By Luisa Marchesini
Mentor: Paulo Lima
Translation from Italian by Giorgia Zappa
Zohran Mamdani is the name of the man who, at this very moment, has become the symbol of the left wing. Mamdani, a muslim, became a naturalised US citizen in 2018. Since the dawn of time, he was among the ranks of the American left, and on November 4th 2025 won the election to become mayor of New York City.
Mamdani is part of the Democratic Socialists of America, which doesn’t submit its own lists at the elections, so he decided to run for the office with the Democratic Party. With him, the most capitalist city in the world returns to ask itself what the problems of the working class are. Can the Italian Left be inspired from this socialist model?
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
“To every New Yorker – whether you voted for me, for one of my opponents or felt too disappointed by politics to vote at all – thank you for the opportunity to prove myself worthy of your trust. I will wake each morning with a singular purpose: to make this city better for you than it was the day before.”
These are the words of Zohran Mamdani in his first statements as mayor of New York. Born in Kampala, Uganda, to parents of Indian origins, he moved to New York at the age of seven. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen in 2018, and just 7 years later, with an election campaign in a full GenZ style, he managed to gain the attention of almost everyone in the Big Apple.
Mamdani, who took office on January 1st, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. A political organization which is not registered as a party in the Federal Election commission. For this reason, and because of the deeply divided nature of the US political system, he decided to run for the office as a member of the Democrats. Mamdani, after defeating former governor Cuomo in the primaries, has succeed in imposing himself in the election of the 4th of November.
The new generation leading the Big Apple
A radical project which, in a few months, has transformed him from marginal candidate to winner over the outgoing Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Zohran allowed the Democrat Party to take a breath of relief, after a period of long and deep identity crisis. A crisis that is also affecting, strongly, the European left. We are witnessing a period in which values such as solidarity, justice and freedom are put at risk by authoritarian tendencies.
The oldest members of the party tend to consider the progressive wing as a problem but the success of Mamdani shows, instead, how it could be an asset to build on. Mamdani based his election campaign on closeness with new yorkers, starting from a simple graphic recalling Bronx’s sign to concrete proposal on how to make everyone’s life better.
Socialism in New York: key points of Mamdani’s election campaign
The right-wing parties are trying to make us believe that migrants and the most vulnerable sections of society are enemies. Mamdani’s answer, on the other hand, started from different assumptions and has been welcomed by the majority of people. The new mayor has succeeded in making a socialist program win in the capital of luxury, exorbitant prices and the super-rich.
With his election campaign, he proposes:
- Freeze the rent
- Fast, fare free buses
- No cost child care
- The Department of Community Safety: Its mission will be to prevent violence before it happens by taking a public health approach to safety.
- City-owned grocery stores that will sell at wholesale prices
Among the most important proposals are the minimum wage at 30 dollars per hour by the end of 2030, a 2% tax on incomes over one million and one of 11.5% on corporations.
New York made us realise that the older generation had benefited the most from capitalism; one salary was enough to buy a home and support a family. This is no longer the case today, in 2025. The citizens of the Big Apple have decided to change, to give a chance to a movement that cares about working people, women, black people and immigrants.
New York as a model for the Italian left party?
The secretary of the Democratic Party (Pd) Elly Schlein looks at the United States and thinks about Italy: “The left returns to victory with clear words and programmes on decent salaries, public healthcare, the right to a house, to public transports and free childcare centers for those who struggle. The politics of hope wins over the politics of fear which identifies only enemies and scapegoats.”
As she says we can follow the New York model but we need strong ideas and true decisions. The Italian left must bring forward concrete policies such as: wealth tax, free public transport for students and greater support to increase the birth rate. Mamdani won thanks to thousands of activists who took to the streets to campaign for and with the people.
To learn more
The mayor of New York belongs to the left wing, the President of the United States to the right one. Here is an article about Trump’s return: Trump’s comeback: risks and opportunities for climate action