‘Champion for Palestine’ – PFLP Pays Tribute to Uruguay’s José ‘Pepe’ Mujica

May 14, 2025 News
Former Uruguayan President José "Pepe" Mujica. (Photo: Chiara FRRR, Via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“Mujica was a living conscience for the oppressed, a sincere voice for truth in an age of silence, and a rare example of revolutionary integrity and purity.”

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has paid tribute to the former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica, who died this week, calling him  a “Friend of Palestine and Defender of the Poor and Oppressed.”

His death was announced “with profound sorrow” on Tuesday by  Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi on X.

“President, activist, leader, and leader. We will miss you dearly, dear old man. Thank you for everything you gave us and for your profound love for your people,” Orsi stated.

In a statement, the PFLP extended condolences “to the Palestinian people, to the free people of the world, and to the global progressive movement on the passing of the great internationalist leader.”

He died at the age of 89 “after a life filled with struggle, humility, and steadfast commitment to principle,” the statement noted.

“Mujica was a living conscience for the oppressed, a sincere voice for truth in an age of silence, and a rare example of revolutionary integrity and purity,” the PFLP stated, adding that he lived “a life detached from power, firmly rooted in an unshakable belief in social justice and the freedom of peoples.”

‘Courageous Revolutionary’

Mujica, who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015, had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2024.

“Palestine lived deeply in Mujica’s heart and conscience. He expressed his genuine support for our people when he described the Israeli assault on Gaza in 2014 as a “genocide”—a brave stance that rose above diplomatic calculations and challenged pro-Zionist right-wing voices,” the PLP stated.

In doing so, the statement continued, he “embodied the essence of a courageous revolutionary human being who never compromised on truth.”

‘Defended Dignity of Poor’

Referring to Mujica as a “comrade”, the PFLP said he used all of his political standing and global influence “to be a champion for Palestine, a steadfast defender of its rights, and a messenger for its people’s freedom.”

Throughout his life, the statement said, he also defended the dignity of the poor and marginalized in Latin America and around the world.

Mujica was often described as the “world’s poorest president” for living a simple life, having favored living in a farmhouse over the presidential palace, as well as his critiques of capitalism, Democracy Now reported.

Jailed and Tortured

He was jailed and tortured for 14 years, during the 70s and 80s, for his activity as a guerrilla fighting Uruguay’s military dictatorship, according to the report.

“Born from the soil, Mujica lived as a simple worker, was imprisoned as a fighter for liberation, governed as a president who never betrayed his principles, and passed as he lived: dignified, proud, and rebellious to the very end,” the PFLP said.

“He was a guiding figure for the international left and a generation that believed that changing the world is both a real possibility and a long-term struggle,” the resistance movement added.

The PFLP said that as the movement “bids farewell to this free internationalist leader, it affirms that Mujica will live on in the memory of Palestine and the conscience of all revolutionaries.”

The Front reaffirmed its “commitment to continue the struggle alongside all the free people of the world for freedom, social justice, human dignity, and the defeat of imperialism and Zionism.”

Tributes

Tributes on social media lauded the late activist for his principled life.

Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posted a video message on his passing, with the caption: “Goodbye, comrade Pepe Mujica.”

In another tribute, Lula da Silva said that “In his almost 90 years of life, Mujica fervently fought against the dictatorship that once existed in his country. He defended democracy like few others. And he never stopped fighting for social justice and the end of all inequalities.”

“His human greatness went beyond the borders of Uruguay and his presidential term. The wisdom of his words formed a true song of unity and fraternity for Latin America. And his way of understanding and explaining the challenges of today’s world will continue to guide social and political movements that seek to build a more egalitarian society,” Lula da Silva added.

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales said “I always remember his advice, full of experience and wisdom.”

Morales said Mujica “was a fervent believer in integration and the Great Homeland, adding that his “teachings and great example remain.”

“All of Latin America is in mourning,” he stated.

Call for Integration

Colombian President Gustavo Petro paid tribute to Mujica, calling for integration across Latin America.

“Goodbye, friend,” Petro wrote, adding “I hope that Latin America will one day have an anthem. I hope that South America will one day be called: Amazonia.”

“Today I firmly believe that the Latin American integration project involves building, like the European Union, a Grancolombian Union, which in the heart of Latin America and the Caribbean, takes the decisive step towards integration.in the wake of Mujica’s passing, as he envisioned a more unified region,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Uruguayan weekly posted a video on X showing Mujica’s coffin being carried toward the Legislative Palace by a group of people led by President Orsi and Secretary of the Presidency Alejandro Sánchez.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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