Chocoholics
MEXICO
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador offered amnesty to the owners of millions of American cars that have been illegally imported from the United States since the 1990s, a move that has received both praise and condemnation in the uproar that followed the announcement, the Washington Post reported.
The president’s decision would allow owners of the colloquially known “chocolate cars” to pay about $120 to make their vehicle legal. López Obrador said the revenue will be used for roads.
Chocolate cars – believed to be a play of the term “chueco” (crooked in English) – make up more than a third of all automobiles in Mexico. These cars have been big business for the illicit car markets in Mexico’s northern states.
Because of Mexican taxes and registration fees, a used car purchased legally in Mexico can cost more than twice as much as the same model imported illegally from the US. That has helped the poor and the middle-class access automobiles.
But the vehicles are untaxed, have no import permits and are usually sold under market value. Because they are unregistered, many of them have been used by criminal organizations.
Previous attempts to block the crossing of illegal cars have been halfhearted. At the same time, previous amnesties proved complicated and expensive for many owners.
Many chocolate car owners and the organizations defending them hailed the president’s decision. Owners can now replace the expired US license plates with Mexican ones.
Even so, critics and car lobby groups denounced the move as “a prize for the mafia,” noting that the amnesty was rewarding illegal behavior, instead of resolving it. They added that the reform rewards criminal groups that generate income from the illegal importation and sale of cars, which now is likely to lead to increased sales.
The amnesty program only applies to vehicles that entered the country before López Obrador signed the decree but analysts cautioned that the cutoff is unlikely to be enforced.
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