in Uruguay, also known as the National Liberation Army. Named for the Inca revolutionist Tupac Amaru, it became active as a guerrilla force in the early 1960s, distributing stolen food and money among the poor in
..... Click the link for more information. , a violent guerrilla group that sought to foment social revolution. Captured several times, Mujica was sent (1974) to a military prison, where he served 14 years and was subjected to torture. After the restoration of democracy (1985), he was released and later helped turn the Tupamaros into a political party, which became part of the Broad Front coalition. He was elected as a representative in 1994 and a senator in 1999. Rumpled and plainspoken, he became a popular political figure; from 2005 to 2008 he served secretary of agriculture, thereafter returning to the senate. Running on a moderate socialist platform, he was elected president of Uruguay in 2009; he served a single term (2010–15). He subsequently served as a senator (2015–18). In 2005 he married Lucía Topolansky Saavedra, 1944–, a fellow former guerrilla and his long-time companion. She has served as a legislative representative (2000–2005) and senator (2010–17), and in 2017 she became vice president of Uruguay after Raúl Fernando Sendic resigned.