Citlali Hernández turns the Women's Secretariat into an official propaganda agency
Illustration by Citlali Hernández
porEditorial Team
Mexico
85% of the analyzed budget is allocated to contracts with printing companies and media outlets, not to direct assistance
The reviewed public contracts show that the Secretariat for Women, under the direction of Citlali Hernández, has diverted the majority of its resources. The money goes to propaganda and stationery.
The contracts of the Secretariat for Women were obtained via Compranet /ComprasMX, and systematized by LaLupa. The information shows that the agency, led by Citlali Hernández, is not focusing its resources on protecting women. Instead, it is allocating them to paper, propaganda, and privileged suppliers.
The most scandalous case is the contract for $153,448,275.86 MXN, awarded to Impresora y Encuadernadora Progreso S.A. de C.V. (IEPSA), a state-owned company under the SEP. The money was used to print the Women's Rights Booklet. It is a 52-page document, with simple illustrations, basic language, and content already present in laws and public programs.
The booklet includes speeches by Claudia Sheinbaum and Citlali Hernández. It also contains references to social programs. It is material closer to propaganda than to rights education.
The reviewed contracts were systematized by the LaLupa project. The analysis shows a questionable use of the Secretariat's budget. The most scandalous contract is C-2025-00077273.
In it, $153,448,275.86 pesos were allocated to IEPSA, a state-owned company. The money was used to print the aforementioned booklet. This contract represents 64.7% of total spending. That is, nearly 7 out of every 10 pesos are used on paper, not on real care.
Cartilla de Derechos de las Mujeres
Millions for media and advertising campaigns
The second block of resources, which represents around 20% of the total, was allocated to media and advertising companies. All are linked to the official campaign "Let's Be Different: Stereotypes 1 and 2." These contracts repeat identical amounts and awards by exception. It is a typical pattern of propaganda distribution without open competition.
Principales proveedores de La Secretaría de las Mujeres
Real services for women: ignored
Tens of millions go to printing companies and media. In contrast, direct services for vulnerable women barely receive between $435,000 and $900,000 per contract.
No significant contracts were found for shelters, urgent legal advice, or protection infrastructure. Other minor contracts include:
Microsoft: $1,127,811.89 in licenses
B Drive IT: $212,206.46 in IP telephony
Secretariat of Security: $1,947,320.69 in surveillance
A Secretariat captured by the narrative
Citlali Hernández presents her Secretariat as a driver of transformation and equality. However, the spending reveals an institution more interested in printing speeches than providing real security.
It is alarming that, while there is talk of protecting women, contracts are prioritized with public and private companies that have little to do with combating violence. The gender discourse thus becomes a budgetary pretext.
This type of allocation demands a thorough and critical review. It is urgent for public policy to stop being a tool of government propaganda and return to its essential purpose: protecting lives, not printing brochures.
