The Youth’s Voices in Activism: Interview with Regina Delgado

Alicia Walker once said: “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” In the world of politics, teens’ voices have been historically neglected and even categorized as too inexperienced, which has led to us teens buying the narrative in which we’re too young to provoke a change. However, in the status quo, we’ve proved this idea wrong by redefining the role of youth in politics and activism, which has made social movements gain more momentum than ever. Regina Delgado, a brilliant 16-year-old Mexican teen that is extremely active in social movements and politics as a whole, is the perfect example of a girl that found a voice in activism that was originally stolen from her. Despite the setbacks society has set Regina on, she has become a role model for so many people around her and with her powerful ideas and courage, she inspires other teens to find their voices in the fight as well.

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“Hi, Regina! So, first of all, tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you? What are your interests? What are you most passionate about? We want to hear it all!”

“Hi, Sofía! Thank you for having me. I’m Regina, a 16-year-old Mexican student who is currently cursing the IGCSE program. My main passion is being a debater, which makes me debate random topics for fun and therefore, I get to hear other people’s perspectives on them. Additionally, I consider myself a feminist and a climate change activist, which means that I advocate for equal rights for all genders and a sustainable future. I also like to keep myself informed in politics and constantly discuss with other people relevant topics of our status quo and our future as a generation and society.”

“How did you start getting involved in politics and activism? And more specifically, what made you realize that there was a need to do so?”

“I think that the reason why I got involved in politics and activism is that I spotted a need for discussion and action upon various topics. I realized that this need existed as I'm in constant danger due to our society. As a woman, I’m endangered because if I go out on the street, it’s very likely that I get some sort of sexual harassment and there’s a big chance that if I do get sexually harassed, the police won’t do anything about it. I’m suffering injustice as a result of this danger and that made me want to change.

In terms of climate activism, the fact that if we don’t act in 10 years to stop climate change, in 30 years the world we live in will be unbearable and will very likely suffer from resource wars. Those types of dangers that I see as an individual and my generation will face, automatically bring a sense of self-survival to want to solve them.

I also started wanting to do activism because of debate, as I mentioned, I debate a lot! When we debate a motion, we get to hear other people’s perspectives and that way, you get to spot problems that you sometimes didn’t even know existed. Once I debated those topics, I felt that I needed to do something about the problem and keep myself informed on more subjects, even if they don’t impact myself directly. I need to do at least a little bit of action to contribute to the solution because I’m a true believer that if we all just post one picture or do a little bit of action, even like discussing a topic with our family, we can truly make a change as a generation and as a world population.”

“We’ve seen over the last years and particularly months more and more teens getting involved, so how do you think social movements have changed with more youth participation?”

“One of the main ways in which I see youth participation reflected in social movements is in the use of social media. As a young person, one of my main forms of doing activism is through social media as a means to promote consciousness. As much as social media can have a part of performative activism where people just post content to belong, I think one of the main reasons we have truly given strength to social movements and we’ve forced governments to recognize the need for change, is because social media has generated an enormous amount of pressure. For example, the #MeToo Movement, where especially a lot of young women started creating a support campaign within social media that has forced the government to see that harassment is a big problem. But even if the government already knew the severity of the issue, the fact that they saw so many people united and calling for action is what truly incentivizes the government to create change and implement policies. Similar to what happened with BLM, it wasn't only massive protests in the streets of the USA but it was international pressure as well. Because me, a girl from Mexico could post stuff to raise consciousness from the safety of my home. It has given a platform to a lot more people to do activism because some parents don’t allow teens to go out and protest or maybe because they don't have enough time to volunteer somewhere or to start an activist project. Social media is the platform in which young people can get their voices heard and exercise their power as citizens.”

“Talking about social media, what do you think it's the best way to use social media platforms to have deeper activism than just a performative one in which people just post pictures to belong but don’t do anything beyond that?”

“I think that the first step is that as a person that will post something, you need to be aware of what you’re posting and know the problem. It’s not only about posting to your story or retweeting a picture everyone you follow is publishing, it’s reading what that post is saying, understanding it and creating your position. Not because all your friends are posting something it means it’s correct. You need to know how the problem looks and how it impacts while creating your own opinion and questioning if it does have a worth that you post it as well or is it just going to cram social media more and prevent people from reading what is valuable.

Secondly, I think that a lot of times because we want to belong and do performative activism, we talk about things we shouldn’t talk about. For example, with the BLM movement, it is way better to leave the platform open for Black people to talk about Black oppression, than for some of us, as white allies, to talk about the experiences of Black people. It is more valuable when we understand that we must show our support to certain causes but we shouldn’t talk over the victims of that social problem.

Finally, taking action upon what you’re saying. A lot of times what social media posts tell you is what you as an individual can do to help the problem. If you’re posting about preventing the sexualization of women and how we should respect all women, then maybe in your school you shouldn’t mock a girl whose bra is showing because you don’t need to sexualize that. Or you should respect if a woman wants to wear a very short skirt and a crop top because you shouldn’t sexualize that either. We should all think about how the things we’re posting can be translated into little actions of our lives.”

“I know being an activist is not an easy task whatsoever, so what are some of the main challenges you as a young activist have faced? And how have you overcome them?”

“I think that the first challenge I’ve faced is that I have been seen as very radical amongst the most conservative parts of my family and close friends. They often tell me that I’m very “radical” and even “crazy”. I think that the main thing you need to do as an activist when facing these situations is to stand up for what you believe in and defend the change you propose, even if someone is telling you that your cause is not worth it or that it’s wrong. If you truly believe in your cause and the change you want to see, you should have the courage to stand up to those people and say “I don’t care if you classify me as a radical, I strongly believe in change.” and to keep working for your cause.

Another big challenge will be insecurity. Especially climate activists tend to be attacked by institutions and companies who don’t want the type of change they propose. Also, feminists tend to be very attacked by sexist individuals inside protests and outside them. This looks like going to a protest and getting brutally sprayed with pepper gas or being outside a protest and saying “I’m a feminist and I believe we should destroy the patriarchy” and being attacked by a male person you’re talking to. Bearing those attacks without letting it get to you will maintain you strong, even if a lot of people disregard your cause.”

“Talking about the pepper spray against feminists, I know the past March you had the opportunity of going to a feminist protest here in Mexico City, so tell us a bit about your experience, how did you feel and some of the challenges you faced being there.”

“Firstly, what I felt. I felt incredibly empowered as I’ve never felt before. A lot of times, we feminists feel a little alone when we talk to a lot of people who don’t believe in feminism or don’t support it. However, once you go to a protest, and you see there are thousands of women around you that believe in the same cause and would do anything to protect you, is the moment where you truly understand how big the fight is and how many people need it to succeed.

In terms of challenges, I think that the main challenge I faced was not being heard by the government. This looks like police brutality and violence against protestors. As much as I agree that there are a few violent sides to some feminist protests in which they paint monuments or destroy them, there are many more peaceful sides. Despite this, police attack everybody, they generalize all of the protest assuming all of us are part of the violent side of feminism. How that played for me specifically happened when I was within the group that my school took to the protest and I was sprayed with pepper gas in my eyes. It wasn't only terribly painful but also, it was so frustrating to know that I was being attacked by the police that are supposed to protect me. Although it was horrible to feel that way, it showed me that the movement is not just about demanding a new situation for women but also changing our government systematically, as they’re directly attacking the oppressed. Something else that this attack left me was empowerment. In the second in which I was pepper-sprayed, a group of about five other women came with me, one of them wrapped me with her sweater and stopped the police from spraying me more and another one gave me milk to reduce the pain in my eyes. That feeling of being protected by someone who doesn’t know you but shares your cause made me feel incredibly empowered and truly brought safety to the cause. I would encourage you to join your community and acknowledge that the fight is for many more than just ourselves and know that people who share your cause will protect you, even if you don’t know them.”

“In the context in which there are so many social problems created by the generations that came before us and are compromising our futures, what do you think is the role or duty we as teens have to assume to try and change the current situation?”

“For starters, I think that our role is to want that change in the first place and to recognize that the world that our ancestors left us, is incredibly unfair. They left us a world that is burning down due to climate change, filled with injustice and very unsafe streets. It is a world that has been a victim of oppression through all centuries, at some point we had slavery and just some years ago in Mexico, we had women who couldn’t vote. However, we were also left with a world that is way better than the one women before us had. We have always had people who fight to change these situations; therefore, as teens who live in such a problematic, uncertain and dangerous world, our role is to start the fight to assure a better world for the generations to come and to acknowledge the fight that those before us fought by keeping it alive. We need to acknowledge that a lot of women who fought for women’s suffrage died for the cause and gave us women of the present time, the power to vote. So our role is to give the girls in the future a world in which for example, they won’t be sexualized in schools for wearing a skirt and a world in which they can go out at night on their own without being afraid of every single stare that they receive in the streets. It’s our role to keep on fighting and to keep faith in getting to a future that may seem impossible at first, but it’s only impossible if we stop believing in it.”

“Finally, what advice would you give to other teens that want to start getting involved in activism and politics but aren’t so sure how to do so?”

“If you want to start getting involved in politics to know what the world's problems are and how they look like, my first advice would be to get informed. But don’t start reading every single piece of news you find and try to eat all the information in the world. I would recommend for you to just start with one topic of particular interest of yours, in my case, it was feminism and climate change, but whatever your topic is, focus on it, start reading about it and start slowly understanding it. From there, you can start exploring other topics that are different or related to the one that interests you and that way you can start constructing a full political view; otherwise, you’ll get frustrated because you won’t understand any topic at all. After all, you just received a bunch of random news. Once you already have that political idea in your head or a full understanding of the problem you want to take action on, my advice would be to start with very small actions. For example, posting certain things to social media and having peaceful conversations with your family regarding the subject. Those small actions will slowly show you all of the other types of actions you can take. Personally, with every action I take towards change or for demanding the government for a change, I see one more step ahead of me. So, if I have already achieved action for solving certain issues, I can see another problem that is in front of me and can start taking action on it. Finally, look around for institutions that can help you take your activism one step forward. Remember you’re not alone and we will never be able to change the world just by ourselves. There’s a lot of institutions that can help you, in my case, in terms of climate change, I discovered a group called UN Youth, which is a group created by the UN in which we discuss topics of sustainability and sustainable development. This way, you can take your activism one step forward using institutions around you; you could contact Greenpeace, Amnesty International, the UN, among others. You will always find an institution that is willing to help you achieve your activist goals. Because alone we won’t be heard by the government and it’s less likely that we create a change, but together, we can change it all and recreate the world that we know today.”

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Just like Regina did, I want to incentivize all teens out there to find their active roles in politics. Find your cause, inform yourself, teach others, share your story and more importantly, feel a deep passion for whatever you're standing up for. To get to the best version of our modern democracies, governments must take into account everyone’s perspectives and teens are not the exception. So let’s prove them wrong and let them know that although they call us “the generation of the future”, we’re actually, the generation that is fixing our damaged present.