« He embodied the tradition of public probity of his country » – Liberation
Lecturer in political science at Cy Cergy Paris University, researcher Damien Larrouqué is a specialist in political life of the South cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay).
Have you met José Mujica personally ?
Yes, in October 2015, when he was visiting France, a few months after the end of his presidency. I accompanied him by train from Paris to Poitiers, where he gave a conference on the Sciences Po campus. Without protocol, without security device, he is a traveler like the others. In the conversation, it was facetious but disconcerting, and quite intimidating by its way of scrutinizing you.
What made its singularity ?
By his rejection of ostentatious wealth, he was a prototype of Uruguayan. For example, he used to repair everyday objects himself instead of buying new ones. Uruguay is historically a social democratic country, of middle classes, attached to the values of discretion. There is no 50-storey skyscraper in Montevideo, we are far from the economic elites « have you seen » that we have known in neighboring countries. The Uruguayan people cultivate natural discretion, which Mujica perfectly embodied. Even today, when we travel in the countryside, we see the inhabitants who, in the evening, do not lock themselves in front of the TV, but come together on their doorstep to discuss and drink the mate, celebrating the exchange and human warmth. This is how
