Q24N – Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso said on Wednesday that his plane would go on sale and the money raised will be used to replenish the state budget as the country struggles with the COVID-19 economic repercussions.
“The sale of the presidential plane LEGACY EMB-135 BJ starts immediately. We are working on the rationalization of public spending to cut inefficient and unneeded expenses,” Lasso wrote on Twitter.
The defense ministry is in charge of the sale, and money raised will go to the budget, according to the president’s order, attached to the post.
During the sale process, the plane will be used on exceptional occasions only. The Ecuadorian president has two planes at his disposal.
The Ecuadorean government has been implementing austerity policies in response to the pandemic and the ensuing collapse of oil prices that undermined the national economy. As of July, the crisis forced the Ecuadorian government to cut back public expenditure by $4 billion.