MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

José Mujica announces the progress of his disease: “I am doomed, this is as far as I've come”

Mujica faces the end of his life with a clear message: “I am doomed. This is as far as I've come”.

Former Uruguayan President José Mujica (2010-2015) revealed that the esophageal cancer he was diagnosed with in April 2023 has spread to his liver, which he considers an end point in his medical treatment. “I am dying. I don't want to suffer in vain, my body can't take any more,” he declared in an interview published Thursday by the weekly Búsqueda.

Mujica, 89, has faced his illness with interventions and palliative treatments, the most recent a device that makes it easier for him to eat. However, he expressed frankly that he will not continue with additional procedures: “I can't stop cancer with anything. I am an old man with two chronic diseases. There is no room for biochemical treatment or surgery. When it is my turn to die, I will die”.

Mujica faces the end of his life with a clear message: “I am doomed. This is as far as I've come”.

A farewell message

The former president, known for his austere lifestyle and his reflections on life, expressed his desire to say goodbye to both his compatriots and his supporters. “The only thing I want now is to say goodbye. I am an old man at the end. What I ask is that they leave me alone, my cycle is over,” he said, adding that ”the warrior has the right to his rest.”

In his message, Mujica appealed to the importance of democratic coexistence: “It is easy to have respect for those who think like you, but we must learn that the foundation of democracy is respect for those who think differently”.

Less than four months before his 90th birthday, Mujica expressed his wish to be buried in his farm located in rural Montevideo, in the same place where the remains of his dog Manuela, a symbolic figure of his public life, rest.

Mujica also denied rumors that he is involved in the decisions of President-elect Yamandú Orsi: “I hate it when people say that I am behind every move. It is not true. I haven't seen Orsi since the day he won the elections”.