In Conversation with Ronalth Ochaeta (ILG 2021)
An interview by the ILG Alumni Network
The Latin America Leadership Program (LALP) thanks the ILG Alumni Network for sharing ILG alumni news with us. LALP programs seek to build networks for the region's leaders where they can find collaboration, inspiration, and support. For this same reason, we happily share the achievements of our alumni and celebrate the networks’ initiatives to get to know each other.
In this sense, representatives of the ILG network met with Ronalth Ochaeta, ILG 2021 alumni and the current elected representative for the Department of Guatemala through the Semilla party, which he co-founded, to learn more about his career and ILG experience.
Below is a script of the interview questions and answers:
1. Your age? 37 years old.
2. What did you study? I graduated in Political Science at university and then completed two master’s degrees.
3. Where do you live? In Guatemala, I was born in a town called Cobán.
4. When you were little you liked… Being mischievous! And I enjoyed playing in the forest and in the Parque de las Victorias with my neighbors and cousins. I played basketball and belonged to the “Boy Scouts”.
5. The most valuable thing about your country is: Guatemala’s diversity in every sense: climatic, cultural and ethnic. The ancestral Mayan tradition.
6. A political reference that inspires you? Olof Palme. Former Prime Minister of Sweden and creator of that country’s Welfare State (60’). Furthermore, he was a great defender of democracy and freedom.
7. A book that you recommend: “El Señor presidente” by Miguel Ángel Asturias (Guatemalan). It is the portrait of how authoritarianism falls in Guatemala and the dawn of the Revolution emerges.
8. What do you spend your free time doing? Mountain biking, going for a walk with my dogs, working as a coffee farmer (coffee production) and spending time with my family.
9. The most challenging thing about being a public servant is… As young representatives, responding to the demands of society and being the reference for politicians without privileges (economic, security) and close to the people.
10. The most rewarding thing about being a public servant is… receiving the affection of the people and the support so that we can achieve our electoral mission (Semilla was founded in 2015, it is a new party with a strong focus on the anti-corruption agenda).
11. In a few words, how was your experience at ILG… ILG was an entry ticket to another world. I participated while the pandemic was going on (the 2021 edition was virtual), and it changed my understanding of the importance of being leaders and the role of our position in public life.
12. What topics did you find most interesting/useful? Leadership through coaching sessions.
13. What changed since your time at ILG? The great legacy of ILG was to ignite that spark of action and self-recognition of my leadership and my role in my workspace to become more involved in the politics of my country.
14. What differentiates ILG from other training entities? I think the relevance and interaction with colleagues. In addition, it is committed to leadership oriented towards transformation.
15. The moment you remember most from the course: The reference figure and the Leadership coaching process, led by Professor Diane.
16. What was your applied project proposal about? It was a proposal to improve the State attention mechanisms for the COVID19 pandemic by creating close and efficient relations with local governments. Additionally, establishing a monitoring platform of fundamental actions to follow such as vaccination doses.
17. Why would you recommend ILG? The program is a space prepared to understand the Latin American reality and is useful for those of us who are part of it. It has a very high quality level of teachers and the program also establishes that one be demanding of oneself (the discipline of the course, punctuality). The possibility of having a scholarship to participate is notable.
18. What values do you find in the alumni network? I believe that we can get a lot of benefit from the Network and we share the growth of our colleagues. It gives us an identity but also friends who welcome us in these countries. And constant communication.
19. What do you think will be the challenges in the coming years for Latin America? From my point of view, the return of authoritarianism and the threat to democracy as a government regime is latent. We have to take that path and strengthen them because if not, we will fall. Development issues should be addressed, because there are still populations that do not have access to minimum rights. Finally, the fight against climate change, especially due to our environmental conditions.
20. A quote or phrase that identifies you: It is from Juan José Arévalo; “The most important quality to hold public office is decency.”
Ronalth, thank you for sharing more about yourself with us! We know that all the impact you are generating in Guatemala will serve as inspiration for the alumni network and its future generations.
Source: ILG network interview