On 8 October 1969, a band of guerrillas disguised as mourners in a funeral procession marched into the small Uruguayan town of Pando. They took over the police station, the town hall and the telephone exchange, then robbed several banks, before being confronted by the armed forces and driven out. Five people were killed, including a civilian.
One of the leaders of the Movimiento de Liberación Nacional–Tupamaros guerrilla group that day was José Mujica, who 40 years later became president of Uruguay. Mujica, who has died aged 89, distinguished himself from many politicians by donating 90% of his presidential salary to charity, and for continuing to live on his smallholding outside the capital, driving to the presidential palace in an old VW Beetle. Called El Pepe by most Uruguayans, he was widely known as “the poorest president in the world”. In later life he won a wide following among young Latin Americans who admired his progressive principles and simple life.
