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President Jose Mujica says he has received a million-dollar offer to buy his blue 1987 Volkswagen Beetle, which has become a symbol of the Uruguayan leader's austere lifestyle.

The man once nicknamed "the poorest president in the world" told the Uruguayan weekly Busqueda that an Arab sheik offered $1 million for the humble car. When asked about the reported offer at a news conference, Mujica said: "That's what they said to me, but I didn't give it any importance."

In an informal chat, Mexico's ambassador to Uruguay recently suggested to Mujica that he auction the Beetle in Mexico and predicted he could get 10 four-wheel-drive trucks for it, according to a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk with the press.

Mujica said that if got $1 million for the car, he would donate the money to a program he supports that gives housing to the homeless. If he got trucks for it, he said, they could go to Uruguay's public health office or his campaign workers.

The president said he would gladly auction the Beetle because he has "no commitment to cars" and he joked that he didn't sell it because of his dog Manuela, famous for only having three legs.

Asked why someone would pay a fortune for his little car, Mujica said: "Human beings have a bit of fetishism; we need certain material symbols." He noted that he keeps a hammer and shovel that belonged to his father. "They are little things to the world, but are worth a lot to you."

Mujica gained world renown when he assumed Uruguay's presidency in 2010 and declared that his entire wealth amounted to the 1987 Beetle. The ramshackle farm he lives on was in his wife's name.

Since then, in his official declarations of wealth, he has included the farm and he has been earning about $11,000 a month as president, of which he donates 20 percent to his political movement. Earlier this year he put his total wealth at $322,883, with the flower farm reportedly worth $108,000.

乌拉圭总统穆吉卡日前称，已有人出一百万美元的高价购买其破旧的座驾。这辆1987年出厂的蓝色“甲壳虫”已经成为穆吉卡简朴作风的象征。

穆吉卡被称为“世界上最穷的总统”。他在接受乌拉圭周刊《探索》采访时表示，一位阿拉伯酋长愿出一百万美元的价格购买他的旧车。一次新闻发布会上，穆吉卡被问及此事时说：“他们是这么跟我说的，不过我没把这当个事。”

一位因故不愿透露姓名的墨西哥驻乌拉圭使馆发言人告诉记者，墨西哥大使最近曾在一次闲谈中建议穆吉卡把车拍卖掉，并预计能换回10辆四轮卡车。

穆吉卡表示，他将把卖车得来的100万美元捐给一个为无家可归者提供住房的项目。如果换来的是卡车，则会将卡车捐给乌拉圭的公共卫生部门，或捐给参与活动的工人们。

对车的拍卖，穆吉卡并无吝色，因为“对车没有忠诚感”。他还开玩笑说，早先之所以没把车卖掉，是因为自己的爱犬“玛努艾拉”的需要，而这只狗也因只有三条腿而闻名。

在被问及有人为何能出如此高价买车时，穆吉卡答道：“人类都有点对物的迷恋，需要某种有形的纪念物”。他还谈起自己收藏的一把锤子和一柄铲子，两件东西都是他父亲的物件。“它们对世人而言无足轻重，但对我却意义非凡。”

穆吉卡于2010年就任乌拉圭总统，因称其全部财产为自己的旧座驾而闻名于世；其居住的破旧农场也在妻子名下。

自就任以来，穆吉卡在正式申报个人财产时把农场也算入在内。穆吉卡每月的工资在11000美元左右，其中的五分之一用于资助其政治运动。今年早些时候，他的资产总额为32万2833美元，其中包括妻子价值10万8000美元的农场。

（翻译：王道元编辑：Julie）