Editorial: Socialist voice from citadel of Capitalism

Zohran Mamdani’s rise as New York’s Mayor underscores the inclusiveness of American democracy

The New Year has heralded a defining moment for New York, as the citadel of America’s celebrated capitalism has been stormed by a socialist of South Asian descent. Zohran Mamdani, who has taken over as Mayor, has vowed to implement audacious plans to govern the city with a focus on the welfare of the working class. The historic significance of the occasion was not lost on observers; it marked several firsts for America’s largest city of eight million residents. The 34-year-old Mamdani is the first Muslim of South Asian origin to be elected to the top post, the first to use a Quran to take oath and the youngest mayor in over a century. The inauguration ceremony in Manhattan captured the generational, political, ethnic and religious magnitude of Mamdani’s ascent. He was unapologetic about his democratic socialist credentials. In his public speech after the swearing-in ceremony, he underscored the city’s diversity, vowed to protect the underprivileged and reiterated his pledge to attempt to tax the wealthy and corporations to fund his proposals, which include universal childcare and free buses. He placed himself in a lineage of New York mayors who focused their tenures on uplifting the city’s most vulnerable. Many New Yorkers — some with hope, some with trepidation — expect Mamdani to be a disruptive political force as reflected by his address that promoted core campaign promises of universal childcare, affordable rents and free bus service. Now the countdown begins as he sets out to fulfil his lofty promises to deliver an agenda of safety, affordability and abundance — where the government “looks and lives like the people it represents”.

The occasion also sent out a message to Democratic Party leaders struggling to regain footing at the national level: The excitement surrounding Mamdani’s ascendence may suggest a path forward. Significantly, Mamdani declared that he would govern the way he campaigned — as a democratic socialist — and said that meant he would focus on working-class New Yorkers, regardless of criticism from naysayers. The highlight of the spectacular inauguration was the presence of Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist at the vanguard of the Democratic Party’s liberal wing. Sanders, whom Mamdani calls his inspiration, defended the new Mayor’s agenda, saying affordable housing is not a radical policy but is the right and decent thing to do. Apart from highlighting his core campaign issues, Mamdani mentioned a few ideas that could have broader appeal beyond his traditional support base, including reforms in the property tax system, an issue that has frustrated New Yorkers across the ideological spectrum. Mamdani’s elevation is a testament to the vibrancy of American democracy, in which a seven-year-old immigrant from an African nation can come to the city to realise his dream of becoming its mayor at 34. In the process, he demolishes ethnic stereotypes, overcomes entrenched bureaucracy and ideological status quoism of his own party.