When the American Mexican Regional Chamber of Commerce was launched just a year ago, even its founding president, Francisco Del Toro, wasn’t sure what he was stepping into. A successful business owner and co-owner of La Providencia, he had never imagined himself at the helm of a chamber of commerce.
“When they asked me to be the founder and make it happen, I was like, I’m a business owner. I’ve never been in this world,” he recalled. “But I took the challenge because of the second generation, my children.”
Twelve months later, that leap of faith has turned the chamber into a force in the regional economy.
What began as a bold experiment has turned into a packed calendar and a powerful network. In its first year, the American Mexican Regional Chamber of Commerce has organized 26 events.
“We’ve touched more than 2,000 people with the American Mexican Regional Chamber of Commerce,” Del Toro says. “And the most important thing is it’s all decision makers, all business owners.”
Business owners making a great impact.
***
The anniversary party of the AMRCC was held Sunday afternoon at Crossed Keys Estate in Andover. It could have been held anywhere in the four-state region the chamber covers: New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut as well as New Jersey.
Their impact, as displayed at the event, is incredible.
Mexican-owned businesses have a $91 billion economic footprint in the region with $52 million going directly to the GDP while Mexican consumers spend an additional $39 billion.
The numbers in New Jersey for Mexican residents and business owners are just as impressive. Consider:
- Population: 11.4% (464,000 residents);
- Number of businesses: 19,600;
- GDP contribution: $11.15 billion;
- Consumer spending: $8.4 billion;
- Imports at Port Newark-Elizabeth: $3.1 billion.
It’s all part of the country’s incredible trade connection with the U.S.
Just over 20% of all agricultural imports to the U.S. come from Mexico, a $43.8 billion transaction. The Chamber noted that 69% of all fresh vegetables come from Mexico as well as 51% of all fresh fruit.
The number of people in New Jersey who truly understand the extent of this trade may be the biggest number of all, Del Toro said.
“No one understands how big our impact is,” he said.
That’s why the chamber was formed.
***
Del Toro says the chamber’s mission goes far beyond networking breakfasts and ribbon cuttings. It’s about changing how the Mexican business community is seen — and how it sees itself.
He bristles at the narrow stereotype that Mexican entrepreneurs are confined to “small restaurants and food trucks.” The reality, he insists, is far more diverse and far more powerful.
“It’s very diverse — all different sectors, all different sizes,” he said. “There is some serious money being made and being invested.
“A lot of people don’t realize that. They think we are just landscapers and restaurant owners. That’s not true. We are proud of those professions, but they do not define us. We are lawyers, CPAs, doctors and builders. You name it; we do it.”
Del Toro traces part of this invisibility to an older mindset among earlier generations of immigrants — ones who came here to work and kept their heads down and their mouths shut while doing so.
But he believes the next generation has a different responsibility.
“The next generation of Mexican business leaders here needs to not only appreciate all that their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers did for them, but to tell the world that we are here and deserve to be recognized,” he said.
“We are booming here. And we’re not going anywhere. We belong here. It’s time for us to tell our story.”
***
That story is complicated.
Tariffs — and the threats of tariffs — are constant. As is a growing sentiment that those from Mexico (and elsewhere in Latin America) are not welcome here.
Del Toro said it’s part of a narrative that says migrants from Latin America are coming to “take” rather than “contribute.”
For him, that view is both wrong and insulting.
“The people say, ‘They send all the money back,’” he said. “That’s not true. We contribute to the economy here, just look at our consumer spending. And we pay taxes. A lot of them.”
And they are adding to the New Jersey economy. Latinas open more businesses than any other group.
Del Toro says it’s time for the entrepreneurial spirit to be recognized.
He frames it in simple terms.
“If we can fix this as human beings, we all will be better off,” he said. “Just think: What does this country need? Workers. That’s what we provide. We want to work. We want to start businesses. We want to help our families.
“That’s the reason why we created this chamber.”
