Photo: Notimex / 24horaspueblo.com
What’s the sense of being in a position of power if you can’t use it to serve your own interest? That must have been the thought on one Mexican politician’s mind when she forced an airplane to return to the gate so she could board it.
Last week, Mexico’s Environment Minister Josefa González Blanco, was supposed to be one of the passengers on Flight 198 from Aeromexico flying from Mexico City to Mexicali, The Guardian reports. No word yet on whether she was traveling on business or for pleasure, but she was late to board the flight.
In fact, she was so late that, by the time she made it to the airport, the flight was already ready for takeoff, having left the gate. So Blanco spoke to an executive from Aeromexico – a good friend of hers, according to the media outlet – and they grounded the plane long enough for her to board it.
As the plane was about to take to the skies, the pilot announced the passengers that they would be returning to the gate to pick up a tardy passenger for whom a “presidential order” had been issued. Several other passengers have confirmed for the local media that this was the exact phrase used by the pilot in his announcement.
Being a populist politician, Blanco later issued an apology and resigned. She caused a 40-minute delay to the flight, but above everything, she used her position when she’d promised to never stop being one of the people. Us regular folks usually have to catch the next flight out if we miss the one we’re booked for.
In a series of tweets explaining her decision to resign, Blanco says she will continue to serve the country, just not as a minister anymore. She also sets the record straight, saying there was no presidential order to ground the plane or, at the very least, the presidency wasn’t involved.
When the country’s current President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was sworn in, he promised to strip politicians of privileges of this kind. As proof of his good intentions, he listed his predecessor’s 787 Dreamliner plane for sale. Estimated at about $300 million, it’s currently sitting in a hangar in California, while Obrador flies commercial.
In fact, she was so late that, by the time she made it to the airport, the flight was already ready for takeoff, having left the gate. So Blanco spoke to an executive from Aeromexico – a good friend of hers, according to the media outlet – and they grounded the plane long enough for her to board it.
As the plane was about to take to the skies, the pilot announced the passengers that they would be returning to the gate to pick up a tardy passenger for whom a “presidential order” had been issued. Several other passengers have confirmed for the local media that this was the exact phrase used by the pilot in his announcement.
Being a populist politician, Blanco later issued an apology and resigned. She caused a 40-minute delay to the flight, but above everything, she used her position when she’d promised to never stop being one of the people. Us regular folks usually have to catch the next flight out if we miss the one we’re booked for.
In a series of tweets explaining her decision to resign, Blanco says she will continue to serve the country, just not as a minister anymore. She also sets the record straight, saying there was no presidential order to ground the plane or, at the very least, the presidency wasn’t involved.
When the country’s current President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was sworn in, he promised to strip politicians of privileges of this kind. As proof of his good intentions, he listed his predecessor’s 787 Dreamliner plane for sale. Estimated at about $300 million, it’s currently sitting in a hangar in California, while Obrador flies commercial.
El día de ayer causé un retraso a los pasajeros y tripulación de un vuelo comercial. El verdadero cambio requiere que nadie tenga privilegios y que el beneficio de uno, así sea para cumplir con sus funciones, no esté por encima del bienestar de la mayoría.
— Josefa Gonzalez Blanco Ortiz Mena (@Josefa_GBOM) May 25, 2019
— Josefa Gonzalez Blanco Ortiz Mena (@Josefa_GBOM) May 25, 2019
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