Uruguay president's entire assets: a VW Beetle
Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has declared that his entire wealth is nothing more than a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.



Mr Mujica, a farmer and former agriculture minister and senator, promised to continue investor-friendly policies that have helped the economy.

In a sworn statement detailing his assets, Mr Mujica said he has no bank accounts or other assets and put his small flower farm in his wife's name, only possessing the ageing car, worth £1,300.

Mr Mujica, a former leftist guerrilla, took office in March and he is popular in the small ranching nation for his modest lifestyle and down-to-earth attitude.

The 75-year-old president's sworn statement, made public this week, shows Mr Mujica has no debt – or savings – and does not own any other property.

Mr Mujica's presidential salary is £8,000 per month, but he donates most of that to the ruling leftist coalition and a public housing programme.

He has refused to move to the official presidential residence, opting to stay in the simple home his senator wife owns on the outskirts of the capital, Montevideo.

In contrast, his vice president Danilo Astori's declared wealth of £173,000 includes a house and car worth nearly 10 times Mr Mujica's Beetle.

The leftist leader, who shuns formal suits and ties, was jailed for more than a decade for his guerrilla activities during the 1960s and 1970s.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/uruguay/7805405/Uruguay-presidents-entire-assets-a-VW-Beetle.html

President Jose Mujica in his Volkswagen Beetle

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