Jose Mujica: Uruguay's tractor-driving leftist icon

Dubbed the world's "poorest president" while in office from 2010 to 2015, Mujica eschewed the trappings of success, continuing to live on his small farm, with his wife and three-legged dog Manuela at his side. He transformed Uruguay, best known for football and cattle ranching, into an outpost of progressive politics on a continent plagued by corruption and strongman governments. A former guerrilla with a life story that read like a thriller, he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in May 2024 and underwent aggressive radiation therapy.