Lucía Guadalupe Chávez Vargas
Executive Director, Asylum Access Mexico
she/her | Based in Mexico | Joined in 2024
Lucía (‘Lucy’) is a feminist human rights activist with a strategic vision and exceptional human rights and international law background. She joined the Asylum Access Mexico team in 2024 as Executive Director.
Lucy has a law degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a Master’s degree in Human Rights, Rule of Law, and Democracy in Latin America from the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Additionally, during her time as a student, Lucy represented sports teams in national and international competitions.
Since 2008, she has worked in the field of human rights and has collaborated with national and international civil society organizations, in the CDMX ombudsperson, and in academic institutions. She is the author and co-author of books and journal articles. She has participated in conferences, congresses, training and diploma courses related to human rights, security, justice, international law and transitional justice.
As a lawyer, Lucía had the opportunity to provide legal assistance to victims of serious human rights violations. She also contributed through applied research in human rights to the development of discussions on combating impunity and transitional justice in the country and the development of literature and research on crimes against humanity and internal armed conflict in the Mexican context.
She has been prominent in activism against Mexico’s militarization and the democratic deterioration that entails. Likewise, she played an essential role in the #SeguridadSinGuerra collective and advocacy and legal actions implemented against the country’s militarization, including actions related to the performance of the National Guard in migration control issues.
Before joining the Asylum Access team, Lucía led the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights and was appointed Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights in 2022. In those roles, she contributed to developing national and international advocacy activities to strengthen efforts for justice in Mexico and the region. As part of the FIDH, Lucía participated in international missions and promoted the importance of the fight against impunity and the gender and intersectional perspective in the organization’s work.
Lucy is currently based in México City. In her free time, she loves to have coffee with her mother, walk with her dog, and practice karate and mindfulness.