Read Around the World: <b>Uruguay</b>

"We have sacrificed old spiritual gods to adorn our temples with the God of the Market. He organizes our economy, politics, habits, life. He gives us the illusion that happiness can be bought in installments and with credit cards." - José Mujica

In 2013, at the age of 78, the then-president José Mujica gave a speech that people are still talking about today and with good reason; all that he discusses and breaks down about what is happening in the world is even more relevant today and all he talks about can be applied and carried out [and truly, all he discusses being applied is extremely important and something we can all do] to change the dangerous road we are on.

The speech itself is very good [though at times very dense, which makes me wonder if children's - middle grade is the appropriate audience, though for sure there will be many in that group that will "get it" and therefore I would absolutely present it to them, but I would also add YA to that group] and the commentary after the speech by Dolors Camats breaks down the speech and talks about what each point he made means and how to apply it. The illustrations are very interesting and will add to any discussion that is happening whilst the book is being read.

This would be a great book for an adult and a child/young adult to read together and discuss and apply.

Thank you to NetGalley, José Mujica, Dolors Camats - Commentary, Raúl Nieto Guridi - Illustrator, Sofía Jarrín - Translator, and House of Anansi Press/Groundwood Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On September 24, 2013, Jose Mujica spoke at the UN meeting in NY. At the time, he was the president of Uruguay and was seventy-eight.

In the South, as he puts it, he is known for saying what he thinks. In his country, he’s been very dedicated to social justice and his struggle for equality and freedom. He lives very simply, and his words align with his actions.

On that day, he delivered a powerful speech. He stated that he’d rather stand up for the right thing rather than look for favoritism or applaud.

There is so much junk produced for us to buy, and with all this junk we pollute the planet. Our behaviors are careless. There is so much unnecessary consumption.

His speech is honest, deep and touching. He criticizes the contemporary economy which makes people absorbed by mass consumption and endless accumulation. The constant accumulations of goods make people only attached to paying the bills constantly, which at the end take the freedom away. We have less and less time for contemplation and for experiences. He says, “if everyone consumed like the average person in the United States, we would need three planets to survive.” We became so addicted to consumerism that we don’t know how to be free. The more you have, the less freedom you have.

He also advocates for the inequalities of the world. We need to implement practical rules for a fair economy to end the miserable condition of poverty. “We need to create useful things, without frivolity, to help the world’s poorest. Yes, useful things to end world poverty.”

Our lives became very dependent on consumerism. We need to go back to simplicity, and “together with science, we can find solutions for humanity as a whole, instead of trying to make ourselves wealthier. (…) we make life – not accumulation – the driving force.”

Due to weak international politics, we’re unable to regulate globalization. “We lack organized political leadership, conscious direction and the instinct to lead.”

Hierarchies were abolished and republics established in order to bring equality, but we still hold to old beliefs.

The humankind is capable of achieving equality, but we lack solidarity. We need strong and fair global leadership.

The first part of the book brings the speech at the UN, and the second part features biographical information with historical context pertaining to the speech.

I enjoyed reading the speech and the further information about Jose Mujica who is a former revolutionary, past president and climate activist. His words are honest and cut through to the core of the problem. He gives good examples for solutions but the problem is the lack of true leadership in the world.

This book is intended for middle-grade audience which I’m not sure about if they can grasp this context. With simpler introduction of Jose Mujica and followed with simplified version of his speech it might work for this target audience.

Nevertheless, for the adult audience, I think it is a phenomenal and quick read that is to the point and gives a lot to think about.

I want to thank House of Anansi Press Inc. and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader's Copy of José Mujica's impactful speech given to the United Nations in 2013. I did not realize that the "...speaks out" was a series and am interested in obtaining more of these texts for my classroom (and personal home library).

"We have sacrificed old spiritual gods to adorn our temples with the God of the Market. He organizes our economy, politics, habits, life. He gives us the illusion that happiness can be bought in installments and with credit cards." - José Mujica.

Who would've thought that these thoughts were expressed over a decade ago? Mr. Mujica's words are all just as valid today. I found so many powerful statements in this speech that I am looking forward to purchasing this text when it is published in April. I think parts of his speech should be posted in every middle/high/college classroom so that our children can reflect on how they the world in which they would like to live. After the pandemic, more people began thinking along the terms presented by Mujica, but we need to effectuate changes on a worldwide level For this, we need to pressure our world leaders to take on the work presented by Mujica in his speech.

Things about this text that I enjoyed, apart from the passion and clear thinking employed by Mujica (I wound up finding his speech on Youtube) are the way that the illustrations give the reader a little respite from the grave message on the page, the way the afterword opens up dialogue for children in middle/high schools, and also the context given at the end - who, what, why did Mujica give this speech?


I would recommend this text to anyone interested in social justice, teachers wishing to engage their class in dialogue about: the current state of the world, history of colonialism andi its impact, STEM/environmental studies and ELA - the use of language and the forceful yet effective writing of this speech would be great for an ELA class to study.