Former Uruguayan president José “Pepe” Mujica, in fragile health due to complications from his treatment for esophageal cancer, surprised on Saturday by appearing at a massive political rally a week before the national elections in Uruguay.
The 89-year-old former guerrilla, who was president from 2010 to 2015 and remains one of the most popular figures in the country, attended the final act of the Popular Participation Movement that he leads within the leftist Frente Amplio, the largest political force in the country and in the opposition since 2020.
Visibly moved, Mujica said that for the first time in the last 40 years he is not participating in an electoral campaign because he is “fighting with death,” but he felt that he should be that night in the Plaza 1 de Mayo in Montevideo in support of the Frente Amplista presidential candidate. Yamandú Orsi, who leads the voting intention for the elections on Sunday the 27th.
“I am an old man who is very close to undertaking the withdrawal of no return, but I am happy because you are there, because when my arms leave there will be thousands of arms replacing the fight,” said Mujica during an event to support the presidential standard bearer of his party—the Frente Amplio—Yamandu Orsi.
Uruguayans will go to general elections on October 27 to choose the successor of President Luis Lacalle Pou and renew the chamber of deputies and senators.
Mujica’s presence at the event generated surprises due to the health situation of the 89-year-old former president.
“The fight continues for a better world,” added Mujica, who was accompanied by his partner, fellow politician and former vice president Lucía Topolansky.
Mujica, who governed Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, publicly reported his cancer diagnosis at the end of April and, a week later, began treatment with daily radiotherapy sessions that have already ended successfully, according to his doctors.
His last public appearance had been on August 27. At the beginning of September he was admitted to a hospital in Montevideo where surgery was performed to feed him safely.
According to the polls, Orsi – from the Frente Amplio – leads the preferences and is followed by Álvaro Delgado, standard bearer of the National Party, which represents the center-right.
[Con información de AFP y The Associated Press]
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