Leandro Alejandro

Leandro Legara Alejandro
Lean Alejandro (standing with a microphone) during a students' protest against Marcos
Born	July 10, 1960 Navotas, Metro Manila, Philippines
Died	September 19, 1987(1987-09-19) (aged 27) Manila, Philippines
Other names	Lean Alejandro
Alma mater	University of the Philippines
Organization	Colegium Liberium Philippine Collegian Anti-Imperialist Youth Committee Youth for Nationalism and Democracy UP Diliman University Student Council Center for Nationalist Studies People's MIND Justice for Aquino, Justice for All Nationalist Alliance for Justice, Freedom and Democracy BAYAN
Movement	People Power Revolution
Spouse(s)	Lidy Nacpil-Alejandro

Leandro Legara Alejandro (July 10, 1960 – September 19, 1987), known among activists and street parliamentarians as Lean, was an activist, a student leader, and a left-wing nationalist in the mold of Lorenzo Tañada, Jose Diokno, and Ninoy Aquino.

Born to Rosendo and Salvacion Alejandro on July 10, 1960 in a Manila hospital, Leandro Alejandro was the eldest son of a struggling middle class family. An inquisitive child he would ask many questions such as why the moon would follow him, how do pigs give birth, or going as far as dismantling his toys to figure out how they work. Around his neighborhood he was known for his tutoring lessons bringing home as many as 20 of his classmates. He was also known for his love and skill in chess playing with many people in his neighborhood from his schoolmates to the policemen. As part of a lower-middle class family Leandro he helped save some money by hauling pails of water on a cart to his house.

At St. James Academy, discipline and the value of authority were the core traditions. Lean was often called to the principal's office for going against school rules and improper behavior. He found interest in reading books and magazines containing short stories in class because would always be bored during lectures. Of the times he would listen, he would recite without being called, emanating resentment from his teachers for his forwardness and "rude" behavior.

He was chosen as corp commander of the Citizens' Army Training (CAT). He was strict and lenient, never missing a beat. Although always part of the top 10, he was never on the honor roll because his conduct was always a B. He was almost not going to graduate from high school because of this one incident where he refused answer his Social Ethics examination where he explicitly wrote down on his paper that he thought that giving insights on biblical passages were irrelevant. This prompted the school to rethink its system.

In 1978, Lean was enrolled in the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He took up B.S. Chemistry as a preparatory course to medicine, believing it was the best way to help people. He became part of the Campus Crusade for Christ during his freshman year. He shifted courses from Chemistry to Philippine studies after taking classes in history and political science and discovering the Marxist way of "understanding the world around him". His gradual politicization prompted him to join the short-lived Anti-Imperialist Youth Committee in the university which was later transformed into the Youth for Nationalism and Democracy (YND). He continued to be exposed to social realities in his second year of college upon joining the Philippine Collegian Liberum, the UP student publication, as a features writer where he wrote about various topics from eviction of squatters to inequities in Philippine societies. It was in being part of this publication did he find "enlightenment". Lean held several positions in UP after leaving the Collegian. He was vice president and later president of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council; vice chairman and then chairman of the UP student council in 1983 of which the council was eventually dismantled only three years after it was established because of a 400 percent tuition raise of which they confronted. In 1981, he led a rally to Mendiola, the first after martial law was lifted. The Student Council was forced to face national issues when Ninoy Aquino was murdered. He actively protested against the Aquino assassination in one of the largest student's rallies in a long time.