Laura Itzel Castillo Affirms She Will Continue Pushing Sheinbaum’s ‘Feminist Agenda’ at the Women’s Secretariat

ByGeorgina Saldierna Valdés

This article by Georgina Saldierna Valdés originally appeared in the June 15, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. Senate President Laura Itzel Castillo said that as head of the Women’s Secretariat, she will focus all her energy on making Mexican society parity-based, equal, and respectful of women’s rights.

In a message on social media, the senator added that Mexico was a pioneer in women’s rights and “we have to continue pushing the feminist agenda of the first woman president of Mexico.”

She also expressed that she feels deeply honored by the trust shown by the head of the Federal Executive, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, in inviting her to take charge of the department, once she concludes her duties as president of the Senate of the Republic during the Second Year of Operations of the LXVI Legislature.

In the morning, at her press conference, Sheinbaum Pardo announced that Laura Itzel Castillo Juárez will join the Federal Cabinet as head of the Women’s Secretariat.

She noted that Undersecretary Ingrid Gómez is in charge of the Secretariat, and that all the department’s activities continue to be carried out.

Once her duties as Senate president conclude, Laura Itzel Castillo will join as Secretary of Women, she emphasized.

For his part, the president of the Senate’s Political Coordination Board, Ignacio Mier Velazco, celebrated the federal executive’s announcement and recognized Castillo’s commitment and trajectory, who, he affirmed, has played a key role in this chamber.

It should be noted that the Women’s Secretariat is a newly created institution that began operations on January 1, 2025. It is responsible for coordinating the actions and public policies implemented at the national level to advance toward a life free of violence for girls, adolescents, and women. The department has been vacant since this past April 16, 2026, when Citlalli Hernández left the secretariat to take a leadership position in Morena.