My name is Helen Osieja and I have taught at the tertiary level for over 25 years. I have lectured in many subjects. Among these are international relations, international trade, government and politics, Latin American Studies, and intercultural communication. I have lived in Mexico, my home country, Germany and Sweden.
In Sweden, I worked as a political analyst at the Riksdagen, the Swedish Parliament, for a short time. Although the job itself was fascinating, the corruption, cronyism, and dishonesty I saw were very unpleasant. I witnessed many times that what politicians said and did had very little to do with democratic values. I also witnessed how crucial information about the public administration of the country, was withheld for political reasons.
Furthermore, I closely followed the political campaign before the 2018 elections in Sweden. I witnessed the way many teachers indoctrinated their students and incited them to violence. Young people often came to the booths of the party or parties they did not like to insult and attack representatives. It was alarming to see how these teachers were brainwashing their students so they would echo their own opinions. Obviously, these teachers cannot teach democratic principles, neither in theory nor in practice.
In 2020 I obtained a grant from the Ax:sson Johnsson Foundation in Sweden to write a textbook about democratic principles. The book is published in English, Spanish and Swedish.