I grew up with limited resources, so I was always dedicated and responsible with my education. Thanks to my efforts, I achieved my goal of studying international relations at a university on scholarship. Learning about global challenges has helped me analyze my country’s problems in more depth, like how many people in my country are disappointed by the corrupt politicians and are politically apathetic.
In 2015, we had general elections after the president and vice president were accused of corruption. I interned on a national TV channel and met many presidential candidates, but I noticed many youths were still apathetic. In December 2018, I founded Involúcrate (Get Involved), an organization focused on spreading electoral information and encouraging youth political engagement. In 2019, we held educational workshops about citizen participation and the importance of voting. 700 students attended from across 5 towns and 15 schools. I also organized the forums #TuVotoCuenta with presidential candidates during the electoral campaign so young people could have direct contact with politicians and debate ideas and proposals. 900 people attended 13 forums with 15 candidates. For my passion in citizenship, in 2019, One Young World and the European Commission selected me as a Peace Ambassador.
I want to see more youth in public service, participating in civil society so public policies and spaces are created in favor of the youth, with more innovation, inclusive ideas, and opportunities to grow economically. That’s my ultimate dream. My next ambition is to increase Guatemalan voter turnout aged 18 to 25 in the 2023 national elections to more than 15%. If we can do this, political parties will have to open more spaces for us, or at least present proposals toward this sector. I will continue to work to create these opportunities.