Mujica amuses World Bank with a ‘no-tie speech’
Last Wednesday (May 14), President José Mujica of Uruguay participated in a presentation to the World Bank (WB) in Washington, D.C.
Accompanied by the WB’s vice president for Latin America, Jorge Familiar, Mujica briefly reviewed Uruguay’s political and economic history, eliciting laughter among the attendees.
At one point, he said that Uruguay emerged in the southern cone of South America, between Argentina and Brazil “so the Atlantic coast will not have beaches of only two countries.”
The presentation was as informal as its title, “A no-tie dialogue,” and Mujica exploited his talent for theatrics at every moment.
“After we almost sunk the country [in the 2002 crisis], we couldn’t pay anybody, but we said that we’d pay everything. We financed as best we could, stretched the deadlines and — because we behaved — our lenders used us as an example to collect from others,” Mujica said, again sparking laughter in the audience.
Elsewhere in his speech, Mujica spoke of natural resources and spoke of the advantages that Uruguay and the region have, but cited the example of Japan, which, without major natural resources, is a world power. He referred to the Uruguayans’ reluctance to work.
“Japan does not have many natural resources,” he said, “but they are rich because they work, all of them — and how. We don’t live under stress and are a habitable country, despite our limitations and shortages.” His listeners laughed again.
Seconds later, Mujica referred to the sustained growth that Uruguay has experienced “in the past 10 years” and said that now the country “is on the doorstep of development, about to be considered a country with high income.”
Mujica then complained to the World Bank about the benefits that Uruguay could lose, such as access quotas to certain markets, as a result of becoming an affluent country.
“We’re on the border, and if we earn 100 more pesos they’ll let us in and cut our benefits. Will we have to lie to the accountants?” Mujica asked, to much hilarity from the audience.
Later, there was time to answer questions from the attendees and a couple of Uruguayans who live in the U.S. took advantage of the opportunity.
One of them asked Mujica if the identification papers of Uruguayan immigrants in the U.S. would be revalidated and the president answered that, yes, that could be done. Then he added: “Rather than live poorly and be treated like a ‘greaser’ here, go back [to Uruguay] and live poorly with us, because we’ll always have food on the table.” Again, laughter and applause.
A young woman made an admiring comment about Uruguay’s University of the Republic, to which Mujica replied: “Kid, I’d kiss you if I could.”
A journalist for the magazine América Economía asked him if, because of his lifestyle, he considered himself the Mandela of Latin America.
Mujica chuckled before answering. “No, no, Mandela broke the mold,” he said. “He earned almost 28 years in the can; I spent only 14. Mandela plays in another league.” Laughter and applause rang through the auditorium.
[Translator’s Note: A member of the Tupamaro guerrillas, Mujica was captured in the 1970s and imprisoned for 14 years.]
He was then asked if he felt bitterness toward those who sent him to prison. “I am not rancorous; I don’t live to relive the past. [Living in the past] is useful to realize certain things, but I always dream ahead. I’m Pepe, not Mandela. I’m a barrio kid. I spent many years in the can, not because I had the vocation of a hero but because they caught me.” Again, laughter.
One of the funniest moments came when Mujica referred to those who criticized him for traveling to the United States, since he was a leftist and a former guerrilla.
“You, a leftie, gave up on imperialism?” he asked himself. And replied: “No, brother, all I want to do is to sell a few more beef, that’s all, so our people can pay for their utilities.”
On Tuesday, Mujica also had a funny moment during an informal chat with students, when the earphones through which he listened to a translator became tangled.
(From www.subrayado.com.uy)
