“For sale, rent or raffle”: the luxurious presidential plane that López Obrador rejects desperately seeks ‘girlfriend’

Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s luxurious presidential plane doesn’t have a “girlfriend” after the Mexican President’s repeated refusal to use it. The aircraft, with boardroom, restaurant and room, is at the center of the controversy in Mexico for the solutions that AMLO raises to give it a way out: from a National Lottery draw to chop it into pieces and sell it to different companies in the country.

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday that the TP-01 presidential plane will be sold, rented or raffled, but he will not get on that aircraft, which could not be sold by his administration.

The plane was purchased during the government of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) and also used by Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), the two immediate predecessors of López Obrador.

“Today in the morning that I announced the presidential plane there is controversy, but the decision has been made: it will be sold,” said the president in the municipality of San Antonio Sinicahua, in the southern state of Oaxaca. “It is sold, rented or raffled, but I am not going to get on that plane. There can be no rich government with poor people,” he added.

López Obrador has admitted that his government is having a hard time selling the plane: “There is no one who buys it, imagine, it is not even Donald Trump.” “It has a boardroom, restaurant, alcove, it is a palace for the heavens, it is an offense for the people of Mexico, so we are not only going to get rid of that plane,” he said.

He recalled that the aircraft is valued at 2,500 million pesos (about 134 million dollars) and can carry 280 passengers, but they adapted it so that it can only carry 80 occupants.

Different solutions: #NoEsBroma

The raffle is one of the five options offered by the Mexican president on Friday to finally get rid of the aircraft. The other alternatives that his Government analyzes with the future of the presidential plane are to sell it to an anonymous buyer in the United States, exchange it with the Washington authorities for medical equipment, offer it “in parts” to 12 Mexican companies and rent it for hours.

“They should not have bought this plane, not even the richest in the world and extravagant have these planes,” said the president.

In addition, the #NoEsBroma label became a national trend in social networks in Mexico after the announcement of López Obrador of a possible raffle of the presidential plane through the National Lottery, which would issue 6 million tickets at 500 pesos (about 25 dollars) each one.