What does it mean to be a leader? Many would say it is the ability to guide large groups of people, communities, movements, or projects.

But what if leadership goes beyond what we usually understand it to be? My name is Reishell Martínez. I currently live in Europe, but my leadership began in a department deeply affected by violence, marked by social, economic, and political inequalities after many years of neglect.

But who can lead in a territory that has been bled dry by a structure that remains in place to this day? How do you do it without dying in the process? How do you defend what is ours when those who are supposed to protect it are often the ones doing the most to destroy it?

This is how a form of leadership rooted in political purpose and a collective vision is born. It is not about solving problems that have existed for years; it is about working together so that they do not become the everyday reality of an entire society that is now demanding lasting change.

My journey through different social, community, and political processes in my country allowed me to contribute collectively to transforming public policies that today provide important foundations for building a more just, equal, and inclusive society. When we understand politics as the most direct way to create, or begin building, the life we want, we understand that it is a powerful tool for transforming the reality around us.

Those of us in leadership roles must come together to build a support network focused on concrete achievements and consistent with the very things we criticize. Joining forces is, and will continue to be, the only way to maximize our efforts and achieve more lasting and meaningful results.

As long as we continue to see leadership as a position that allows us to gain recognition, or as a way to occupy spaces only for our own benefit, we will never truly represent the people we claim to defend—or, even worse, the territories for which we supposedly carry out our activism.

So... what does it mean to be a leader? To be young? To be an activist?

My name is Reishell Martínez, and I continue to do activism—not from my own territory, but from another part of the world that urgently needs it. And you, where are you leading from, and what are you leading for?