The Mexican presidential plane lands at Benito Juarez International Airport.
Mexico:
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s luxury presidential jet wants to sell made it to Mexico on Wednesday, more than a year and a half after sending it to the United States in search of a buyer.
Mexico has struggled to sell the opulent Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which leftist Lopez Obrador has touted as a symbol of excess and corruption under previous governments in a country where around half of the population lives in poverty.
Lopez Obrador announced the plane’s return early on Wednesday, and television footage showed the plane landing in the afternoon at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport where it was due to enter the presidential hangar.
The jet was acquired by former president Enrique Pena Nieto in 2012 and fitted with marble bathrooms. Reconfigured to fly only 80 people, the plane has a “presidential suite” and a private bathroom.
The sale was hampered in part by Lopez Obrador’s refusal to accept offers below a value of $ 130 million backed by the United Nations, even as the plane potentially lost value as it was unused in the southern California.
Lopez Obrador’s unorthodox plans to sell the plane included a raffle, where the plane was going to be the prize. He later said the raffle would be a lottery-style event, with 100 winners receiving around $ 1 million each rather than the plane.
Earlier this month, the government said Mexico was considering a $ 120 million bid for the jet after an unidentified potential buyer offered to pay part in cash and part in medical equipment.
Lopez Obrador said the bidder was still interested and even made an early payment, without giving further details.
Mexico has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with hospitals running out of medical supplies and the country suffering the fourth highest number of deaths from the virus in the world.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
