Chile eyes honorary consul for Las Vegas

Monday, Nov. 12, 2001 | 9:24 a.m.

The Los Angeles-based Chilean Consul Rodrigo Perez was in Las Vegas Friday to advance his country's plans to name an honorary consul here in the coming months.

Perez was the third high-level official from a Latin American country to visit Las Vegas this year in search of greater consular representation in Nevada, an outcome of the sharp increase in the Hispanic population of the Las Vegas Valley shown in the 2000 Census.

"We have seen an impressive growth in the Hispanic community here and rapid economic growth as well," Perez said.

"The two together made us decide to establish more of a presence here."

The Hispanic population in Nevada has grown from 10.4 percent of the total in 1990 to 19.7 percent in 2000.

An honorary consul is a volunteer with official status who helps citizens of the country with documents such as passports, advances commerce between the two countries and promotes tourism.

Chilean products Perez said a consul could promote in Las Vegas include wines and seafood such as salmon and sea bass. Chile exports about $400 million in wine and $500 million in salmon annually, placing it in the top five exporters of the two products worldwide.

The other two countries interested in setting up honorary consuls here are Guatemala and El Salvador. Both have sent officials to Las Vegas in the past six months and are hoping to have a consul in place sometime next year.

Las Vegas is home to fewer than 1,000 Chileans, about 20,000 Guatemalans and about 30,000 Salvadorans. Citizens from all three countries currently have to seek consular services in Los Angeles.

Each country has fewer than a dozen honorary consulates nationwide.