It should be the symbol of his austerity: Mexico’s president announced in 2018 that he would sell the luxurious presidential machine. However, since there is no buyer, Mexico has to pay a lot of money.
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel López Obrador encounters an unexpected problem with his austerity program. Even after 13 months, there is still no buyer for the Boeing 787 presidential aircraft. The luxury aircraft purchased by its predecessor should be the showpiece of López Obrador’s savings program. Immediately after taking office, he initiated the sale of the machine in December 2018. The left-wing populist is economical – he never travels abroad and uses scheduled flights within Mexico.
After having been on sale in the United States for over a year, the plane should now be brought back to Mexico, said López Obrador. Prospective buyers could not have raised the $ 130 million required (around 117 million euros) – despite the mediation of the UN. Instead, Mexico has so far had to pay $ 1.5 million to store the machine in California.
Sales proceeds should benefit poor people
As part of his austerity policy, López Obrador had announced that he would sell luxury means of transport and put the money into poverty reduction programs. The left-wing populist has also banned private ministers from his ministers. He drives a car whenever possible. There was a photo at the weekend where he was waiting on the side of the road to repair a flat tire.
The head of state has new ideas for his “Dreamliner” aircraft. The machine with the proud name “José María Morelos y Pavón” has a presidential suite with bathroom and when it was purchased for López Obrador’s predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, it cost around $ 219 million.
New plans for the presidential machine
It is now to be sold to a company consortium, the members of which they share. After all, it has “incomparable VIP capacity” that is otherwise only available to heads of state, according to a brochure that López Obrador proudly presented. If necessary, the aircraft should be rented out or exchanged for other goods – in the hope that at least the remaining balance of the purchase price will come back.
At the same time, López Obrador announced that 39 government helicopters and 33 private and small aircraft would be auctioned off. In a first auction, 19 planes and nine helicopters are to come under the hammer and bring in more than a billion dollars. The luxury machines are in stark contrast to the poverty that prevails in Mexico, said the 66-year-old president.
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