Global Courant 2023-05-11 17:30:57
Julissa Gutiérrez is a doctor by profession.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that she wants to use her new role as head of mission at the Honduran consulate in LA to heal her community. It seeks to do that by treating voters humanely, streamlining essential services and breaking with the past practice of favoring people associated with Honduras’ political rulers.
On a recent, typical morning, Gutiérrez stepped into the crowded consulate hall. Questions and requests rained down on her as she interacted with voters. It has been standard work since the 28-year-old was named head of mission on March 20, replacing Vice Consul Grace Sierra.
“I go out every day. I’m very active,” said the official sitting in her office in Koreatown.
Originally from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, Gutiérrez was named Vice Consul in October and took office in Southern California on March 6 after training in the basics of her job: civil registries, immigration and legal issues.
Julissa Gutiérrez is the new head of mission at the Honduran consulate in Los Angeles.
(Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times en Español)
She’s been listening a lot since her first day in Los Angeles, just like she did the other day. A woman asked what steps she should take to get a passport for her daughter, whose father lives in Honduras.
“He has to give you permission,” Gutiérrez replied.
“But you have to take the original document with you,” she emphasized when she saw that the mother had a stack of photocopies with her.
Balanced and well-informed, Gutiérrez answered a series of other questions in less than 15 minutes as if her field were diplomacy or administration rather than medical science. The consulate she oversees serves approximately 43,000 people of Honduran descent living in Los Angeles County, as well as Honduran immigrants living in southern Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Hawaii. Stamina and a calm demeanor at the bedside are practical requirements for the job.
“This is new, but I have the ability to face it,” said Gutiérrez, who will receive her doctor of medicine and general surgery degree from the Catholic University of Honduras in 2021. a higher education teacher.
Julissa Gutiérrez talks to Consul Agent Rafael Navarro at the LA office. Gutiérrez began her LA assignment in mid-March.
(Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times en Español)
She comes from a family of healers. Her mother, Julissa Villanueva, is a forensic pathologist who currently serves as the Deputy Minister of Security in President Xiomara Castro’s administration. The young doctor-diplomat is also the granddaughter of Eduardo Villanueva, a lawyer and former director of the Honduran agency in charge of investigating and evaluating the national police.
“I have two very good examples,” she said of her relatives.
In 2022, Gutiérrez was hired at the Ciudad Mujer Center, an organization that provides women with expert guidance and care in the areas of domestic violence prevention, sexual health, community education, economic autonomy and women’s rights. It operates in Tegucigalpa and in the towns of San Pedro Sula and Choloma.
Her duties as deputy manager included completing and monitoring applications to obtain donations from the international community, organizing medical brigades and addressing human rights issues.
In her new diplomatic role, she wants to overhaul the consulate and make it more than just a service provider. She wants to turn it into a real community center, where her compatriots can get not only documents, but also specialized services such as health workshops and legal advice.
Julissa Gutiérrez talks passport renewal with Nixon Murcia of West Valley City, Utah.
(Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times en Español)
“When I am asked to come to the consulate, surely (there are people who say): ‘What is a doctor doing there?’ But what can’t we do?” she asked rhetorically. Her faith in herself and in her community’s ability to achieve more stems from her unwavering Roman Catholic faith.
The doctor’s consular appointment reflects the political turmoil in Honduras since Castro, of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation party, became the country’s first female president on January 27, 2022, and changes were announced to the Honduran consular network in the United States. United States. Gutiérrez was the first local-level consular appointment by the new government.
“The government is just starting to take over the consulates,” said José Bautista, an activist for the Outraged Hondurans of Los Angeles, an association sympathetic to the Liberty and Refoundation party.
“We hope that the consulate will have a different face, more dignified treatment for the Honduran community and more staff,” added Bautista, originally from Honduras’ Cortés province.
One of the challenges facing the consulate is to engage and build trust with the local community. In the past, the consulate has been criticized for being seen as favoring local organizations that shared the political leanings of the Honduran government.
“The consulate can help us promote our businesses. It’s important that it be close to both organizations and business people,” said Maynor Sandoval, a native of Yoro County and co-owner of Doña Bibi’s restaurant in the MacArthur Park neighborhood.
Julissa Gutiérrez explains the procedures to those awaiting services at the LA office on March 31.
(Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times en Español)
Honduran historian Suyapa Portillo believes that the appointment of the new consular management could be a turning point if it can promote community inclusiveness and unity. The Pitzer College professor, originally from Copán province, said when she began denouncing the breakdown of the rule of law in her home country after a coup in 2009, she became persona non grata at the LA consulate.
“After I started writing about the coup problem, they stopped inviting me,” she said.
“I would like to see a pluralistic consulate that represents the different communities,” Portillo said, adding, “The consulate should serve all Hondurans regardless of their political party color, religion or skin color, or anything like that. ”
Gutiérrez understands the challenges ahead. She emphasizes that the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed her to eliminate “past practices.” She wants to listen to suggestions from various groups on how to improve consular services and community outreach.
“Here, the doors are not going to be closed to anyone because of political leanings,” she said.
Since September, the consulate has been operating with just five employees, including the head of mission. Now there are seven employees, with more full-time positions expected to be filled, replacing several State Department layoffs last year.
With the support of volunteers, the consulate has started to put its facilities in order. But social networks are still ringing with complaints that voter messages still often go unanswered. Plans call for adding one contributor each weekend day initially to respond to questions asked on Facebook and Instagram.
“We are doing everything we can to serve more than 200 users who come every day,” said the new consul.
Gutiérrez admits she’s not used to having a desk job, which is one of the reasons why she’s willing to step up and fill in for her colleagues manning the desk in an emergency.
“If I had more staff, I would just focus on management,” she said.
Another of her first measures was to coordinate with a clinic for her staff to conduct daily informational talks on health issues; about 70 people attended the first, on April 15. She plans to recruit immigration lawyers to do the same. And she wants to help and empower women in preventing gender-based violence.
Also on her to-do list is opening the consulate one Saturday a month for her compatriots to process the national identification document known as DNI; strengthening consular protection for human rights, including that of detained immigrants; and promoting Honduran arts and culture.
“The message I can give to my compatriots is that they should feel that this space is their home, a safe space, where services are delivered with quality, warmth and transparency,” she said.
