The scale of Zohran Mamdani’s electoral victory in New York City has drawn worldwide attention. And for good reason: this is far from an ordinary event. A self-described democratic socialist is set to become mayor of the financial capital of global capitalism. New York alone is home to 123 billionaires — roughly 4% of the world’s total.
How does one advance a socialist political project in such a setting? Or, more precisely: how can a municipal administration be aligned with a broader socialist strategy?
These are the questions now occupying the minds of the activists who built the campaign, an engaged vanguard that numbers, at most, a few thousand people. The much broader electorate that voted for Mamdani, however, is understandably focused on practical outcomes: delivering on the campaign promises that can improve workers’ living standards and material well-being.
Marxist theory teaches us to distinguish between the State, the political regime, and the government. The State is a broad set of institutions controlled by a social class. Under capitalism, the State is a bourgeois State representing the material interests of a wealthy minority, even when it claims to be “neutral” or to act on behalf of “everyone.” A political regime is the specific way the ruling class exercises its power. In the United States, this regime is bourgeois democracy — deeply unequal, increasingly degraded, yet still allowing workers to occasionally achieve limited electoral gains. Governments, finally, are the individuals and parties that administer the State under a given political regime.
The Marxist tradition does not believe socialism can be achieved through elections; revolutions are necessary. Even so, electoral contests are essential for socialists to project their ideas to the broader public within the constraints of bourgeois democracy. And because electoral participation can sometimes produce winners, socialists must debate what to do in the rare event that they actually assume office.
In Mamdani’s case, the position is municipal, thus inherently limited in scope. No one is proposing to “decree” socialism in New York City, nor is it possible for a mayoral administration to alter the nature of the capitalist State or its political regime. But socialists must discuss how to govern without being absorbed by the logic of the bourgeois State, and without abandoning the strategy of deeper transformation. Otherwise, even the most committed socialist can be normalized, shifting from an oppositional force to a manager of the status quo.
Three basic principles stand out:
1) A socialist elected official must put the material interests of the working class first. In a class society, for one class to win, another must lose. It is the responsibility of a socialist government to engage in those confrontations. By doing so, it can improve workers’ lives and build greater support for socialism. The good news is that Mamdani’s campaign platform provides a strong basis for this approach: freezing rents, implementing free buses, and guaranteeing universal free childcare. To fund these measures, tax the rich.
2) A socialist elected official must raise workers’ political consciousness by governing differently from the establishment of the bourgeois regime. This means governing through the mobilization of movements and unions, and acting as a catalyst for political education. Under capitalism, there is no such thing as a perfect municipal administration. Mamdani will face obstacles. He may fail to achieve everything he aims to do. He may be forced to accept compromises he dislikes. But he has a duty to speak the truth, helping expand popular consciousness and organization.
3) A socialist municipal government must project an example nationally, and even internationally. Economic policy matters, but it is not enough on its own. It must be connected to a broader vision of society and its crises. Mamdani did this during the campaign, taking on Trump and supporting the Palestinian cause. He must continue that posture in office. His administration should broaden — not narrow — the aspirations and emancipatory horizon of the working class.
These principles also apply to socialist legislators and to working-class organizations. For elected officials, this includes ongoing engagement with movements, prioritizing extra-parliamentary action over parliamentary maneuvering, internationalism, unwavering criticism of the political regime, and disciplined coordination within their organizations — recognizing that an elected official is also a rank-and-file member.
In the vocabulary used within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), elected representatives should function as “organizers” and “cadre” — or at least as cadre-in-formation. These ideas were clearly articulated by Sâmia Bomfim and Fernanda Melchionna, federal congresswomen from Brazil’s PSOL, in a 2019 Jacobin interview. In the United States, the DSA Increasingly has its own examples, including Mamdani (currently a state assemblymember) and Alexa Avilés (a New York City councilmember). Jesse Brown (Indianapolis), JP Lyninger (Louisville), and Richie Floyd (Florida) also stand out, among others.
As for movements, their central task is to remain mobilized, deepen political consciousness, and maintain strict independence from the bourgeois State and from whatever administration is in office. In New York, the creation of the Our Time movement after the election is a promising development, though some activists already argue the initiative could be more ambitious and more democratized at the grassroots level.
In any case, movements must preserve the understanding that shifts in the balance of forces come primarily from below, especially when a socialist holds executive power. They must also link municipal struggles to a broader national program. To borrow Bernie Sanders’s language, there is no solution to the crisis facing the American working class without a profound political revolution capable of reshaping the economy and the political regime. Movements and their elected representatives must also be prepared to pressure — and, when necessary, confront — the socialist mayor.
Challenging times lie ahead for the DSA and for socialists in the United States. Linking immediate demands to long-term goals through ongoing mobilization directed toward the conquest of power — that is the core of any socialist strategy. It will not appear on the day-to-day agenda of Mamdani’s administration as an abstract rule. But it must not be forgotten amid the practical responsibilities of governing.
