Atheist, socialist, florist, husband, former guerrilla, Senator and President José Alberto Mujica Cordano of Uruguay gave a speech to the United Nations' Rio +20 summit, which was attended by heads of state and other delegates, on the 20th of June 2012 in which he declared, "... we do not come into this planet simply to develop.... We come into this planet to be happy."
Mujica was the President Of Uruguay from 2010 and 2015 and lead a stable socialist democracy with one of the highest GDPs of any South American country. He donated around 90% of his salary to charities benefitting poor people and went around in a 1987 Volkswagen, which he one year declared as his sole possession. In fact, he did not move into the presidential palace upon winning the election and remained in the modest house and farm belonging to his wife herself a former leftist guerrilla-turned-politician in the country.
The speech, scenes of which are included in Hosé! José Mujica! -Just Keep Walking, was not heard or noticed by many, but someone in Japan heard it and was inspired enough to turn it into a children's picture book called The World's Poorest President Speaks Out. It was subsequently translated into English. The visionary president and unassuming politician gained something of a fan base in Japan and beyond and so it was that a reporter flew to meet the simple, but radical man in his home country. The reporter did not have an appointment, but managed to meet the president who was visiting a housing project being built by and for homeless people through a donation from his presidential salary. The initial friendly conversation with the head of state, who was simply getting into his car as the reporter approached him, turned into an interview, a subsequent second flight and meeting and, in turn, an invitation for the now-former president to visit Japan. Mujica and his wife flew to Japan, were met with fans at the Tokyo airport, spoke to university students and visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the site remembering the atomic bombing of the city by the Americans.
What started as a speech became a multi-year project for the reporter - who would name his own first-born son Hose - and the documentary Hosé! José Mujica! - Just Keep Walking. Narrated by actress Ando Sakura (100 Yen Love and Love Exposure) the documentary interviews the farsighted man who in the course of several conversations, speeches and even a simple comment in the Peace memorial's guestbook reveals himself to be extremely smart, sage and kind and delivers the story of a man most folks surely have missed. It is quite a sight to see the president of a country in his beat-up old car or having to come down a tractor to sit down for an interview. It is also coincidental for the reporter and the director that the man admires Japan and happened to grow up with Japanese emigrants (this is a true story - not a Norwegian Wood reference) near his humble home. The former president is well read and insightful and has many things to say. One of these is that the Japanese have "lost their soul." Another is that, "The most important thing in life is not success. The most important thing in life is to just keep walking." The man is endlessly quotable. It is disappointing then that the documentary does not have the time to delve deeper into many of Mujica's accomplishments like environmental improvements, organic farming, LGBT rights, poverty alleviation and more. It is there to whet the viewer's appetite. The man was also instrumental in the USA/Cuba rapprochement under US President Obama, although the benefits of that to the Cuban people are questionable.
Hosé! José Mujica! -Just Keep Walking is not only a documentary covering an uncommon or novel Uruguayan subject matter, but also indirectly addresses globalization, sustainability, Westernization and criticism by the usual hordes on the Internet who ignorantly conflate Socialism with dictatorship.
Jose Mujica: "Becoming president is like putting on new tight fitting shoes. Stepping down is like kicking them off."
The speech, scenes of which are included in Hosé! José Mujica! -Just Keep Walking, was not heard or noticed by many, but someone in Japan heard it and was inspired enough to turn it into a children's picture book called The World's Poorest President Speaks Out. It was subsequently translated into English. The visionary president and unassuming politician gained something of a fan base in Japan and beyond and so it was that a reporter flew to meet the simple, but radical man in his home country. The reporter did not have an appointment, but managed to meet the president who was visiting a housing project being built by and for homeless people through a donation from his presidential salary. The initial friendly conversation with the head of state, who was simply getting into his car as the reporter approached him, turned into an interview, a subsequent second flight and meeting and, in turn, an invitation for the now-former president to visit Japan. Mujica and his wife flew to Japan, were met with fans at the Tokyo airport, spoke to university students and visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the site remembering the atomic bombing of the city by the Americans.
What started as a speech became a multi-year project for the reporter - who would name his own first-born son Hose - and the documentary Hosé! José Mujica! - Just Keep Walking. Narrated by actress Ando Sakura (100 Yen Love and Love Exposure) the documentary interviews the farsighted man who in the course of several conversations, speeches and even a simple comment in the Peace memorial's guestbook reveals himself to be extremely smart, sage and kind and delivers the story of a man most folks surely have missed. It is quite a sight to see the president of a country in his beat-up old car or having to come down a tractor to sit down for an interview. It is also coincidental for the reporter and the director that the man admires Japan and happened to grow up with Japanese emigrants (this is a true story - not a Norwegian Wood reference) near his humble home. The former president is well read and insightful and has many things to say. One of these is that the Japanese have "lost their soul." Another is that, "The most important thing in life is not success. The most important thing in life is to just keep walking." The man is endlessly quotable. It is disappointing then that the documentary does not have the time to delve deeper into many of Mujica's accomplishments like environmental improvements, organic farming, LGBT rights, poverty alleviation and more. It is there to whet the viewer's appetite. The man was also instrumental in the USA/Cuba rapprochement under US President Obama, although the benefits of that to the Cuban people are questionable.
Hosé! José Mujica! -Just Keep Walking is not only a documentary covering an uncommon or novel Uruguayan subject matter, but also indirectly addresses globalization, sustainability, Westernization and criticism by the usual hordes on the Internet who ignorantly conflate Socialism with dictatorship.
Jose Mujica: "Becoming president is like putting on new tight fitting shoes. Stepping down is like kicking them off."