My goal is to achieve a little less injustice in Uruguay, to help the most vulnerable and to leave behind a political way of thinking, a way of looking at the future that will be passed on and used to move forward. There's nothing short-term, no victory around the corner. I will not achieve paradise or anything like that. What I want is to fight for the common good to progress. Life slips by. The way to prolong it is for others to continue your work.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of long-term commitment to social justice and the common good rather than seeking immediate rewards or recognition.
In this quote, José Mujica reflects on his aspirations to address social injustice in Uruguay and to support the vulnerable members of society. He acknowledges that achieving these goals is a sustained effort rather than a quick win, and he sees the importance of passing on a vision for the future that inspires continued progress. Mujica prioritizes the common good over personal triumphs and recognizes that the true measure of success lies in the ongoing work of others who follow in his footsteps.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for social reform and community support.
We can almost recycle everything now. If we lived within our means, by being prudent, the 7 billion people in the world could have everything they needed. Global politics should be moving in that direction. But we think as people and countries, not as a species.
If we lived within our means - by being prudent - the 7 billion people in the world could have everything they needed. Global politics should be moving in that direction. But we think as people and countries, not as a species.
I can live well with what I have.I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more.
I'm not the poorest president. The poorest is the one who needs a lot to live. My lifestyle is a consequence of my wounds. I'm the son of my history. There have been years when I would have been happy just to have a mattress.
I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor.
When you have a lot of solitude, any living thing becomes a companion.
I don't think children themselves have changed that much. It's the world that has changed.
If you are going down a road and don't like what's in front of you, and look behind you and don't like what you see, get off the road. Create a new path!
For seven days she lay in bed looking sullenly at the ceiling as though resenting the death she had cultivated for so many years. Like some people who cannot vomit despite horrible nausea, she lay there unable to die, resisting death as she had resisted life, frozen with resentment of process and change.
I'm only interested in people engaged in a project of self-transformation.
Things do change. The only question is that since things are deteriorating so quickly, will society and man's habits change quickly enough?
I think what I'd really like to see would be a mass consciousness-raising movement so that we would all become vegetarian.
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