Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 07/Nov 09:52

Meaning behind Mamdani

ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S victory in the November 4 New York City mayoral election marks a milestone in American politics. But it is also an inspiring moment within the global marketplace of ideas. Look carefully, and very little has changed in the US despite the 34-year-old’s rise. He won 50 per cent of the vote, Andrew Cuomo 42 per cent and Curtis Sliwa seven. Mr Cuomo, who campaigned as an independent, had been endorsed by Donald Trump. This suggests voters were more or less split down the middle in a traditional Democratic stronghold. In contrast, in 2021, Eric Adams won 67 per cent of the vote, while in 2013, Bill de Blasio entered city hall with the backing of a whopping 73 per cent. Still, Mr Mamdani’s victory represents a shift. Once inaugurated next year, he will become the city’s first Muslim leader, the first of South Asian heritage, the first born in Africa and its youngest in over 100 years. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that only a few months ago, he was a largely unknown figure. With the Democratic party at its lowest point in decades and still licking its wounds from Mr Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris one year ago, his meteoric rise runs counter to the sense of a party being lost in the wilderness. It’s a reminder that one day in politics is, indeed, a very long time. And it should trigger much soul-searching as to how an opposition party should respond to a toxic political environment defined by culture wars. What place the mayor-elect assumes in history remains to be seen. Meanwhile, there are immediate lessons to be learned from his campaign. His was built, like many others, on social media. That was his medium. But his messaging, too, was able to reach voters through the help of an army of 100,000 volunteers spreading his vision. The vision is noteworthy. Mr Mamdani has been labelled “radical” by his opponents. Born in Kampala, Uganda, to Mahmood Mamdani, an academic, and Mira Nair, the award-winning director of films like Mississippi Masala and Vanity Fair, he is, like New York, where thousands of Trinidad and Tobago nationals live, multi-cultural and self-identifies as a “democratic socialist.” Yet completely run-of-the-mill are the things he promised: free buses, universal childcare and rent freezes. Like Barack Obama, Mr Mamdani will face obstructionism that has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with identity. Already, Mr Trump wants to block his funding. Some time ago, he also threatened to arrest and deport him. More broadly, questions abound about how campaign promises will be kept. Nonetheless, the mayor-elect has already achieved something that resonates around the world: the re-ignition of hope. The post Meaning behind Mamdani appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.