 | |||
| Montevideo - the building with the cupola was once the tallest in South America |
Uruguay
is ruled by an elected president and the next round of elections is due to
happen sometime in the next month. The current president (affectionately
referred to as ‘Pepe’) is not your regular type of politician, though. Here are
some of the things we learned about Pepe from our walking tour guide:
1) Pepe
donates 90% of his salary to charity.
2) He
refused to live in the presidential palace, and turned it into a shelter for
the homeless. He prefers to live in his own home on the outskirts of the city
instead where he and his wife grow chrysanthemums..
3) He
rides a bus to work.
4) He
usually has lunch at the same diner he frequented prior to becoming elected.
5) He
refuses to use a government car and chauffeur, and can be seen driving himself around
in his 1978 light-blue Volkswagen Beetle. Apparently he was recently offered $1
million dollars for this Beetle by someone from Abu Dhabi. He refused - but everyone else who
owns a light-blue 1978 Beetle tried to offer theirs instead…
6) He
used to be an urban guerrilla fighter for a group inspired by the Cuban Revolution, and was captured four times by the authorities.. One time he escaped by burrowing a tunnel out of the jail cell.
7) The
people love him.
8) In
this last year, though, coming to the end of his term, he is testing the
patience of his fairly conservative and mostly Catholic people by enacting
three laws in quick succession: legalizing gay marriage, marijuana, and abortion.
 |
| Pepe and his wife |
Uruguay is also very committed to its citizens. Health-care is free, education (including university) is free, there are all sorts of places for people to exercise in a recreational setting, and there is even a campaign to reduce salt intake "Menos Sel, Mas Salud" (less salt, more health). There is also a 22 KM walking path along the water which was full of people walking, jogging, and generally enjoying the weather.
 |
| Enjoying the Rambla |
 |
| Enjoying a lovely spring evening with some co-ed beach volleyball |
