In the soaring palace of Uruguay’s parliament, leftist presidents from the region came to remember former President José Mujica on Thursday as a generous and charismatic leader whose legacy of humility remained an example for the world’s politicians.

José "Pepe" Mujica, former president of Uruguay and a symbol of the Latin American left, died Tuesday at the age of 89 in Montevideo after a battle with esophageal cancer. "With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of Pepe Mujica.

José “Pepe” Mujica, a Marxist guerrilla who became president of the Uruguayan state he had tried to overthrow before transforming into a global phenom for his plain-spoken adages and no-frills lifestyle,