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 1 June 2022. Prior to her presidency, she served as a representative of the National Assembly from 2017 to 2022, 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 Bolivarian University of Venezuela. 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 2016, and would win the election to become the youngest representative in the country's history at the age of 29.

The 2020 corruption charges of president Luis Ángel Escamilla was one of the leading reasons of Sierra running for the presidency in 2022. As part of the Coalición del Progreso coalition, Sierra was elected president after a landslide victory in the 2022 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.

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 Escamilla 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 (2017-2022)
Sierra ran for the 2017 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 May 2017. During her term, Sierra was mentioned as one of the most popular politicians in Valenzuela according to different opinion polls.

2020 corruption charges of Luis Ángel Escamilla
In mid-2020, 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 2022 elections.

2022 presidential candidacy
As the conflict with the government continued in 2021, this situation helped to unite the left and center-left opposition. On 31 December 2021, 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 7 May, Sierra won the election with 60.17% of the vote. Her inauguration was held on 1 June 2022.

Cabinet
Sierra announced the ministers of her cabinet on 21 May 2022. The ministers who took office are part of the Coalición del Progreso coalition, and there are also independents. Sierra's cabinet is considered to be the most ethnically diverse in Valenzuelan history: 4 of the cabinet members are from African descent, 6 are members of the Wapishana tribe, 7 are from European descent, 5 are from Asian descent (4 are from Japanese and Filipino descents, and 1 are from Cadasan descent), and 2 are from Jewish descent, and fourteen of the ministers being LGBTQIA+ members.

2023 constitutional referendum
After the corruption charges of Escamilla 2 years prior, many Valenzuelans are demanding to change the current 2001 constitution. On 19 December, Sierra announced that a national plebiscite will be held on 14 January 2023.