First female mayor dies

The death of the first woman mayor of Mexicali has caused a stir among various circles of local politics.

Professor Angélica Obeso Covarrubias, who served as Mexicali Mayor between May and November 1995, was reported Saturday.

Obeso became mayor after replacing Francisco Perez Tejada Aguilera, who left office to contend for the state government.

María Luisa Gutiérrez Santoyo, general secretary of the Local 37 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), expressed her condolences for the family of Obeso Covarrubias de Puente, who was affiliated with the union.

“We hope that you find prompt resignation and comfort,” said the teacher’s leader.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to the family of Professor Angélica Obeso Covarrubias”, noted the Mayor of Mexicali Marina Avila. “I wish prompt resignation for her family”.

“She became the first woman in Baja California to hold the position of mayor in this capital,” the Mexicali Citizen Committee for Public Security said. “She distinguished herself by reinforcing social programs for families in rural areas. Thank you for great work and dedication to our municipality.”

Former City Councilman and state lawmaker Jorge Eugenio Núñez also paid tribute to the former mayor.

“She was (always) a warm, simple and affable person. A 100 percent Mexicali woman in all her splendor,” Núñez said. “A woman who in her life never stopped teaching.”

-- Arturo Bojorquez, abojorquez@ivpressonline.com