President López Obrador said Wednesday that he intends to live on a government pension once he leaves office in 2024 as he hasn’t accumulated wealth during his long political career.

“I’m president [now] but I have to think about requesting my Issste penion … because I don’t have money,” the 68-year-old told reporters at his regular news conference. Issste is the State Workers Social Security Institute.

López Obrador, who currently earns a net monthly salary of 136,700 pesos (just over US $7,000), said that unlike many other politicians, he hasn’t used the positions he’s held to get rich.

“Even though I was an opposition politician, I could have amassed a lot of money,” said AMLO, who was Mexico City mayor between 2000 and 2005 before running unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2006 and 2012.

“… Opposition politicians also have money, especially those who were corrupted. All of a sudden [some politicians have]  ranches and fine horses, after coming from the social struggle … [they smoke] cigars and [have] latest-model cars,” said López Obrador, who inherited a ranch in Palenque, Chiapas, from his parents.

The president, who prides himself on his personal austerity, said “there is an idea, or there was an idea, that a poor politician is a bad politician.”

He also said there is an idea that his government is opposed to the wealthy. “No! We’re against corrupt people, which is different. Not everyone who has money is evil,” López Obrador said.

The president said earlier this year that he believed he would qualify for an Issste pension of between 25,000 and 30,000 pesos (about US $1,300 to $1,500) a month. He said late last year that he would steer clear of politics once he’s retired, and live a peaceful life on his Palenque ranch.

“I’m going to turn off my phone. My sons and my grandchildren will always be welcome [to visit], but zero politics because we have to hand the baton to those who come behind us,” AMLO said.

Mexico News Daily