Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old newcomer, managed in just a few months to run a campaign that toppled much of New York’s Democratic establishment. He captured the support of younger voters and the highly educated, drawing national attention to his bold and unconventional communication strategy. Mamdani’s charisma and remarkable gift for messaging are undeniable — but so is the radicalism of his far-left ideas, which carry the potential to inflict serious damage on both New York City and the Democratic Party as a whole.
The party’s hard-left faction views Mamdani’s victory as proof that their ideas represent the direction of the future. Mamdani himself has stated that his win is “part of a broader referendum on where our party is headed.” In recent months, leaders such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman David Hogg have waged a fierce internal battle, insisting on replacing the old guard with young leaders championing hard-left policies.
Some conservatives celebrate the situation, seeing it as the end of the opposing party. However, I believe it is concerning that an entire party could be absorbed by the most extreme left-wing faction the country has ever seen. What is most worrying is that there are voters willing to support such ideas.
Mamdani’s campaign rested on two fundamental pillars for its success. On one hand, a social media strategy worthy of study: His videos have amassed millions of views, directly addressing the everyday problems of New Yorkers and standing in stark contrast to the dull political speeches of figures like former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. His videos portray a young candidate full of energy, warmth, and humor.
The second key element of Mamdani’s campaign was its focus on making the city more affordable. In several interviews, Mamdani has said that the Democrats must move their “political instinct from lecturing to listening.” He explained that he asked Trump voters in New York why they chose the Republican candidate and learned that their main concern was the cost of living. This became the central focus of Mamdani’s campaign.
Credit must be given to Mamdani for doing the work of listening to voters and focusing on the economy. The problem is that his proposals are extremely harmful. Mamdani is even further to the left than Ocasio-Cortez, or at least he speaks more openly about his extremism.
He proposes freezing stabilized rents, free child care, fare-free city buses, establishing city-owned grocery stores, raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour, imposing a 2% wealth tax on the richest 1%, and raising the corporate tax to 11.5%, among other measures. This must be one of the most radical economic programs ever proposed in this country.
The consequences of implementing these proposals would be exactly the opposite of what they claim to aim for. Renting an apartment would become much more difficult, rental conditions would worsen, and investment would decline. We would likely see businesses fleeing to other states. Depending on the severity of the economic slowdown, we could face rising unemployment and even shortages of certain products. The damage could be profound, depending on how effectively Mamdani manages to carry out his agenda.
MAMDANI DODGES ON ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ AS JEFFRIES DEMANDS HE ‘CLARIFY HIS POSITION’ ON PHRASE
The Democratic candidate for New York City mayor is a young, savvy politician but very mistaken in his ideas. The fact that he managed to win the primaries should concern the country. The most extreme left-wing ideas seem to have made a strong impression on young New Yorkers, which is why it’s important to have solid political work as well as efforts to educate young people about economics.
Let’s hope Mamdani does not win the mayoralty — for the good of New York, and especially for the working class, which suffers the most from these kinds of policies.
Vanessa Vallejo (@vanessavallej0) is an economist and political analyst for various Hispanic media outlets.