Mexico City, Mexico — After a heated dispute with coworkers at the Mexican Consul General in Shanghai, Leopoldo Michel Díaz was relieved of his duties. The incident happened August 7 when the disrespectful dispute was captured on video.
After being viewed by Mexican government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) announced his immediate dismissal.
“Following instructions from Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Mr. Leopoldo Guadalupe Michel Díaz was relieved, effective immediately, of his duties as Consul at the Consulate General of Mexico in Shanghai,” they SRE reported.
Leopoldo Guadalupe Michel Díaz was relieved with immediate effect from his duties as consul assigned to the Consulate General of Mexico in Shanghai, and will be transferred to Mexico to face a disciplinary process in accordance with the SEM Law, the SRE (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) said in a press notice.
The SRE acts to ensure that its representations abroad are spaces of zero tolerance for acts of harassment, violence and workplace bullying.
Another worker from inside the consulate videoed a heated rant by Michel Díaz who was heard hurling insults at his coworkers as he aggressively stormed through the offices. The SRE has not provided information on exactly what started the argument or what is was about, only that he was banned from the building the following day and that it was not his first offence.
The events that took place at the Mexican Consulate General in Shanghai are regrettable and are not representative of the Mexican Foreign Service (SEM) as a whole, they said in their public statement.
On August 8, the Disciplinary Affairs Subcommittee of the SEM Personnel Commission issued protective measures to prohibit Mr. Michel Díaz from accessing the facilities of that consular representation and to guarantee the safety of the staff and the public who visit that headquarters.
Additionally, Mr. Michel Díaz has been notified of his transfer to Mexico since July 11, for having violated precautionary measures imposed at the time for the protection of the staff of the consulate in Shanghai.
He will face a disciplinary process in the SRE in accordance with the SEM Law and its Regulations. The SRE reiterates its zero tolerance policy towards acts of harassment, intimidation and violence or any conduct that violates its Code of Ethics.