That is what we must demand from our politicians: that they fight tirelessly for a better, fairer, and greater Guatemala.
The famous speech known as “The Man in the Arena” was delivered by Theodore Roosevelt at the University of the Sorbonne on April 23, 1910, shortly before giving his speech in Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize, which had been awarded to him in 1906. Roosevelt, a figure as controversial as he was influential, was a tireless defender of the causes of the common citizen in the United States, seeking to balance the interests of large corporations, workers, and consumers. His presidency stood out for his fight against monopolies and his commitment to the conservation of natural resources.
Roosevelt not only faced battles in public life, but also in his personal life. He lost his father, whom he considered his best friend, while still very young. Years later, on a day that would mark him forever, he lost his mother to typhoid fever and, on that same day, his wife, only two days after the birth of their daughter. “The light has gone out of my life,” he expressed in his immense grief. Yet those blows never defeated him. Battling chronic asthma and fragile health since childhood, Roosevelt found strength in sports, boxing, and the wilderness. There he forged his physique, tempered his character, and developed a tenacity that prepared him to face the most extraordinary challenges of his time.
As governor of New York, Roosevelt became a bastion against corruption, a crusade he had begun as police commissioner in 1895. Later, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he resigned from his post to lead the “Rough Riders,” who fought heroically in the decisive Battle of San Juan near Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War of 1898. After the end of the war, he was elected governor of New York and, in 1901, assumed the presidency of the United States following the assassination of McKinley, becoming, at 42 years old, the youngest president in the country’s history.
In 1903, Roosevelt supported the independence of Panama, sending warships to prevent intervention by Colombia, and only three days after the declaration of independence, the United States recognized Panama as an independent country. Shortly afterward, he signed the treaty that gave his country control of the zone where the Panama Canal would be built, a project that would change the course of world trade.
Despite being accused of imperialism, Roosevelt was also a skilled diplomat. In 1905, he organized the negotiations to end the war between Japan and Russia, an achievement that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, making him the first American president to receive such an honor.
Only a profound transformation of our culture and mentality can lead us to the Guatemala we all dream of. Let us follow Roosevelt’s advice and work together so that the average Guatemalan citizen may become an example of virtue and courage.
After finishing his presidency in 1909, Roosevelt brought his message to Europe, choosing the Sorbonne in Paris to deliver a two-hour speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic,” now known as “The Man in the Arena.” This speech reflects the conviction of a man who dedicated his life to fighting corruption, defending the common citizen, and leading his country toward greatness.
Roosevelt emphasized that, in democratic republics, the destiny of the nation depends on the quality of its citizens. Unlike monarchies or dictatorships, where the fate of a country lies in the hands of a few, in a democratic republic it is the common citizen who determines its future. For a nation to prosper, its citizens must aspire to excellence in their daily lives and be prepared to face moments of greatest challenge through virtue and heroism.
Roosevelt issued a clear call to political, academic, and economic elites: they have the responsibility to build the necessary conditions for the common citizen to rise. No republic can excel if the average citizen does not aspire to great things, does not understand them, or does not attempt them. However, Roosevelt also warned about the danger of easy criticism. “It is easy to point from the trenches,” he said, but true merit belongs to those who take risks, to those who enter the arena, to those who are covered in dust, sweat, and blood. Those who, even if they fail, do so because they had the courage to try. “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,” Roosevelt reminded us, referring to those who fight for a noble cause. And what cause could be nobler than transforming the future of Guatemala?
That is what we must demand from our politicians: that they fight tirelessly for a better, fairer, and greater Guatemala. And the elites must be the first to clear the path, to prepare the common citizen to become a model of virtue. Only a profound transformation of our culture and mentality can lead us to the Guatemala we all dream of. Let us follow Roosevelt’s advice and work together so that the average Guatemalan citizen may become an example of virtue and courage.
