Mexico’s lavish presidential plane arrives at its new home in Tajikistan
A 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 plane to that country’s government and fulfilling a campaign promise . get rid of it.
Since his election in 2018, Mr. López Obrador, known as AMLO, struggled to find a buyer for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was ordered by former president Felipe Calderón and used by his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto.
“I don’t know why they bought such a big plane,” said Mr. López Obrador in Spanish during a press conference on Monday.
Over the years, Mr López Obrador said he offered to sell it to former President Donald Trump, President Biden and Vice President Harris. At one point, Mr. López Obrador tried to raffle off the plane, which had many amenities, including a treadmill.
“We couldn’t sell it because of the luxury of the plane,” said López Obrador.
In the end, the government of Tajikistan bought the plane for $92 million, or about $1.6 billion Mexican pesos. The sale was announced last month by the Mexican government. The plane then had to be prepared for the government of Tajikistan. It is unclear how much was spent refurbishing it.
At the press conference, Mr. López Obrador showed images of the jet’s new design, with the text “Tajikistan” in capital letters down the side and a tail painted to look like that of the Tajik flag.
The Tajikistan government did not immediately respond to an email on Monday asking for comment about the plane.
Using such a lavish jet is bound to draw criticism in Tajikistan. The country, which is located in Central Asia and borders Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, is one of the poorest countries in the region, according to the US State Department, and is largely dependent on remittances.
The presidential plane, which was stored in San Bernardino, Calif., departed that state early Sunday morning and arrived in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, around 7:30 a.m. Monday, according to information from FlightAware, a flight tracking company.
Mr López Obrador, who flies with commercial airlines during his travels, promised during his campaign that he would sell the plane, previously calling it “an example of the excesses” of Mexico’s former leaders.
Part of the money from the sale will be used to build two hospitals, one in Guerrero state and another in Oaxaca, López Obrador said Monday.
“If I had used it, we would have spent a lot,” said Mr López Obrador, citing examples of additional costs required for the aircraft, such as Wi-Fi.
The aircraft was designed for long-haul flights, Mr López Obrador said, adding that it was not practical for domestic flights in Mexico.
“It wasn’t just running costs and maintenance,” said Mr. Lopez Obrador. “Technically, it wasn’t convenient.”
Natalie Kitroeff reporting contributed.