Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pledged to use profits from the sale of his presidential plane to fund efforts to curb illegal migration.
The move came after Mexico and the United States reached a deal to avoid US tariffs in exchange for Mexico doing more to halt Central American migration to the US. During his campaign, the leftist leader pledged to sell the plane and use the money to help poorer communities.
He said the estimated value of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is $150m (£120m). During the presidential campaign in 2018, Obrador who is known in Mexico by his initials AMLO pledged to sell the plane, which was originally purchased for $218m.
He told supporters that he would fly commercially instead, and followed through on that promise only days after taking office. The plane has been on sale for the past several months and has been sitting in a California warehouse. Mexico is also seeking to sell 60 government-owned planes and 70 helicopters.
But on social media some Mexicans have criticised the president’s decision about the plane, and condemned the idea that funds from the plane which was paid for by Mexican taxpayers would be spent on non-Mexican migrants.
Others argued that if the plane has not been sold in the past six months, it is unlikely to find a buyer in the next 45 days, when the US-Mexico tariff deal expires.
