Mexican Consul General, David Figueroa, Leaves Behind a Legacy of Accomplishments

Inauguration of the new consulate offices.

Over three years ago, David Figueroa Ortega arrived in San Jose to take charge of the Mexican General Consulate in this city. With a dedication to confronting the issues facing the Mexican community, he became a respected figure in our city.

He worked to ease tensions between the San Jose police department and the Hispanic community. He helped establish mobile consuls serving agricultural workers living in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Commercial activities, health fairs and the development of programs celebrating the centennial of the Mexican Revolution and the bicentennial of Mexico's Independence, were some of the activities that were implemented successfully under his leadership.

Only a few months ago Consul David Figueroa received authorization from the Secretariat of Foreign Relations to open consular offices in a new location. The new building cuts the average wait time Mexican citizens wait to receive attention in half. In a new building, officers will have more space to best attend to the needs of Mexican citizens living abroad.

Consul David Figueroa will travel to take over the Los Angeles office beginning April 25th. He will leave a gaping hole within the organization. The organization created under his leadership will continue with the efforts of the same personnel he worked with over three years.

We at La Oferta wish Consul David Figueroa the same success he has had in San Jose. We know he will continue paving new paths.

Below is a copy of his farewell address, republished with his consent.

Fortune

By David Figueroa, General Consul from Mexico

I have been very fortunate to always have had the opportunity to work close to my community within and outside of my country. I have also been very fortunate to have had the honor to represent Mexico in San Jose, California, a place founded by Mexicans who left a lasting impression on this city and its inhabitants.

Now that my mission as Consul General of Mexico in San Jose is coming to an end, I have learned an important aspect of this job entrusted to me by my president: that we only have the right to look down on a person when we are helping them get back up.

In three years I have learned about the many problems that face our community in California. It is a vulnerable community that has come to this country to rise up and find a helping hand that will listen and support it while it toils away working in the fields, construction, service industry or other arduous jobs that keep them away from home and family.

This week, when I heard our senators ratify my new position as the new Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, California, I remembered the first time I came to San Jose in 2008, the same place my father had come to decades before.

I have shared the same challenges faced by all those who migrate to the United States, from north to south, east to west. These challenges have become my goals and objectives for the community I greatly appreciate. They are the goals of education, health care, employment, and most importantly, the goal of returning triumphantly and ready to continue to fight in the country of birth that awaits us with open arms.

New challenges await me in the city that is considered to have the largest population of Mexicans in the United States. It will be a new mission that expects me to maintain the goal of helping our people, creating allies, and pushing forward a good image of our country.

This new job in Los Angeles, California also means a new opportunity to keep working for those who most need us, those who crossed the border looking for new horizons and new paths that I will share with them.

Today, I reiterate my commitment to keep working with my fellow nationals in Los Angeles and in that way achieve a better Mexico, a nation for which to fight for and be thankful that we represent.