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The plane that Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s president, once described as an “insult to the people” arrived in Tajikistan on Monday, he said, completing the sale of the jet to the country’s government and delivering on a campaign promise to keep it going. away with.
Since being elected in 2018, Mr. Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, has struggled to find a buyer for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was ordered by former President Felipe Calderon and used by his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto.
“I don’t know why they bought such a big plane,” Mr López Obrador said in Spanish at a news conference on Monday.
Over the years, Mr. López Obrador said he offered to sell to former President Donald Trump, President Biden and Vice President Harris. At one point, Mr. López Obrador attempted a raffle from a plane, which was equipped with many facilities, including a treadmill.
“We cannot sell because of the luxury of the plane,” Mr. López Obrador said.
In the end, the government of Tajikistan bought the jet for $92 million, or about $1.6 billion Mexican pesos. The sale was announced by the Mexican government last month. The plane then had to be prepared for the government of Tajikistan. It’s unclear how much it will cost to repair.
At a press conference, Mr. López Obrador showed images of the jet’s new design, which says “Tajikistan” in all capitals on the sides and has a tail painted to look like the Tajik flag.
The Tajikistan government did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the plane on Monday.
The use of such a luxury jet will certainly attract criticism in Tajikistan. The country, located in Central Asia and bordering Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, is among the poorest in the region and is highly dependent on remittances, according to the US State Department.
The presidential jet, which is stored in San Bernardino, California, left the country on Sunday morning and arrived in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, around 7:30 local time on Monday, according to information from FlightAware, a flight tracking company.
Mr López Obrador, who flew on a commercial airline during his trip, promised during the campaign that he would sell the plane, before calling the former Mexican leader “an example of excess”.
Some of the money from the sale will be used to build two hospitals, one in the state of Guerrero and the other in Oaxaca, Mr López Obrador said on Monday.
“If I had used it, we would have spent a lot,” said Mr. López Obrador, citing the example of additional costs required for aircraft such as Wi-Fi.
The plane was designed for long-haul flights, López Obrador said, adding that it would be impractical for domestic flights within Mexico.
“It’s not just the cost of use and maintenance,” Mr. López Obrador said. “Technically, it’s not convenient.”
Natalie Kitroeff contribute reports.
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