As Mexico sinks deeper, AMLO focuses on the presidential plane

Source: Office of the President.

As Mexico plunges into recession amid a growing Covid-19 outbreak, its leader began the week shifting the subject to the pampered excesses of its rivals, showing once again the luxurious presidential jet of its predecessor that refuses to use and is trying to sell.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a left-wing populist who presents himself to the media every morning at 7 a.m., moved his press conference on Monday to a hangar at the Mexico City international airport, where reporters were taken to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a king size bed and conference room. It was brought in last week from California, where it has been stationed for over a year.

The president has made the plane the symbol of past governments and opponents, whom he portrays as criminals who love golf and educated abroad who use their power to enrich the cronies and divert public funds.

“There are those who want to return to this form of government,” he said. “We are committed to transforming Mexico. The luxuries of the government are over. The budget is the people’s money and will be used by those most in need.”

That is a challenge that the coronavirus has made much more difficult to meet. Last week’s data showed that the economy hired by the majority registered in May and economists We expect Latin America’s second largest economy to shrink further this year since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, Mexico is close to overtaking the United Kingdom to have the third highest number of deaths in the world from the coronavirus. Health officials He said over the weekend that there may be tens of thousands more deaths from the virus than have been reported so far.

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At his press conference Monday, the president limited questions to the plane.

López Obrador has seen his popularity decrease due to his handling of the virus and the lack of support for large companies and millions of workers who have lost their jobs. The return of the plane allows him to revive his anti-corruption campaign before next year’s midterm elections, said Luis Estrada, director of the political consultancy SPIN-TPC.

“You need to try to get back to your corruption issue, and the presidential plane is clear proof of that corruption,” Estrada said. “It is a very risky bet because it has not been delivered anywhere else. They are desperate to show results, but they will get to elections with the economy at its worst level. “

Authorities said two offers were made for the plane, one of which includes a $ 1 million deposit. AMLO, as the president is known, said he expected to announce a buyer in the coming days.

Last week, he said one of the offers was for $ 120 million. In the past, it rejected an offer for $ 125 million because it was a government valuation of the plane of less than $ 130 million.

The plane has been one of the president’s favorite political props to illustrate a “transformation” of Mexican politics that he has vowed to carry out. But the symbolism became a little murky after the buyers didn’t show up.

A raffle

Earlier this year, when headlines focused on how his first year in office had ended in a slight recession with record-breaking homicides, he came up with another plane-related idea: raffle citizens for tickets that cost around $ 25. .

That led to a series of sketches and parodies of what the winner could do with the plane, including turning it into a huge taco truck. When it became clear that the plane could be heavy (where to park it?), The President said the lottery would have cash payments. That didn’t go so well either. Only 25% of the raffle tickets have been sold, officials said Monday. The president has designated the raffle proceeds for medical equipment.