José Mujica, Uruguay's humble president who changed his country and charmed the world, dies at 89

Former Uruguayan President José Mujica, a one-time Marxist guerrilla and flower farmer whose brand of democracy, plain-spoken philosophy and simple lifestyle fascinated people around the world, has died. He was 89.

His death was announced by Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi. In a post on social media platform X, Orsi called Mujica a "president, activist, guide and leader."Mujica had been under treatment for cancer of the esophagus since spring 2024, when the affliction was diagnosed.

Even as the treatment left him weak and hardly able to eat, Mujica reappeared on the political stage in fall of 2024, campaigning for his left-wing coalition in national elections that vaulted his preferred candidate and protégé, Orsi, to the presidency.