Volkswacht Bodensee - Uruguay's ex-president Mujica receiving palliative care: wife

The 89-year-old was being made as comfortable "as possible" in the final phase of his life, Lucia Topolansky told Sarandi radio in an interview broadcast Monday.

In January, Mujica said his cancer, diagnosed in the esophagus last year, had spread and he would stop treatment.

The former guerrilla was once known as the world's "poorest president" for giving away most of his salary and driving an old Volkswagen Beetle while in office from 2010 to 2015.

He also gained an international following for his firm anti-consumerist stance.

On his watch, Uruguay passed a number of progressive laws -- legalizing abortion and gay marriage, and becoming the first country in the world to allow recreational cannabis use, in 2013.

Mujica was part of the MLN-Tupamaros rebels that waged an insurgency during the 1960s and 70s.

Though popular, many Uruguayans blamed the group for provoking the 1973 military coup that ushered in a dictatorship that lasted until 1985.

Mujica spent 12 years in prison during that time, much of it in solitary confinement.

"I have been with him for more than 40 years, and I will be until the end; that is what I promised," fellow former guerrilla Topolansky said.

On Sunday, Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi -- a protege of Mujica -- asked for privacy for the ailing ex-leader and his family.

"We must all contribute to ensuring that dignity is the key in every stage of life; we must not overwhelm him, we must leave him in peace," he appealed.

C.Koch--VB