Raquel has held various positions in the public sector and in international organizations. She served as an advisor to the President of the Republic of Costa Rica, the Secretary for Political Affairs of the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB). In addition, she worked as a trade negotiator and Chief of Staff to Costa Rica’s Vice Minister of Foreign Trade.

She has served as Coordinator of Specialists in more than a dozen OAS Electoral Observation Missions in Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the United States.

She holds a Law degree from the University of Costa Rica, a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Oxford. As an academic, she has been an Assistant Professor at INCAE Business School and has also taught at the University of Oxford.