Shortly after 9:30 pm local time, the Associated Press declared Zohran Mamdani the winner, who defeated the main candidates of the Democratic establishment in the primaries with a speech focused on affordable housing, free public transportation and social justice. With 80% of the tables counted, he won with just over 50% of the votes.
Mamdani was catapulted to the center of the American political scene after winning the city’s mayoral candidacy and became one of the main enemies from Donald Trump, who threatened to cut off all federal funding to the city and even deport him if he won. This victory will definitely fuel the president’s fight against cities governed by Democrats like Washington and Chicago, which Trump defines as “far left.”
The brand new mayor embodies the fusion between cultural and political diversity. With immigrant roots and activist training, he defines himself as a democratic socialist, although he acts within the Democratic Party. His figure is reminiscent of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Bernie Sanders, with whom he shares both the support of the DSA and a progressive agenda.
In his campaign for mayor, Mamdani repeats a slogan that condenses his program: “A New York you can afford.” The goal, he says, is to return the city to those who make it work: workers, immigrants and young people expelled by the cost of living.
Mamdani’s campaign also represents a broad coalition of those who support immigrants, Palestine, and trans people, precisely the targets of Trump’s attacks.
Mamdani’s first test will most likely be facing Trump’s threats. What position will Zohran Mamdani take? Will it align with the moderate agenda of New York State Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, who is following the advice of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) to bring Trump to justice while collaborating on essential issues with the federal government, such as the repression of the pro-Palestinian movement? Or will he be forced to rely on the support of the working and oppressed masses of New York? What direction will DSA (“Democratic Socialists USA”), the largest socialist organization in the United States with great influence in New York, take now that it will have a foothold in the capitalist government of one of the most important cities in the country? What direction will the union bureaucracies and those of social movements take when they are threatened by Trump?
What is certain is that the base that voted for Mamdani goes a little further than what the mayor himself wants. The energy surrounding his campaign is the product of vibrant and disruptive new ways of thinking among the working class, youth and sections of the middle classes around the world, a reaction to volatility at national and international levels. Until now, this phenomenon has been channeled by neo-reformist figures and organizations, such as DSA, Die Linke in Germany or even Your Party in the United Kingdom. But you only have to look at any of the pro-Palestinian or anti-Right protests in the last year to realize that the perspectives and aspirations of these sectors lie to the left of their political representation, including Mamdani.
This result is a very important point of support for the fights to come, both in the US and in the rest of the world, which today saw how someone who defines himself as a socialist prevailed in the center of world capitalism.
In development
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
