1. Leandro "Lean" Legara Alejandro was a student leader and left-wing nationalist political activist in the Philippines.
16 Facts About Lean Alejandro
1. 2.
Lean Alejandro studied at St James Academy before continuing his education at the University of the Philippines in Diliman in 1978.
3.
Lean Alejandro joined the university's short-lived Anti-Imperialist Youth Committee, which later became the national student umbrella organization Youth for Nationalism and Democracy on August 17,1980.
4.
Lean Alejandro joined the Philippine Collegian, the UP student publication, as a features writer, where he wrote articles critical of the Marcos administration.
5.
Lean Alejandro established the Center for Nationalist Studies in 1983.
6.
Lean Alejandro held several positions in the university after leaving the Collegian.
7.
Lean Alejandro participated in protests against the assassination, one of the largest student rallies for some time.
8.
Lean Alejandro was involved in the formation of broad multi-sector organizations during the Martial Law rule of Ferdinand Marcos, including "PAPA" during the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1981, and People's MIND in 1982 against Marcos's national referendum.
9.
Lean Alejandro's activism began in earnest following Aquino's murder in 1983, when he joined the anti-Marcos protests and the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All movement.
10.
Lean Alejandro dropped out of university to become a full-time activist, organizing the resistance against the Marcos regime.
11.
Lean Alejandro was part of the Movement for the Philippine Sovereignty and Democracy led by former Senator Jose W Diokno, and the Nationalist Alliance for Justice, Freedom and Democracy under Diokno in 1984.
12.
In 1985, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan was established, and Alejandro became its secretary-general leading the party together with retired senator Lorenzo M Tanada.
13.
Lean Alejandro was a prominent member of the parliament of the streets during the 1980s, alongside Crispin Beltran, Lorenzo Tanada, and other Filipino nationalist leaders.
14.
On September 19,1987, Lean Alejandro left a press conference at the National Press Club where he announced plans for a nationwide strike against the military's role in government, and headed to the Bayan office on Rosal Street, Cubao.
15.
Lean Alejandro was married to Lidy Nacpil, a fellow socialist activist he had met at the university through mutual membership of the United Methodist Youth Fellowship and the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines.
16.
The Leandro L Alejandro Foundation was founded after the murder in 1987, to support the peace process under president Fidel Ramos, and organized in the early 1990s as a peace network, with Alejandro's widow Lidy Nacpil-Alejandro playing an active role.