Ambassador Garza Visits Tamaulipas

Statement by Ambassador Antonio O. Garza

Mexico City, January 14, 2009 - “During my visit to Tamaulipas today, Matamoros Consul General Cecilia Elizondo Herrera, Nuevo Laredo Consul General David Stone, and I met with Eugenio Hernández Flores, the Governor of Tamaulipas, and other local leaders and educators.

“I saw first-hand the progress being made with the bilingual education initiative that Governor Hernandez has pioneered in his state. We had the chance to visit a bilingual primary school, the Leona Vicario Primary School, one of the pilot schools in that program. Investing in education today prepares workers, innovators, and leaders for the Mexico of tomorrow who will contribute to this country’s growth and prosperity.

“I also had the opportunity to meet with a number of mayors from the region, including: Ramon Garza Barrios of Nuevo Laredo; Oscar Luebbert Gutierrez of Reynosa; Erick Silva Santos of Matamoros; Roberto Benet Ramos of Rio Bravo; Jose Correa Guerrero of Camargo; Olga Juliana Elizondo Guerra of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero; Jose Ivan Macias Hinojosa of Mier; Hamid Name Pineda of Valle Hermoso; and Arturo Diez Gutierrez of Ciudad Victoria, as well as with mayors from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, including Richard Cortez of McAllen; Pat Ahumada of Brownsville; Beto Salinas of Mission; and with the Mexican senators Amira Gomez Tueme and Jose Julian Sacramento. We had an interesting conversation about the future of Tamaulipas, the challenges the incoming U.S. administration will face, and the progress made in United States-Mexico cooperation, especially in the fight against organized crime.

“As Ambassador, I have relished opportunities to see the rest of the nation, particularly when my travels have allowed me to return to a part of the country I consider home. This was my last official visit outside the capital, and I enjoyed the opportunity to visit a state in which I spent much of my youth, as well as the occasion to meet with local leaders and see the advances being made in the beautiful state of Tamaulipas.”