The house is among a bunch of prizes up for grabs in a special draw run by the Mexican National Lottery to be held in September, along with 20 other properties and abox at Azteca stadium, the home of the national football team. Many of the items are the confiscated property of criminals and corrupt former officials, put up by the Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People, a public body that also auctions off recovered booty.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a penchant for showy acts that suggest his government is fighting corruption. He says the money raised from the raffle will be spent on things to improve life for the poor, including medicines, scholarships and roads. Yet it is unclear how many people will shell out 250 pesos for one of the 2m tickets. El Chapo’s two-bedroomed house has repeatedly failed to attract interest at auction—perhaps less because of fear that one of hismight not look kindly on a new tenant, than because the property is now decidedly rough round the edges.
When Mr López Obrador, who flies economy class, failed to find a buyer for the presidential plane after taking power in 2018, he offered it as the main prize in a similar draw. When it dawned on the authorities that the average Mexican would not be able to house or maintain a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, they replaced the prize with the cash equivalent. Despite the riches on offer, about a quarter of tickets remained unsold.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "A bad lot"
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: latimes - 🏆 11. / 82 Read more »
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »
Source: CNN - 🏆 4. / 95 Read more »
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »