Mexican poultry leader dies at 93

Socorro Romero died on Dec. 4

A giant of the Mexican egg industry, Socorrito Romero, died on Dec. 4 at the age of 93. Starting out in 1948 with a small egg farm of 1,000 hens in the town of Tehuacan, Puebla state, she built an empire than included Avícola Tehuacán, Mexico’s fifth largest layer producer with 4 million layers in production, and hog and flower farms. She also owned hotels in Cancun.

In 1987 she was elected to the first class of the Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame for her pioneering efforts in the Mexican poultry industry. In 2001, at the Seventeenth Latin American Poultry Congress in Guatemala, she received special recognition for her leadership role as a woman in the poultry industry, which was presented by Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.

Originally from the state of Oaxaca, Romero was known among Mexico’s poultry and egg industry for her strong entrepreneurial spirit and for her philanthropic contributions. She worked to help poor female farmers, built schools in rural areas, sponsored orphanages and contributed freely to colleges and universities, mainly in Puebla.

“Señora Romero was a giant in the industry,” USA Poultry and Egg Export Council Mexico director José Luis Cruz said. “She will be missed.”

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