Born in Potrero de Cháidez,
Durango, Montenegro Espinoza joined the
Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1968. She began her career in public administration in 1971 as the first official in the private secretariat of the municipal presidential office of
Mexicali; Later, in 1974, she took office as councilor of the VIII city council, to later become the first female mayor of that municipality in 1975. From 1986 to 1989, Montenegro Espinoza was an official of the Civil Registry Office, where she promoted the omission of the reading of Epistle of Melchor Ocampo, written in 1859, for being offensive to gender equality. She was part of the
LVII Legislature of the Senate, she has also been a local deputy in the
Congress of Baja California when she only shared with two female deputies and in the
LVI Federal Legislature where there were only 77 female legislators out of 500 members. In 2015, Montenegro Espinoza was appointed municipal delegate in
Playas de Tijuana. She coordinated the research and publication of the book
Mexicali, 100 años y más de 100 mujeres. == Recognitions ==