Alexandria Sierra

Alexandria Constanza Sierra y Esparza (born 31 December 1987) is a Valenzuelan communist politician and activist who is the 25th and current president of Valenzuela, serving since 31 December 2020. Prior to her presidency, she served as a representative of the National Assembly from 2015 to 2020, representing the Federal Capital District electoral district as a Liberal Democratic member.

Born in Catalina, in the Federal Capital District, Sierra earned a degree in political science from the Federal University of Catalina. She began her political career in 2011 as a member of the left-wing big-tent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as a member of the Marxist faction. Her defiant, charismatic attitude as an activist made her a rising figure on the Valenzuelan left. Sierra announced her candidacy as a representative for the National Assembly in 2015, and would win the election to become the youngest representative in the country's history at the age of 28.

The 2018 corruption charges of president Luis Ángel Escamilla was one of the leading reasons of Sierra running for the presidency in 2020. As part of the Coalición del Progreso coalition, Sierra was elected president after a landslide victory in the 2020 general election. She is the youngest president, as well the first to be ideologically communist, the first female, and the first atheist president in Valenzuela's history and she is the second youngest state leader in the world.

In late-2022, Sierra departed from the Liberal Democratic Party and created the far-left pro-Bolivarian socialist People's Front, a more radical splinter party of the LDP.

Early life
Sierra was born on 31 December 1987 in her paternal grandfather Cipriano Sierra y Matos's home. The Sierra family were of Spanish descent. Her parents, Maximino Ángel Sierra y Campana and Maritza Esparza de Sierra, were manual labourers who lived in the impoverished area of Catalina.

Sierra was born the third of five children. In 1999, she attended the Catalina Vocational High School and graduated in 2003.

Member of the National Assembly (2015-2020)
Sierra ran for the 2015 parliamentary elections as a Liberal Democratic candidate to represent the District 1, which encompasses the Federal Capital District. She was elected with 82.41% of the vote, the highest number received by any candidate in the region.

Sierra was sworn in as a member of the National Assembly on 31 December 2015. During her term, Sierra was mentioned as one of the most popular politicians in Valenzuela according to different opinion polls.

2018 corruption charges of Luis Ángel Escamilla
In mid-2018, protests demanding the removal of then-incumbent president Luis Ángel Escamilla sparked the Lucha contra la deshonestidad, the largest civil unrest in the country's history. After riots started in different places of the capital, President Escamilla established a state of emergency in Catalina, which was later extended to all major cities of the country as the protests grew. Protesters incorporated demands about holding a snap election, corruption and the removal of Escamilla from the presidency, among other causes. Sierra was a strong critic of the government's response and opposed the use of the Valenzuelan National Armed Forces to repress the protests, even confronting a group of soldiers deployed in Plaza Emigdio Pavia.

As the protests grew at an alarming rate, Sierra became even more popular. Her popularity eventually led to her presidential candidacy for the 2020 elections.

2020 presidential candidacy
As the conflict with the government continued in 2020, this situation helped to unite the left and center-left opposition. On 26 June, Sierra accepted the nomination of Coalición del Progreso to become their official presidential candidate. According to the main opinion polls, Sierra was the frontrunner for the presidential election, with a 67% electoral mandate. On 31 October, Sierra won the election with 60.17% of the vote. Her inauguration was held on 31 December 2020.

Economic policy
The GDP increased by 4.66% year over year in the first quarter of 2021 and by 2.78% in the second, the lowest rate since 2001. Since then, growth has continued to surpass 7%, which satisfies the 6% standard for sustainable economic growth. Throughout Sierra's administration, the Valenzuelan peso (VL₱) has also gained strength. In 2018, it reached its highest level since 1998 when its exchange rate per US dollar crossed VL₱4.

The Sierra administration has placed a strong emphasis on infrastructure development, with particular attention paid to irrigation, seaport and airport development, and the construction of new roads and railroads. The largest-ever infrastructure expenditure in Valenzuelan history, VL₱17.42 billion (US$3.6 billion) was made in the state budget for 2022. In total, her administration planned 187 infrastructure projects starting in 2022.

Personal life
Sierra is married to Juan José Cervantes, whom she met during a student strike in 2014, since 2016. The couple have one child: Luciano Nicodemo Cervantes y Sierra (born 2017).