Teresa Magnolia Maldonado Mérida is the Ombudsman for the Rights of Older People in Guatemala. In this role, she has worked to open spaces within Guatemalan society, Governmental Authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations, the Legislative Body, and the Judicial Body so that older people are seen as subjects of rights, which in some way has begun to have an impact on raising awareness to combat ageism. Through talks given to older people themselves, Teresa Magnolia Maldonado Mérida has made efforts to empower them to recognise and demand their rights, consequently allowing them to understand that part of active and healthy ageing is that their voices are heard so that the operators of public policies understand their needs in a cross-cutting manner, taking into account physical, psychological, social, cultural and economic aspects and needs. This work resulted in the approval of the Policy on Access to Justice for Older People in 2019, enabling the resources of the Guatemalan judiciary to make reasonable adjustments to allow older people access to justice with quality and warmth, in conditions of equality and non-discrimination.
But beyond this rights-based work to foster healthy ageing, Teresa Magnolia Maldonado Mérida put forward a proposal of the importance of preparing people with knowledge of the ageing process at a technical or higher university level, based on the results of an evaluation she conducted of the various weaknesses that exist in Guatemala on issues related to older people. This led to the approval of a diploma course in gerontology at the Galileo University, who asked her to prepare the syllabus for the course. This diploma course could not be carried out for various reasons, but then the same university started a Master's Degree in Geriatrics and Gerontology, recruiting Theresa Magnolia Maldonado Mérida to teach. To date, more than 100 doctors have graduated from this master's programme, creating ripples of change in a country that she has viewed as lagging behind in geriatric and gerontological issues for many years.