If one weren't determined to have a knee-jerk reaction and remembered the previously-released two-page preview showing Lois and her new boyfriend,* one might allow that rather than being a "token character" Ms. Izquierdo is quite likely a significant new addition to the Superman cast based at the Planet. Perry is seen there chatting familiarly with "Izzy," a woman who is almost certainly Izquierdo, in a way that suggests that they may be something close to peers in the newsroom.
When Perry boasts that he was right in his expectation that the Planet operation could move digs without missing a deadline, "Izzy" responds "I'd say we have the start of a beautiful friendship here, Perry."
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...1/07/supe1.jpg
You read one panel out of context and react to it as the "injection" of a character who in your mind does just one thing - speak a phrase in Spanish. There is, in fact, no reason to assume that this is the extent of or representative of the character's introductory early appearances.
*(Or, failing that, were willing to, you know, read the actual comic before judging)