Uruguay’s President Offered $1 Million for His ’87 Volkswagen Beetle

José Mujica, the “poorest president in the world” and former leftist guerrilla leader, has few assets to his name, but the most iconic by far is his little blue bug of a car. Known worldwide for his humility despite his position of power, the soon-to-be ex-president of Uruguay was offered a million dollars by an Arab sheikh in exchange for his car, but has declared that he doesn’t give the offer “much importance.”

He added, however, that if he did receive the aforementioned amount, he would donate it to “a scheme for the homeless” or that if he received 10 trucks for it (as the Mexican ambassador to Uruguay allegedly told him he could earn in an auction), he would give them away to “Uruguay’s public health office or his campaign workers.”

The Guardian:

The president said he would gladly auction the Beetle because he has “no commitment to cars” and he joked that he did not sell it because of his dog Manuela, famous for only having three legs.

Asked why someone would pay a fortune for his little car, Mujica said: “Human beings have a bit of fetishism; we need certain material symbols.” He noted that he keeps a hammer and shovel that belonged to his father. “They are little things to the world, but are worth a lot to you.”

Mujica gained world renown when he assumed Uruguay’s presidency in 2010 and declared that his entire wealth amounted to the 1987 Beetle. The ramshackle farm he lives on was in his wife’s name.

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—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata