The Mexican presidential plane used by former presidents Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto may soon be sold, and the money used to fund two new hospitals, President López Obrador announced on Thursday.
“The plane is being looked at, there is a chance it will be sold,” AMLO said. “I cannot say more, only that when we get this revenue it will be used for two hospitals. One in Tlapa, in the Mountain of Guerrero, which is the poorest area of the country, and another in Tuxtepec, in Oaxaca.”
AMLO refused to give further details until the sale is concluded but clarified that the hospitals will be built whether or not the deal goes through.
Selling the plane — a Boeing 787 Dreamliner known as “José María Morelos y Pavón” — was one of AMLO’s campaign promises, in a rejection of its high cost and luxury. However, finding a buyer has proved difficult despite some offers being made.
When the aircraft still hadn’t sold by May 2021, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) launched a bidding process in an attempt to speed up the process.
The president has made a point of traveling on commercial flights during his term as part of his policy of governmental austerity and “putting an end to luxuries.”
Forbes México reported that the government of AMLO’s predecessor President Peña Nieto spent 342 million pesos (US $19 million at current rate) on national and international travel during his first three years in office, while López Obrador’s expenditure from 2018–21 was 18.9 million pesos (US $1 million). AMLO has also traveled far less frequently overseas than previous presidents.
In February 2022, AMLO suggested transferring the plane to the state-owned and military-operated Olmeca-Maya-Mexica company, with the aim of renting it out for social events such as birthdays and weddings. In June that year, he claimed to have unsuccessfully offered it to the government of Argentina.
This February, AMLO said he offered the plane to U.S. President Joe Biden in exchange for cargo aircraft and firefighting helicopters.
“Even Obama didn’t have [anything like] that plane, which, in fact, we haven’t been able to sell because it’s so luxurious,” AMLO said.
“I asked [President Biden] to help us, and I take this opportunity to remind him. He’s not watching the mañaneras, but maybe they’ll let him know that we’ll send him the plane and they can send us cargo planes and helicopters to put out fires.”
Some news outlets have published unconfirmed reports that the plane has already been sold to the government of Tajikistan.
With reports from Forbes México, Latinus, 24 Horas and El Sol de México
Source: Mexico News Daily
