Three Mexican immigrants, based in Los Angeles, will be multi-member deputies in the lower house of the Congress of the Union in Mexico, as of September 1.
It is about María Elena Serrano Maldonado by the PRI while Mario Torres and Olga Leticia Chávez Rojas were proposed by Morena. Serrano and Torres are dedicated to Real Estate and Chávez Rojas is an employee of a well-known commercial store.
Serrano Maldonado is well known among organizations pro-immigrants. She was born in Michoacán, lives in the city of Downey in Los Angeles County and is the mother of a daughter and grandmother of a girl.
“ My father and my grandfather were braceros. I came to California in 1964 and grew from field to field. As there was no one to take care of us, my parents took us with them to work “.
So since she was a child she entered the field work in northern California and the state of Oregon. “I worked on grapes, melons, almonds and tomatoes until I graduated from high school”,
He says that since adolescence she became an activist for women who were not treated well by the stewards of the agricultural fields. “I also helped many farmers to learn to write.”
When his family came to live in Los Angeles, in the decade of the 55 began to collaborate with Mexican clubs . “Although I am not from Zacatecas, I was president of the Federation of Zacatecan Clubs between 1982 Y 1985″. She was also vice president of the Michoacán Cultural Club in various periods.
Her beauty made her stand out and in 1980 won the title Miss Mexico Los Angeles. She was also treasurer and deputy secretary of the Mexican Civic Patriotic Committee. She is currently part of the Extraordinary Women organization and the Council of Mexican Federations.
“We have not yet received the certification as multi-member deputies, but I felt very excited when they gave me the news. I was in the 9th place on the multi-member list for the constituency that includes Hidalgo, Colima, Michoacán and the state of Mexico. Many told me that I had no opportunity and I always thought that if it was from God, I would be a deputy. ”
But beyond the emotion, affirms that it will be a very great responsibility to represent migrants in the Mexican Congress. “I will be traveling every week to Mexico City. It is only three hours of flight and the distance is not very long. My work will be there and here. ”
She specifies that she will be a deputy who will be present and listen. “We are going to legislate for the full rights of migrants and we have a whole agenda to help the community as we have always done.”
One of the issues that she is most interested in promoting is the vote of migrants and she assures that she feels honored to be part of the first generation of migrant deputies who go to the Mexican Congress.
Immigrant from Veracruz
Mario Torres arrived at the 17 years from his native Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz to study a master’s degree in administration at the University of California in Los Angeles, recently graduated from the career of industrial engineering.
“We put together my savings and those of my parents, but I also asked for loans to pay for my master’s degree. When I finished I started looking for work in Los Angeles because I thought that working from here I could pay my student debt faster. ”
UCLA he had given a work permit for one year upon completion of the master’s degree. “I applied for a job in many companies, but they all told me that they did not sponsor work visas. And because I was not a resident, many doors were closed to me. ”
However, she says that she had a lot of faith in God and kept looking for a job without fainting. . “Do not worry! You are going to find something, I told myself ”.
It was a couple of UCLA colleagues who told him about a company owned by a Mexican American, who gave him the opportunity to work.
“I was very lucky because the company sponsored me a work visa, and at that time they only gave 55, 000 per year in the country. The forces of the universe aligned and I had to be one of those who achieved one of those visas with a duration of three years ”
He worked in that company for 8 years. “The truth was I was a model employee. I really wanted them and they helped me get my residency because I made them earn money. ”
Currently, Torres is owner of a real estate company. “I have a real estate license, for home loans, life insurance and savings accounts.”
It was through her work that he realized the Latin strength. “They are in everything, in construction, in security, in restaurants, in parking lots. They had no documents, but they really wanted to bring the potato to their families. ”
This is how he met many leaders in Los Angeles . “With MORENA I have an affinity since 2015 – 2016 when I had to go to live in Coatzacoalcos for two years when my father got sick. I met Morenoites who were mayoral candidates in southern Veracruz and I like the social support programs for those below and for the students of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In addition to the projects it develops in southern Mexico such as the Mayo Train, the Dos Bocas refinery and the interoceanic corridor. ”
This year they gave him the opportunity to go in the number 10 from the list of multi-member by the constituency that includes Veracruz, Chiapas, Yucatán, Campeche, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Quintana Roo.
“I thought it was difficult for me to stay, and I’m still waiting for the record. There are multi-member, but we hope to stay and I’m already preparing. ”
As a multi-member deputy, he says he wants to do an excellent job to improve the life of the immigrants. “For now I want to speak and listen to all migrant organizations to learn more than 200 problems that exist because I know 20 or 30 ”.
His base, he says, will be in Los Angeles and he hopes to do a lot of his work virtually.
Torres has 43 years old and single. “I am a migrant who has gone through difficulties like everyone else. I identify with the migrant cause and I want to help do good things. ”
Immigrant from Monterrey
Olga Leticia Chávez Rojas, a mother of two, a resident of the city of BellFlower in Los Angeles County, is also a multi-member deputy for Morena.
“I’m from monterrey. I first came in 1983. I returned to Mexico in 1992 and in 1998 I returned to Los Angeles. Since then I have lived here. ”
Two months before the June 6 election, she was invited to apply as a candidate for deputy plurinominal migrant for the second constituency that includes Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes and Querétaro.
“I was the fifth place on the list and when they told me that I had remained as a multi-member deputy, I was very happy and proud. ”
Chávez Rojas says that he always She has worked in the social struggle and that is why MORENA considered her to go on the multi-member lists.
“I am a social activist who knows the needs of migrants. Here I worked in the campaign of councilor Gil Cedillo and Bernie Sanders. ”
She adds that she never thought she would be a deputy because she has never fought for a position, but as a migrant congresswoman she will focus on the cause of immigrants.
“Once they give me proof, I will extend my social networks to be available to everyone, but above all I will increase my physical presence because there is nothing like face-to-face contact. ”