Yossarian
10-21-12, 7:28pm
Hola amigos que viven con sencillez. Tengo una nominación para nuestra nueva capital. pero no sé mucho sobre el país.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501715_162-57536888/life-in-uruguay-legal-abortion-and-pot-dealing/
This is democracy "a la Uruguaya" — the Uruguayan way — a phrase that reflects both the pride and the unmet promises of a society where finding common ground is a highly shared value, in stark contrast to many other countries where voters are divided by us-and-them politics.
Such outsized respect for the democratic process has enabled the country of 3.4 million people wedged between Argentina and Brazil to reach consensus on many issues that have stymied bigger and richer nations, from reforming health care to providing free university educations, to setting ambitious renewable energy goals. By embracing compromises, Uruguay has managed to hold onto its middle class through repeated economic crises, and pass laws that have consistently improved its citizens' quality of life.
....
Mujica, who entered politics after spending 14 years in prison during Uruguay's dictatorship, is an unusual leader by any standard.
He gives away 90 percent of his salary, doesn't have a bank account, drives a 41-year-old Volkswagen and never wears a tie. Now 77 and nearing the end of his five-year term, he has been talking a lot lately about stepping back and finding the joy in simple things, reflecting a personal style that goes to extremes of austerity.
...
He bought the sky-blue Beetle, his only declared asset, before becoming president in 2010, replacing a Vespa scooter that he and his wife, Sen. Lucia Topolansky, used to ride together to Congress from their farm in the working-class "Rincon del Cerro," or "corner of the hill" neighborhood in Montevideo's gritty outskirts.
"They say I'm the world's poorest president. Let me tell you that I'm not poor! Poor are those who need too much," he said Thursday while getting an honorary degree at Argentina's Universidad de La Plata, the day after the final abortion vote.
"I discovered the keys to this in the jail cells, when I couldn't read. If I hadn't spent those years there, I wouldn't be who I am, because one learns more from pain than from bounty," he said. "That's why, the night when I had a mattress, I felt happy. How is it possible, therefore, that we spend our lives poisoned with desperation to buy a new car every two years? If I could, I would live much more simply."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501715_162-57536888/life-in-uruguay-legal-abortion-and-pot-dealing/
This is democracy "a la Uruguaya" — the Uruguayan way — a phrase that reflects both the pride and the unmet promises of a society where finding common ground is a highly shared value, in stark contrast to many other countries where voters are divided by us-and-them politics.
Such outsized respect for the democratic process has enabled the country of 3.4 million people wedged between Argentina and Brazil to reach consensus on many issues that have stymied bigger and richer nations, from reforming health care to providing free university educations, to setting ambitious renewable energy goals. By embracing compromises, Uruguay has managed to hold onto its middle class through repeated economic crises, and pass laws that have consistently improved its citizens' quality of life.
....
Mujica, who entered politics after spending 14 years in prison during Uruguay's dictatorship, is an unusual leader by any standard.
He gives away 90 percent of his salary, doesn't have a bank account, drives a 41-year-old Volkswagen and never wears a tie. Now 77 and nearing the end of his five-year term, he has been talking a lot lately about stepping back and finding the joy in simple things, reflecting a personal style that goes to extremes of austerity.
...
He bought the sky-blue Beetle, his only declared asset, before becoming president in 2010, replacing a Vespa scooter that he and his wife, Sen. Lucia Topolansky, used to ride together to Congress from their farm in the working-class "Rincon del Cerro," or "corner of the hill" neighborhood in Montevideo's gritty outskirts.
"They say I'm the world's poorest president. Let me tell you that I'm not poor! Poor are those who need too much," he said Thursday while getting an honorary degree at Argentina's Universidad de La Plata, the day after the final abortion vote.
"I discovered the keys to this in the jail cells, when I couldn't read. If I hadn't spent those years there, I wouldn't be who I am, because one learns more from pain than from bounty," he said. "That's why, the night when I had a mattress, I felt happy. How is it possible, therefore, that we spend our lives poisoned with desperation to buy a new car every two years? If I could, I would live much more simply."