MARIA ANDREA PEREA RODRIGUEZ

Born and raised in Mexico, Maria has seen first-hand the beauty and complexity of achieving equality and protecting our human rights. Passionate about these topics, Maria obtained a bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a minor in Global Trade. Alongside her job in the private sector, Maria is a member of numerous youth organizations, including Millennium Fellowship, Jovenes que Impactan and Jovenes de la Alianza del Pacífico.

“Think of an inspiring female leader, then add a little bit of spice!”

Q: Tell us a few things about your country, and also your life's story!

My name is Maria Andrea Perea Rodriguez, but you may just call me Andy, as my family and friends do. I am a young woman of 24 years, I love to sing, to cook, to dance (even though I have two left feet), to be with my friends & family and I like to learn new stuff (especially languages, coding, sustainability, and economics) and stay busy towards the social challenges. I studied International Relations, a career that I really love, and currently, I work in the private sector in a truck manufacturer and distribution company.

I am from this place in the world map called Mexico. There is a lot of bad press in the news and in the internet about my precious country already, so I am going to share with you what is not shown there. Mexico is a rich country in all of the senses in culture, traditions, nature, art, music, in sports, in biodiversity, in landscapes, oceans, in delicious food and in warm, open and kindhearted people. Mexico holds more than half of the world´s biodiversity, is ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world, and has more than a thousand varieties of tacos, Mexico is life, although there are a lot of things to achieve and to better in all are as not all is bad.

Where you are from shapes you. I was born and raised in Mexico, therefore I am proud to say that such as the place as I come from, I am a resilient person, who knows adversity and difficulty and fights in solidarity to overcome it, but at the same time I am a person who knows how to enjoy life, being Mexican is that complexity and beauty.

Q: How did you experience the global pandemic crisis, did it change your life or/and your views about the world? How?

The COVID-19 pandemic changed my perspective about myself and about the world a lot. Before the pandemic I took a lot of things for granted, but now I realize life is so fragile and that it needs to be lived at its fullest and needs to be now, tomorrow there is not so much time. I personally learned how fortunate I am and of all the opportunities I have had in my life, which made me even more aware of how a lot of things in the global society are configured. 

I am really aware that we or at least I can go back to the “normality” lived in before the pandemic because a lot of things were not right like inequalities, wages, environmental and social problems, for me this is the call I needed to change and take action. The only inquiry I have now is how to take action towards the good and achieve the goals I set.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

The key challenges that are affecting the direct society I am part and member of, in my perspective are the two following ones: 

1)   The lack of water and drought in the State: since the begging of 2022, the State I live in (Nuevo Leon), has been facing one of the biggest droughts in history due to the lack of rain and has no water reservoirs, because the huge companies in the State took all of it for their commercial purposes. Currently, there is water shortening1-2 days per week and there are zones that have no water access 5 days a week on average.

2) Government corruption: since way before the foundation of Mexico corruption has been present, and that past truly translates into present because currently, it is one of the biggest issues we face in the whole country. Most politicians are corrupt, they steal a lot of money without consideration for the people they govern, taxes do not reflect on our public services, security, development, and human rights. Politicians keep getting richer (without any logical explanation, just stealing) and the rest keeps getting poorer, everything they say in their campaign always stays as fake promises.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them?

One of the most difficult challenges I had to face was dyslexia. I remember when I was a kid, I struggled a lot with my tasks at school, homework and chores, and honestly, I did not understand why, until my parents realized something was wrong and they took me to a specialized therapist/psychologist and I was identified to have this learning disability. I remember vividly, although it was a long time ago, that it was pretty hard to accept the fact that something was wrong only with me and not with my classmates and friends. 

Luckily, I overcome and now I can control my dyslexia. It took a lot of disposition, hard work and consistency from my end, but to face this obstacle was not an individual success, it was a collective success because it was due to my parents and psychologist's support and effort. This personal hurdle has shown me the importance of community, teamwork, the acceptance of help and listening to others, as sometimes I am not able to see what is wrong but others do.

Q: If you were to ask one thing from our current leaders, what would it be?

My question to the current leaders is: Why do you always become the exact horrible things you publicly criticized, repudiated, and swore to change from other politicians?

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

A mentor is a really important person in the life of one, is someone with the role of a lighthouse, someone I look up to, because they have the best advice and as they know you and your goals they offer you support and guidance, but as well they help you discover new stuff, build your confidence up and show you the path for action. 

A mentor is a safe person which you can trust in their guidance for the better, with all their experience they make the race for you shorter and make the road less bumpy.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share?  

Worry less, and live more, enjoy yourself and others because life is way too short. All that we have now is the present, so keep doing your best, if you fall you come back stronger towards your goals, so remember to give your life a purpose and as you are the boss of your own life and you are the stories you tell yourself about you, own them.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives!

Mario Alberto Ramos is a Mexican social entrepreneur and a great human that works towards sustainability. He is a passionate leader that is doing stuff and changing the game of technology in relation to traditions in the country, he will be the next Elon Musk if he keeps down this path I am sure (but add spice to it, we are Mexicans!). 

He is the founder of Atom Inovatec, which is a social entrepreneurship that creates solar energy and related devices (panels, batteries, watches) incorporating native Oaxacan art into its design. He mixes clean and sustainable technology (solar energy) with Mexican traditions, empowering the native communities that have limited opportunities, while at the same time creating bigger community in Oaxaca, as he teaches and offers kids sustainability and hosts engineering workshops.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are made towards gender equality?

Nowadays being a woman in my city (Monterrey, Mexico) is one of the most dangerous situations ever because all women’s security and wellbeing, no matter their age, race, context or religion are at threat, mostly due to femicide and forcedly disappearances of women. The situation that we, women are facing in Mexico, is hard, almost no woman feels secure even walking on the street nor protected by authorities; this panorama is the reflection of a patriarchal and machista society, that mistreat women, instead of seeing them as equals, sees them as less, enforcing conducts to anger and rage against them and in actions such as less professional/educational opportunities and less wages.

Q: Share with us a phrase, a poem or a story that means something to you.

I have several phrases that have special meaning in my life, here are my top three:

1. Everything you desire is across fear.

2. Tomorrow there is no tomorrow.

3. "Utopia is on the horizon. I walk two steps, she walks two steps away and the horizon moves ten steps further. So, for what does the Utopia works?, For that, it works for walking – Eduardo Galeano

Q: Share with us a project that you would like to make happen for your country or a cause that you are passionate about.

I would love to create and implement an institution that promotes and monitors Sustainable Constructions, with the aim to protect nature, animals, the ecosystems, reduce the use of nonrenewable materials that harm the environment and mainly avoid construction in protected areas, under the speech of development and common well-being.