Which airport, Señor Presidente?

President Biden is flying to Mexico City this week.  Normally, foreign dignitaries land at the large airport in the middle of Mexico City. I’ve landed there many times. It’s a mess because of traffic, but that’s not something that President Biden will have to worry about.  So why are we talking about President Biden and a local airport? The answer is that his host, Presidente Lopez-Obrador, wants him to land at the new airport.   

This is the story:   

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is asking President Biden to land Air Force One at a new airport farther from the center of Mexico City when he visits next month — describing it as a favor to quell domestic criticism of the project.

The unusual request sets up a potentially awkward start to the visit and would require Biden’s motorcade to add time to its commute when the president arrives Jan. 9 for talks with López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“I am taking the opportunity to tell [Biden] that out of friendship, out of diplomacy, we ask him that his plane land at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport,” the 69-year-old Mexican president, known by his initials, AMLO, said Wednesday at a press conference.

I guess it’s always this or that with AMLO.

Read more