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10313
A talk on Mamdani's Win
Sun Feb 8, 8:00 PM
Lamakaan
The Rise of Zohran Mamdani: Main Street’s Answer to Three Decades of Wall Street:
Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, was sworn in as the 112th mayor of New York City on Jan 1st 2026, by the New York State Attorney General. Later in a public ceremony he was administered the oath by the only socialist senator in the US– Bernie Sanders. In the days leading up to the swearing-in, Zohran had already announced the first ever Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice. Barely 48 hours after being sworn-in he announced the creation of the office for mass engagement, giving democracy itself a new vigour. His exceptionally high energy campaign had at its centre the question of affordability and the militant call to the immigrant working class of New York to rise up, unify and fight to recover their city. He has promised a rent-freeze, free childcare, free buses and subsidised grocery stores. Even as he won the mayoral race the streets of New York resounded the call “Tax the rich, not the poor.” Is this a new phase in American politics where socialism and fascism run on parallel tracks, setting up an eventual collision? Will Zohran be able to produce a new imaginary that will move the US (and other parts of the world) away from the fascist / authoritarian turn? Will Zohran be able to build a new vision of socialism itself? What lessons can we learn from the campaign that Zohran ran? These and other questions will be at the heart of a careful and grounded analysis of the Zohran moment. Biju Mathew is a co-founder of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance and president of International Alliance of App-based Transport Workers, a Hyderabadi and the co-founder of Lamakan. A New Yorker since the 1990s, he was among those who stood by the Zohran Campaign from the word go. Biju is a professor of American Studies and Technology at Rider University, NJ
Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, was sworn in as the 112th mayor of New York City on Jan 1st 2026, by the New York State Attorney General. Later in a public ceremony he was administered the oath by the only socialist senator in the US– Bernie Sanders. In the days leading up to the swearing-in, Zohran had already announced the first ever Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice. Barely 48 hours after being sworn-in he announced the creation of the office for mass engagement, giving democracy itself a new vigour. His exceptionally high energy campaign had at its centre the question of affordability and the militant call to the immigrant working class of New York to rise up, unify and fight to recover their city. He has promised a rent-freeze, free childcare, free buses and subsidised grocery stores. Even as he won the mayoral race the streets of New York resounded the call “Tax the rich, not the poor.” Is this a new phase in American politics where socialism and fascism run on parallel tracks, setting up an eventual collision? Will Zohran be able to produce a new imaginary that will move the US (and other parts of the world) away from the fascist / authoritarian turn? Will Zohran be able to build a new vision of socialism itself? What lessons can we learn from the campaign that Zohran ran? These and other questions will be at the heart of a careful and grounded analysis of the Zohran moment. Biju Mathew is a co-founder of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance and president of International Alliance of App-based Transport Workers, a Hyderabadi and the co-founder of Lamakan. A New Yorker since the 1990s, he was among those who stood by the Zohran Campaign from the word go. Biju is a professor of American Studies and Technology at Rider University, NJ