Misha G. and June Vass | Red Phoenix correspondents–

Zohran Mamdani — a Muslim, an immigrant, and a self-proclaimed democratic socialist — has managed to win the election for Mayor of New York City, in a country which has trained its populace to hate anything that smacks of socialism as a patriotic duty. While Mamdani himself is not as radical as the establishment wants us to believe, his victory is indicative of the people’s discontent with the current state and desire for progressive and equitable policy changes. This should not be considered a final victory for the people, but as a starting point for real socialists to further concentrate their efforts in organizing their communities and workplaces.

Although still a member of the Democratic party, Mamdani represents a welcome change from the status quo.

The Democratic party and Republic Party have long ago proved that they serve the same interests, with “Genocide” Joe Biden and “Holocaust” Harris presiding over an administration which funded a genocide in Palestine, sold out Alaska to oil drilling with the Willow Project, broke virtually all campaign promises including student loan forgiveness, and massively increased the budget for state sponsored terror organizations such as ICE. One promise Biden did seem to keep throughout his administration was that “nothing would fundamentally change.”

Mamdani, on the other hand, has supported the Palestinian cause, distinguishing himself from the pro-Zionist politicians who dominate American politics, given their interests in the Middle East and the millions they spend on their campaigns. To fund proposals like rent freezes, free childcare, and subsidized supermarkets, he plans to tax the wealthy—issues that worry the establishment Democrats and Republicans alike. 

Mamdani ran as a Democrat when he won the primary elections despite the overwhelming opposition of the majority of the Party, which still sees him with deep suspicion and constantly works to undermine him.

The conservative section of the Democratic Party and the majority of the Republican Party have united behind disgraced ex-governor and sex offender Andrew Cuomo, with the fascist Donald Trump even going so far as to endorse him. Trump even is threatening to send the National Guard into New York and arrest the democratically elected candidate. Both groups spill the most vile hatred upon Mamdani, accusing him of being a terrorist, an antisemite, and of course, a Communist. None of these accusations are true (unfortunately so for the latter) and many of his detractors root their “criticisms” in nothing more than islamophobia.

But let us be clear: Mamdani is not a radical, he is not a socialist. Some of his policies will benefit the New York working class to be sure, but as shown by his walking back on issues regarding Palestine (falling into the genocidal rhetoric of Israel’s “right to exist”), and his planning to keep the current Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in power, he is still beholden to the interests of the Democratic Party and the capitalists as a whole. If Mamdani seriously threatens the power of the ruling class, he will be eliminated one way or another. He is destined to walk the line and eventually fall into the interests of the Democratic establishment, as the so-called socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has done. 

Zohran is a social-democrat, someone who proposes reforms with a more radical tone than Biden and others. He doesn’t propose a revolution that breaks with capitalism — he doesn’t even propose breaking with the Democratic Party — only that policies be made “more humane,” something impossible due to the voracious ambition of those who wield real power in this system, who will not accept having even a small portion of their enormous profits taken away through taxation, let alone any actually radical solutions like reappropriation and collectivization. 

Despite this, the fact that someone who even calls himself a socialist could be elected to such a major government post in the United States signifies that the winds are changing. The working class in America is reaching a breaking point, unable to tolerate the extremes of capitalist austerity for much longer.

The crises of capitalism have eroded the credibility of establishment politicians. So far, humanity and basic needs have driven a large portion of the American people to reject the outrageous policies and conduct of the Trump administration and all those lower offices that are following suit. However, the vast majority still doesn’t understand the true path forward and continues to strive for reforms within the capitalist system. 

Socialism is no longer such a dirty word in the United States; the lies that have been fed to us for years are being exposed. The international working class welcomes the US working class into the ranks of combative and conscious class movement. A candidate which gives such substantial concessions to the workers is almost unheard of in the United States, and it has happened because the proletariat has increasingly taken up the fight for itself. It has started to wake up and recognize its revolutionary role in history. It has started to realize that the capitalist system can mean only war and exploitation, both at home and abroad. There is still a long way to go: elections won’t defeat fascism, only we can. 

Mamdani’s win is a call to struggle even harder, to work to organize our communities and our workplaces, and to continue to resist the fascist Trumpite regime.

Long live the American working class! Long live socialism!

Categories: American Party of Labor, Editorials, Elections, Government, U.S. News