Bennito L. Kelty
Audio By Carbonatix
Most Coloradans may not have noticed, but the Mexican Consulate has been up to some big things this year.
Tucked away at 5350 Leetsdale Drive in Glendale, the easy-to-miss Consulate General of Mexico in Denver has reported thousands of documents being issued to Mexicans and Americans alike in 2023, with the goal of increasing those numbers by as much as 50 percent and doubling the number of appointments with individuals by 2024.
This means thousands more IDs, voting credentials, passports and visas being churned out – mostly to Mexican nationals who rely on the documents for either daily life in the U.S. or to continue being a citizen of Mexico.
The consulate has issued more than 15,000 Mexican passports so far this year, including 2,500 in the month of July, and more than 7,000 Mexican IDs, according to Pável Meléndez Cruz, consul general of Mexico in Denver.
During an August 3 biannual update on consulate services, Meléndez Cruz cited directives from the Mexican government to assist more of the country’s expats by increasing the consulate’s workload. “The increase is due to the joint decision we made with members of the [Mexican] Foreign Service to increase appointments by 25 percent in the first week of my arrival,” Meléndez Cruz says. “It’s easy to say, but serving more Mexicans with the same number of staff has been a challenge.”
This year, the Mexican consulate has also seen a massive increase in its online visibility by increasing the number of followers it has on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by 400 percent in just the past six months.
Meléndez Cruz took his post in Denver back in January, and during his first six months, he’s overseen a boost in consulate services ordered by his higher-ups – which he says included directives handed down by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and former foreign secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who left his position as the country’s top diplomat in June to focus on a presidential campaign.
For almost five years, the Mexican Consul General in Denver was Berenice Rendón Talavera – a Harvard-educated career diplomat appointed by former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto. Talavera held on to her seat in Denver despite the change in political party that took place in Mexico in 2018.
Ahead of the next Mexican presidential elections in 2024, López Obrador and Ebrard appointed Meléndez Cruz, a former Mexican congressman from the state of Oaxaca.
The consulate reports that it has increased the amount of voting credentials issued to Mexican citizens in the U.S. by 75 percent compared with last year. “With that, we guarantee – as I have said – the right of Mexicans to continue voting in Mexico,” Meléndez Cruz says. “Including for the people who now have double nationalities.”
Before the August 3 update, Meléndez Cruz met with Mayor Mike Johnston and was greeted with a copy of Colorado Black on White, a book of landscape photographs by Colorado artist John Felder. He’s also visited with other movers and shakers, including Governor Jared Polis, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, Congressman Jason Crow, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas and interim Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo, along with other federal, state and local representatives.
“A proactive dialogue has been maintained to continue promoting the relationship with Mexico,” Meléndez Cruz says. “I’m thankful for all the authorities of the U.S. from the three levels – federal, state and local – for their open disposition and for our bilateral relationship, which this year celebrates 200 years of friendship.”
The consulate has been making a strong imprint on the state’s cultural events.
Mexican officials had a hand in bringing Lele, the fifteen-foot globe-trotting doll, to Denver for the first-ever Cities Summit of the Americas. They were also instrumental in helping Mexico recover a stolen Olmec sculpture after it had been touring art museums for nearly six decades despite demands for its return.
The Mexican consulate is responsible for Mexican nationals in Colorado, thirteen counties in eastern Wyoming and 23 counties in eastern Montana. Americans can also go to the consulate for visas to work or study in Mexico, and family members can obtain visas for their relatives abroad to visit them in the U.S.
Since the start of 2023, the consulate has issued more than 500 visas. It now expects to increase the number of appointments it makes with people requesting its services by 50 percent in the fall and 100 percent by the end of the year. The consulate has already met the goal of increasing the number of appointments it completes by more than 25 percent compared to last year.
“The most real example of this relationship [with the U.S.] is what we see every day with Mexican and American families who need our support,” Meléndez Cruz says. “[It’s important] to improve the treatment and attention to our compatriots who use our services and, of course, increase the number of appointments. Against all odds, we have succeeded.”
