Finally Mexico's "too lavish" presidential jet , a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft (XC-MEX) left MEXICO CITY (MEX) has found a home with its new owner Tajikistan.
The luxury presidential plane which Mexico had been trying to offload for more than four years owing to President López Obrador's campaign promises, who had termed the aircraft — a symbol of previous governments' excesses.
But , newspaper El Universal wished to dig more , they contacted Mexican National Bank of Works and Services (BANOBRAS) for more information on the aircraft , which was sold to Tajikistan for $92 million.
In response to a request for information in which the aforementioned newspaper requested a copy of the Boeing 787-8 purchase and sale contract, the National Bank of Works and Services (BANOBRAS) decided to reserve the information as confidential for five years, with the argument of preserving the personal security of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
The contract and documentation of the negotiations for the sale of the presidential plane TP-01 Boeing 787-8 "José María Morelos y Pavón", which the Government of Mexico sold to its counterpart in the Republic of Tajikistan, for 1.658 million 684 1,400 pesos, were declared as confidential information and reserved by the Administration headed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and may be known until 2028, as announced on June 2, 2023, by the newspaper El Universal.
On the sale of the aircraft , President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had said,
"I inform the people of Mexico that the purchase-sale contract for the presidential plane was concluded today. The government of Tajikistan deposited 1,658,684,400 pesos, in accordance with the official appraisal, to the account of the Institute to Return the Stolen to the People. This money will be invested in two hospitals, in Tlapa, Guerrero and in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, which will be built by military engineers and inaugurated before the end of our term."
In the document, BANOBRAS argued that if the information was made public,
"they could affect the safety of a natural person, such as the representative of the country that made the purchase of the plane, since [the contract] contains information related to the fuselage, sketches, photos, equipment and technical data that, if disseminated, could affect the safety of the people who will use it”.
The Mexican development banking institution -whose head is Jorge Mendoza Sánchez- insisted that disclosing the contract and the documentation of the negotiations for the sale of the plane would open the possibility of an attack against the president of the Central Asian country, because It was public that he was working on a regional action plan against terrorism.
BANOBRAS insisted that the purchase and sale of the presidential plane
"commitments were signed that regulate the handling of information that was generated during the operation until its conclusion, including the purchase and sale contract, called the Confidentiality Agreement and the Aircraft Purchase and Sale Agreement."
The Mexican development banking institution also justified classifying the information, noting that disclosing the aircraft purchase and sale agreements would also put the diplomatic relationship between the two countries at risk.
The Institute to Return the Stolen to the People (INDEP) was also involved in the sale of the aircraft as the person responsible for the negotiation and sale, for which reason El Universal requested a copy of the contract.
In its response, the Institute -whose general director is Ernesto Prieto Ortega- only sent a list of links to BANOBRAS bulletins, transmissions of the presidential morning press conference and presidential communiqués, announcing the sale of the Boeing 787-8, without attending to the request for documentation made by the newspaper.
“The following email addresses are shared where you can access a wide range of relevant information. There you will find press releases, speeches, statements, government reports and the information that is the subject of this request," INDEP responded to El Universal.
The plane was originally purchased in 2012 by the president at the time, Felipe Calderón, for $218m (£175m). It was then used by Mr Calderón's successor, Enrique Peña Nieto.
Mr López Obrador vowed to never set foot in it. After taking office, he at first used commercial flights but more recently he has been travelling aboard planes owned by Mexico's armed forces.
While the plane has a luxurious interior, including a presidential bedroom and marble and mahogany finishings, the fact that it was modified to carry only 80 passengers makes it an extremely expensive mode of transport per passenger.
On May 16, 2023, the presidential plane that the Government of Mexico sold to its counterpart in the Republic of Tajikistan made its first official flight as an aircraft from that Asian country. The flight was made by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon during a state visit to the city of Beijing, China.
On its official website, the Government of Tajikistan reported that the president of that Asian country would meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and other leaders of the Administration of the People's Republic of China, as well as businessmen, to "strengthen and expand the friendly and cooperative relations.
What ever the reason may be , the confidential clause applied in this transaction is apparently a binding one, and all the media houses and Public of Mexico may have to wait till 2028 to find a glimpse of it.
