For the Movement That Elected Zohran Mamdani, Now Comes the Hard Part

"Holding political office is not the same thing as wielding political power-especially for the left. The CEOs of Blackrock, Vanguard, KKR, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs are not suddenly going to say, "OK, socialists, you won. Here are the keys to the city." Mamdani won't be successful on his own. The question is now: Will the nascent social movement behind Mamdani rise to meet the challenge?"

"To win the bold demands that powered Mamdani's campaign and to tap into the growing popular energy nationally, the emerging social movement must go on the offensive. The CEOs are already girding for class war over the campaign's signature issues-taxing the rich, a rent freeze, universal childcare, fast and free buses, and public groceries. They don't want to pay for these things, and they really don't want to give up power and control of the city."

"What we win in the end will be determined not by polling numbers or viral social media memes or a mayor friendly to socialist policies, but by the balance of forces between the social movement and our opponents. This requires mounting campaigns that go far beyond the traditional political advocacy of lobbying, petitions, and testimony. Just as unionized workers win demands by threatening to disrupt business with strikes,"

Zohran Mamdani won New York City's mayoralty, marking a historic political moment. Holding office differs from wielding power, especially against entrenched corporate interests. Major financial firms and wealthy actors will resist policies like taxing the rich, rent freezes, universal childcare, free buses, and public groceries. Electoral victory requires a broader, organized social movement to pressure power holders and impose costs on opponents. Traditional advocacy tactics alone will be insufficient. Organizers must escalate toward large, disruptive actions that demonstrate consequences for denying working-class demands, using tactics analogous to strikes to compel concessions from CEOs and the political establishment.

Read at The Nation