MONTEVIDEO, Nov 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Uruguay's ex-president Jose Mujica, a hero of the left but ailing at 89, has drawn on his last reserves to campaign far and wide for the man seen as his heir apparent ahead of elections Sunday.

Despite battling cancer and old age, Mujica -- widely known as "Pepe" -- has come out guns blazing, railing against avarice, corporations and outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou.

Mujica's Frente Amplio (Broad Front) leftist alliance hopes to reclaim the presidency it held for 15 years but lost in 2020 to Lacalle Pou's center-right Republican Coalition.

Broad Front candidate Yamandu Orsi, 57, has a small lead in opinion polls over 55-year-old conservative Alvaro Delgado going into Sunday's vote.

Orsi will be hoping that Mujica -- a former guerrilla lionized as the "world's poorest president" during his 2010-2015 term -- is the talisman that helps push him over the edge.

Mujica spent 14 years in prison in the 1970s and 1980s for his role in the MLN-Tupamaros, an urban guerrilla group that sought to overthrow the state and bring about socialist change.

As president, he became a cult figure for his humble lifestyle, giving away most of his salary and driving a sky-blue Volkswagen Beetle.

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

Mujica was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in May, underwent aggressive radiotherapy and has been in and out of hospital.

But his medical condition has made him no less combative.

"We have to get out of this hole," he urged in a campaign ad for Orsi.

Known for a tactlessness that some find endearing, Mujica drew criticism for reprimanding politicians who "like money very much" and rebuking Lacalle Pou for owning "a $50,000 motorcycle" and having "two vans."

"Mujica is a compelling, disruptive figure who has always had outbursts. Now there's also a certain epic quality to him as, despite being ill, he is giving everything for Orsi's victory," sociologist Eduardo Bottinelli told AFP.

- 'Chief strategist' -

Orsi garnered 43.9 percent in first-round voting on October 27 -- short of the 50-percent cutoff to avoid a runoff but ahead of the 26.7 percent of ballots cast for Delgado.

As Delgado has narrowed the gap, Mujica embarked on a tireless campaign, giving interviews and meeting voters throughout Uruguay's capital Montevideo and the department of Canelones, where most of the country's 3.4 million people live.

According to political scientist Alejandro Guedes, Mujica has effectively adopted the role of chief strategist for Orsi's campaign, perhaps after identifying "a vulnerability in the candidate."

"It is a product of necessity," Guedes told AFP of Mujica's active campaign role.

"If there were a greater advantage (for Orsi), I wouldn't see the need for Mujica to be taking a leading role when his health situation is quite delicate."

Mujica's campaign interventions have focused on inequality, "atrocious" consumerism and unfair competition that harms small businesses.

He has also criticized "miserable" politicians.

"I know that what I say is jarring and hurts. Too bad. At nearly 90, I've earned the right to say what I really think," he said at an event in Montevideo last week, drawing loud applause.

Analysts say Mujica seeks to appeal to voters disillusioned with the world of suit-and-tie politics.

"Mujica reaches the less politicized sectors, younger people," said Bottinelli.

Days before the election, Mujica apologized -- but only in part -- for his remarks about Lacalle Pou.

"Not for the content, I stand by the content," he said, adding that he was sorry only for "the manner" in which the remarks were delivered.