Luxury plane now grounded

– The big, luxurious aircraft used to ferry Mexico’s former president around the globe is about to fly away permanently in one of the first moves by the new president to rid the country of what he has derided as a towering symbol of excess.

“We are selling all the planes and helicopters that the corrupt politicians used,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a rally in Xalapa, Veracruz, near the end of his first full day as president. The crowd roared its approval.

Finance Minister Carlos Urzua convened a news conference in Mexico City earlier on Sunday, in front of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to announce that the plane will “very soon” be put up for sale.

Photographers and camera crews were then ushered into the aircraft to see for themselves the spacious interior emblazoned with official government seals on the walls and flat-screen monitors, as well as the presidential bedroom and what appeared to be a marble-lined bathroom.

The presidential jet acquired in late 2012 is one of 60 government planes that will be sold, in addition to 70 helicopters, said Urzua.

It was yesterday flown to the Victorville airport in southern California at Boeing’s recommendation as it awaits a new owner.