The former president of Uruguay, José Mujica, died on Tuesday at age 89, after a long fight against esophagus cancer. The news was confirmed by the current president of the country, Yamandú Orsi, in an emotional message: “With deep pain we communicated that our partner Pepe Mujica died. President, militant, referent and driver. We are going to miss you a lot, dear old man.”
Amid the duel for the loss of one of the most beloved and consistent political figures in Latin America, the words that Miguel Ángel Revilla dedicated to Mujica in an interview with Isabel Gemio in Onda Zero a few months ago. In that conversation, the former Cantabrian president shared with enthusiasm what he meant for him to spend three days with former Uruguayan president: “For me it was like a therapy.”
Revilla recalled that the meeting emerged unexpectedly. Mujica had read her book to be happy is not expensive, in which Revilla expressed her desire to meet him in person: “I said that I had two dreams to fulfill: to meet Pepe Mujica and the Pope. And I believed that the first, perhaps, could be fulfilled. What I never imagined is that he came to Cantabria, with his wife, to see me. It was incredible.”
During those days they shared conversations, meals, laughs and a deep human connection. Revilla described the experience as a transformer: “It was to spend three days with absolute calm. His way of speaking, of thinking, the serenity with which he addresses life… it was like a therapy for me. ”
One of the most exciting moments was the talk that Mujica offered 500 students in a public institute. Revilla was impressed by young people’s attention: “They were ecstatic listening to him. I will make a copy of that talk and send it to all the Cantabria schools. What that man said you have to listen to it.”
What impressed Revilla the most was the intact goodness of Mujica, even after having spent 15 years in prison, seven of them practically in isolation: “He does not hold a grudge. He has no hatred. He speaks firmly about capitalism, but without missing respect. He has a humanity that amazes.”
The former Cantabrian president also reported a revealing anecdote in the airport, where Mujica, seeing a dirty table in a cafeteria, cleaned it without hesitation before sitting: “He did it with absolute naturalness. Without pose. And when people realized who they were, they approached excitedly. They said: ‘You are my ethical reference.’ And he replied: ‘It is not for me. something'”.
That meeting gave rise to a friendship that, according to Revilla, would continue with a future visit to Uruguay, invited by Mujica himself. “He already called me to go in February, that there is a river where it fucks well. He knows that I like fishing. What scares me is 12 hours of flight”He said with laughter.
In the memory of Revilla there was also the most everyday woman: he who enjoys eating beans, chuleton and a good bottle of wine. And also the one who sings Uruguayan songs with emotion.
Now, with the death of Mujica, those words of Revilla resonate with special force. “A normal person should not be news,” he said in that interview, “but when someone like Mujica, after all the experience, retains humility and clarity … then yes, that is news.”
