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Witness History: José Mujica: Prison break to president

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José Mujica: prison breaks to President

31/07/2023 GMT

José Mujica: Prison break to president

BBC World Service - Witness History, José Mujica: Prison break to president

Uruguay's former president recounts his revolutionary past as a member of the Tupamaros

During the 1960s and '70s, a militant leftist group emerged in Uruguay called the Tupamaros. Uruguay's former president, José Mujica, was a member.

In the 1960s and '70s, José Mujica was a leading member of a notorious left-wing militant group in Uruguay called the Tupamaros. He survived multiple bullet wounds, torture, and executed a daring prison escape. 

After years held in solitary confinement, Mujica was released from prison in 1985 and entered politics. He became Uruguay’s president in 2009. He speaks to Ben Henderson.

(Photo: José Mujica at home in Montevideo. Credit: Ricardo Ceppi/Getty Images)

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