<P> Even though President Vázquez favored his Finance Minister Danilo Astori as presidential candidate of the then unified Broad Front to succeed him in 2010, Mujica's broad appeal and growing support within the party posed a challenge to the president . On 14 December 2008, The Extraordinary Congress "Zelmar Michelini" (a party convention) proclaimed Mujica as the official candidate of the Broad Front for primary elections of 2009, but four more precandidates were allowed to participate, including Astori . On 28 June 2009, Mujica won the primary elections becoming the presidential candidate of the Broad Front for the 2009 general election . After that, Astori agreed to be his running mate . Their campaign was centered on the concept of continuing and deepening the policies of the highly popular administration of Vázquez, using the slogan "Un gobierno honrado, un país de primera" (An honest government, a first - class country)--indirectly referencing cases of administrative corruption within the former government of the major opposition candidate, conservative Luis Alberto Lacalle . During the campaign, Mujica distanced himself from the governing style of presidents like Hugo Chávez (Venezuela) or Evo Morales (Bolivia), claiming the center - left governments of Brazilian Luis Inácio Lula da Silva or Chilean socialist Michelle Bachelet as regional examples upon which he would model his administration . Known for his informal style of dress, Mujica donned a suit (without a tie) for some stops in the presidential campaign, notably during visits to regional heads of state . </P> <P> In October 2009, Mujica won a plurality of over 48 percent of the votes compared to 30 percent for former president Lacalle, falling short of the majority required by the constitution, while at the same time renewing the Broad Front's parliamentary majority for the next legislature (2010--2015). A runoff was then held on 29 November to determine the winner; on 30 November Mujica emerged as the victor, with more than 52% of the vote over Lacalle's 43% . In his first speech as president - elect before a crowd of supporters, Mujica acknowledged his political adversaries and called for unity, stating that there would be no winners or losers ("Ni vencidos, ni vencedores"). He added that "it is a mistake to think that power comes from above, when it comes from within the hearts of the masses (...) it has taken me a lifetime to learn this". </P> <P> Mujica formed a cabinet made up of politicians from the different components of the Broad Front, conceding the area of economics to aides of his vice president Danilo Astori . </P> <P> On 21 June 2012, the philosopher Eduardo Sanguinetti, in an editorial in the Uruguayan newspaper La República, proposed to nominate President José Mujica for the Nobel Peace Prize, arguing that the philosopher "who cannot be anything in his life example of austerity, dignity and honesty, adding its actions in favor peace of peoples today in conflict". </P>

Who is known as the poorest president in the world