Tecate Mayor Román Cota Muñoz has quietly rehired a former municipal official who was removed in March over workplace harassment allegations, appointing her to run a department that has not operated since 2018.
Mariana Mena Orozco, the former director of Tecate’s Municipal Women’s Institute (Instituto Municipal de la Mujer), was named head of the Municipal Slaughterhouse (Rastro Municipal). The slaughterhouse facilities have sat abandoned for seven years. Documents obtained by the Tijuana-based outlet Punto Norte show the appointment carries a monthly salary of 21,246 pesos (roughly $1,200 USD).
Backdated Paperwork and a Ghost Department
The appointment was backdated to April 6, more than three weeks before the paperwork was actually drafted, according to the documents. The Municipal Slaughterhouse ceased operations in 2018, and its physical facilities remain unused. The position effectively allows Mena Orozco to collect a government salary without a functioning workplace or operational responsibilities.
Mena Orozco was removed from the Women’s Institute in March after feminist collectives in Tecate documented six accounts of workplace harassment. The complaints described discrimination against pregnant employees and mothers. Activists said she fostered a culture of humiliation inside the very office tasked with protecting gender equality in the municipality.
No Action During a Deadly Year for Women
During 2025, Tecate recorded eight femicides. Under Mena Orozco’s leadership, the Municipal Women’s Institute issued no public statements about the killings and launched no prevention campaigns, according to Punto Norte’s reporting. Local feminist organizations had pushed hard for her removal, viewing it as a necessary step toward accountability.
Her quiet rehiring is likely to reignite tensions between activists and the Cota Muñoz administration. The move follows a pattern in Baja California municipal politics where officials facing misconduct allegations are reassigned rather than terminated. Tecate, a border city of roughly 70,000 residents about an hour southeast of San Diego, has seen growing scrutiny of its current administration.
Mayor Already Under Fire From State Legislators
Cota Muñoz has faced criticism from multiple fronts in recent months. During a December 2025 session at the Baja California State Congress, legislators from several parties, including his own, called out the mayor for excessive spending, lack of results, mounting municipal debt, and what they described as the abandonment of public safety in Tecate.
The retroactive appointment of Mena Orozco to a non-functioning department adds another layer to those concerns. Neither the mayor’s office nor Mena Orozco has publicly addressed the appointment.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte.