Peru's Pedro Castillo to sell presidential Boeing jet in cut on perks

Peru's new left-wing president, Pedro Castillo, says he will sell the presidential plane and use the money to fund health and education.

In a speech to mark his first 100 days, he also said he would ban public officials from flying first class.

Pedro Castillo was elected narrowly in June, but the results were delayed when the opposition contested them.

Selling the elderly Boeing might not be easy - ex-president Alan García tried to auction it twice and failed.

One of the reasons given was the asking price of $18.5m (£13.8m).

Mr García had acted after an incident known as the "party plane" scandal, which involved a group of allegedly drunk officials travelling on the jet in Spain.

If the plane - which was acquired by another former president, Alberto Fujimori, in the mid-90s - does sell this time, the profit will go towards children's health and education.

Peru's healthcare system has struggled to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

For a period earlier this year, the country recorded the world's highest death rate from the virus, as a proportion of its population.

In his speech, the president also announced a 7.5% rise in the minimum wage on 1 December from 930 to 1,000 sols ($230-$247; £172-184).

Mr Castillo will hope his attempt to sell the presidential plane fares better than that of his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Mr López Obrador made it a priority to sell the plane when he came to power in 2018, including by lottery.

But three years on, there are still no buyers. Mr López Obrador has admitted that it is hard to sell because it was made bespoke, at a cost of $200m (£149.4m).

The Mexican plane carries only 80 people, and has a full presidential suite with a private bath. Converting it to a commercial jet would be expensive.