She was born in Gavà (Barcelona) in 1975. She holds a law degree from the University of Barcelona and a master's degree in Labor and Social Security Law from Pompeu-Fabra University.

Since December 28, 2023, she has been the President and CEO of Paradores de Turismo de España.

Between July 23 and December 28, 2023, she served as a national deputy for Barcelona.

She served as Minister of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda from July 2021 to November 2023. She was mayor of Gavà, Barcelona, from February 2014 to July 2021.

Between 2007 and 2011, she served as deputy mayor for the Department of Economy and Finance, Human Resources, and General Services, and as spokesperson for the Socialist Municipal Group in this City Council. Later, between 2011 and 2015, she served as deputy mayor for Urban Planning, Economic Development, Environment, and Sustainability, and also as spokesperson for the Socialist group.

At the organizational level, she has served as first secretary of the Gavà PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) since 2012. He is part of the Executive Commission of the PSC of Baix Llobregat and is a member of the National Council of the PSC.

Raquel Sánchez has been a member of the PSC Executive Committee since 2016. She served until December 2019 as Secretary of Women's Policies and since then as Secretary of Strategy and Climate.

In 2015, she was appointed First Vice President of the Baix Llobregat Regional Council and Second Vice President of the Spanish Network of Cities for Climate.
Since 2019, she has served as Institutional Vice President of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and Vice President of the Executive Committee of the Airport Regions Council.

In 2020, she was elected as a representative of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces on the National Climate Council and as a Patron of the Institute.