Mexican dignitaries visit Leamington for city twinning talks
The Town of Leamington could soon have a Mexican twin.
A contingent of dignitaries from the city of Salvatierra toured Leamington on Wednesday and met with town officials about a potential “twin city” agreement between the two communities.
“My hope is that we’d be able to share the issues that we each face, and see if there are solutions we can offer each other,” said Leamington Mayor John Paterson.
“There may be businesses and investors here in Leamington that could be attracted to Salvatierra — and vice versa.”
Located in central Mexico, Salvatierra is a municipality in the state of Guanajuato. The community’s total population is about 94,000, with around 34,000 within city limits.
With its rich soil and strategic location in the valley of Huatzindeo, Salvatierra’s economy is based mostly on agriculture.
“They are working open fields. They grow different kinds of berries,” said Alberto Bernal, Consul of Mexico in Leamington. “The tropical fruit papaya is also grown there.”
The potential twinning project was initiated by the Mexican government due to the large number of temporary migrant workers from Mexico in Leamington. It’s hoped that a twin community in Mexico will open up new possibilities in business, agriculture and tourism.
“One of the things we look at is the opportunity for Mexican towns and cities to get closer with counterparts,” Bernal explained. “We found that Leamington and Salvatierra have a good possibility to reach this kind of agreement.”
A date has not been set for when the twinning might become official. Bernal said the proposal will first need to be formally considered by town council.
“I don’t think there will be any issue,” said Paterson, who hopes to have the council discussion before mid-June.
More than 10 Salvatierra representatives will be in the area until Friday. Paterson said they have a full schedule of fact-finding visits this week, including stops at Leamington farms and greenhouses, Highline Mushrooms, and Pelee Island Winery on Wednesday.
As for Leamington officials visiting Salvatierra, Paterson said that has yet to be organized or even budgeted.
“We’ve never done this — at least, not since I’ve been on council,” Paterson said. “But we’ve never really been in a position to be serious about it.”
Paterson said such a trip will likely have to wait until after the 2018 budget sessions.
That should give Paterson plenty of time to learn some Spanish: Three translators were needed for Leamington representatives to communicate with the Salvatierrans.
“It certainly shamed me into thinking I’d better start learning some,” Paterson said. “If and when I do go down there, I’d like to be able to at least bring greetings from the municipality in Spanish.”