Ninette Lina Ron Pereira (September 23, 1959 – March 5, 2011) was a Venezuelan political leader. She was the founder and president of the Venezuelan Popular Unity party, one of the parties which supported President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

. Ron ran one of the

Bolivarian Circles The Bolivarian Circles ( es, Círculos bolivarianos) are political and social organizations of workers' councils in Venezuela, originally created by President Hugo Chávez on 21 December 2001.http://www.bauleros.org/TEMAS/PAISES/ARGENTINA/2001-12 ...

. She died of a heart attack in 2011 at the age of 51 and was buried in the South Cemetery of Plaza Andrés Eloy Blanco. President Chávez extolled her as "a true soldier of the people" and a "complete revolutionary."

Early life

Lina Ron was born in

Anaco Anaco is a city in Anzoátegui State, Venezuela, the shire town of Anaco Municipality. It is an industrial town, connected to the natural gas and petroleum industries. Estimated population (as of 2005): 106,275 inhabitants. Transport The city is s ...

, in the state of Anzoategui on September 23, 1959. She was the fourth child of Manuel Ron Chira, a political leader, and Herminia Pereira. She and her six brothers plus eight cousins were raised by Lina Ron's mother after her father Manuel went to prison after being convicted of murder.

Political career

She moved to Caracas at the age of 27 and worked in a shopping mall before becoming a leftist student leader in the Comité de Luchas Populares (CLP), where she agitated supposedly in favor of students and street vendors. She dyed her hair platinum-blond and played an important role as an activist.

Political approach

Ron was very aggressive and volatile in her radical political approach to the point that even Chávez called her "uncontrollable", and she even labelled herself as the "ugly part" of the "revolution". She was also a leader of one of the

called La Piedrita stating that such circles were "armed to the teeth". In 2008, she and her companions had attacked the Archbishop's Palace in Caracas and irascibly evicted people who were there, and had adamantly demanded the support of the Catholic Church to the cause of the revolution. In 2009, Ron led an armed attack on

Globovisión Globovisión is a 24-hour television news network. It broadcasts over-the-air in Caracas, Aragua (state), Aragua, Carabobo and Zulia on Ultra high frequency, UHF channel 33. Globovisión is seen in the rest of Venezuela on cable or satellite ( ...

, where she and attackers threw tear gas into the headquarters of the news organization that left injured multiple individuals inside and threatened its security with firearms. She then went to jail for three months following the 2009 attack and was allegedly recommended to be placed on the United States' Visas Viper for suspected terrorists due to the violent actions.

Death

On 5 March 2011, Andrés Izarra, then head of the

Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information The Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information (Minci) is a public ministry of the Government of Venezuela dedicated to communication, informing the Venezuelan public and promoting the Venezuelan government. Structure *Minister o ...

announced that Lina Ron died of "coronary obstructive disease of long standing". Officials of the Bello Monte morgue in Caracas ruled that she did not die of a rumored

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

since there were no leaks found on any of her organs. Following the death of Ron, President Chávez stated that she "was a sharp sword and living flame of popular socialist Bolivarian Revolution" and that "with the departure of Lina Ron the sword sharpens more and the flame grows more".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ron, Lina 1959 births 2011 deaths 21st-century Venezuelan women politicians 21st-century Venezuelan politicians People from Anzoátegui Venezuelan Popular Unity politicians Political party founders Women founders