Image Credit and Source: Auto Blog
Seized cars will be auctioned to help pay for investments in infrastructure across two impoverished areas of Mexico. On May 26th, Mexico’s Institute to Return the Stolen to the People held a massive auction to benefit infrastructure projects in two areas of the southern state Oaxaca.
Out of the 82 vehicles set for auction, Porsches, Mercedes-Benzs, Audis, BMWs, Corvettes, Mustangs, and a Lamborghini Murcielago were notable seized cars earmarked for the sale.
Eduardo Aburto, one Mexican in attendance for the auction had hoped to snag a  2004 special edition Volkswagen Beetle —one of the last of its kind— for the equivalent $7,500, but the Beetle ended up selling for around $17,000.
Specialty vehicles such as 17 fully-armed Chevy Suburbans were also set to be on offer. While the aforementioned SUVs did not attract a great deal of attention, other offerings such as the 3 original VW Beetles led to intense bidding between participants of the seized car auction.
Other pristine cars such as Audi and BMW Hatchbacks, looking like they had come straight out of warehouse storage also attracted a lot of bidding attention. Men in fluorescent yellow vests weaved through the auction space encouraging bidders to splurge on the former seized cars.
Seized Cars Auctioned to Benefit Local Community
Mexico’s Institute to Return the Stolen to the People was setup to help fund local projects with resources collected in a corruption offensive Mexico has been waging for the last several years. Â
The auction was held at Los Pinos, a sprawling luxury property near the capital’s Chapultepec Park. The space holds extra significance since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador turned the former fortress of the elite into a cultural center when he took office on December 1st.
“Using a space that’s characteristic of the luxury of past administrations is without a doubt a symbol of what this government intends to do with austerity,” he said.
“Before, this worked like a reverse Robin Hood … taking from the people and giving to the corrupt. Not anymore,” Rodriguez said.
A 2017 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development found that Mexico loses between 5% and 9% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to corruption annually.
Ricardo Rodriguez Vargas, organizer of the seized car auction said the goal Sunday had been to raise 30 million pesos ($1.5 million) with the sale of 82 vehicles. The money will be used to fix schools, roads, and other vital infrastructure lacking in this extremely rural southern Mexican community.
Many of the luxury vehicles on auction had been sitting in warehouses for over ten years.
Mexican Seized Car Auction a Success
In the end, more than 800 Mexicans participated in the seized car auction and the event was able to earn even more money for funding than was initially expected. With many sales going for well over their market values, the event was definitely a success for organizers.
The top performing auction sale was a cherry red Shelby pickup with a license plate from the northern state of Sinaloa, known as the base of operations for one of Mexico’s most brutal cartels.
The fully loaded monster truck, described as a virtual office on wheels with leather interior and oversized side mirrors sold for 1.9 million pesos ($99,685).