María Consuelo, a Colombian-Mexican feminist leader living in Mexico since 1979, has been an advocate for women’s rights since her early youth. She was an activist for justice in the Student Movement beginning in the early 1970´s, and she has also worked in support of Indigenous movements and as an advocate for women´s sexual and reproductive rights. In 1994, she co-founded and became Executive Director of Catholics for the Right to Decide (CDD Mexico), a Fòs Feminista partner, positioning the organization as a leader in SRHR in Mexico. In addition to participating in the Latin American Network of Catholics for the Right to Decide, María Consuelo has been very active in several international and regional networks. She was a founding member of the Health, Empowerment, Rights and Accountability International Advocates Group sponsored by the International Women´s Health Coalition, as well as a founding member of the Latin American Consortium Against Unsafe Abortion, (CLACAI).

As a Fòs Feminista Board Director since 2022, María Consuelo is a member of the Resource Mobilization Committee.  She has collaborated with Fòs Feminista since 2004 and has served on the Board of Fòs Feminista Mexico (Fòs Feminista’s sister entity in Mexico) since 2020. Maria Consuelo retired from CDD in 2020 and currently works at the Mexican National Women’s Institute.

María Consuelo has been widely recognized for her work on women’s rights in Mexico, including a recognition for “Women who opened political paths to women’s rights” from the Mexico City Government, the Hermila Galindo Award for her commitment to women´s human rights, and the Elvia Carrillo Puerto bestowed by the Mexican Senate’s Commission on Gender Equality.

Moreover, international organizations have also recognized her work, such as Amnesty International USA, Women Deliver, and Fòs Feminista (which awarded her the Honors Medallion in 2008 for her personal contribution to SRHR.)

She is an anthropologist and researcher with a Master’s degree and doctorate credits in Latin American Studies from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the UNAM, Mexico. As an advocate, she has long-standing experience as a spokesperson and in mass media; she has written and published several articles and chapters for journals and books.