To the people of NYC, we know you like to think of yourselves as the first city. The bagels and pizza are better (for the record, the hot dogs are better in Chicago). But when it comes to electing a progressive mayor- an underdog with a social movement background who beat a truly ghoulish opponent- we were there first, this time. So on the day Zohran Mamdani is inaugurated as mayor, we have some thoughts, from people who have been there before. 

Mamdani rose to prominence by being one of the few people to acknowledge the material reasons why people voted for Donald Trump, and ran his campaign for mayor with political savvy, emphasizing the obvious fact that New York City is un-affordable for millions of people. Brandon Johnson rose to prominence after the previous mayor, Lori Lightfoot, exposed herself as both an unreliable agent for ruling class interests and a hardened enemy of the people (see her hamfisted attempts to break the Chicago Teachers Union, and her closed fist repression of the 2020 uprising). The failure of Lightfoot’s administration opened the door for the radical rhetoric and mild social democratic program of Brandon Johnson. Johnson took advantage of a relatively open field and the nearly unanimous support of Chicago’s Leftists and apparatus of unions and NGO grifters.  Along the way he made a point to throw Palestine under the bus, signaling his ultimate fidelity to US imperialism (we told you we’d been here before). During two years of his administration, we’ve watched the police continue to kill and brutalize with impunity, seen the red carpet rolled out for the butchers of Gaza and Gregory Bovino alike, all while protesters continue to face the wrath of the Chicago Police Department, under Johnson’s handpicked superintendent. Much like with Mamdani’s campaign the supposed radicals and progressives who threw into the campaign promised to “Hold him accountable.” We’re still waiting. 

Mamdani has displayed his ongoing political savvy by refusing to publicly associate himself with Johnson and his abysmal approval ratings. But the parallels are still there: before being elected as Mayor, Johnson went out of his way to denounce the BDS movement to boycott Israel, and to falsely equate Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism. Mamdani to has used the Isreali occupation of Palestine to signal his willingness to play the ruling class game: after rightfully refusing to denounce particular slogans and promising to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he appears in NYC, Mamdani stepped out to denounce the slogan “Globalize the Intifada!” and backed off the pronouncement that he would have Netanyahu arrested. Free busses for the people of NYC, more genocide for Palestinians. 

Under Johnson, we have seen abolitionists with 6-figure jobs remain quiet about police brutality. We have seen immigrant rights organizations fail to denounce the collaboration between the Chicago Police and ICE/CBP (gotta keep the grants coming). After denouncing Anti-Zionism, after inviting Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala, after brutalizing Palestine protesters,  Brandon Johnson is still lauded in certain corners as a pro-Palestine hero, for casting a single vote on a nonbinding ceasefire resolution. Mamdani, like Johnson before him, has already started to throw Palestinians under the bus, and signaled his comfort with the police repressing protests, to say nothing of murdering people, by announcing that he will retain NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch. Ultimately, the election of Brandon Johnson left people disappointed or worse, active participants in repression. How often has this same pattern emerged, and why would Zohran be any different? Even if he hypothetically delivers on his promises, what then? Even if there a Zohran Mamdani elected in every city in the country, would it really make a difference for the billions of people bombed, dispossessed, and exploited by this county? 

So, NYC, the question is: what are you going to do about it? Even though Mamdani has made pathetic pleas to stay in line, people in NYC have broken through business as usual to actively confront and disrupt the ICE/CPB Gestapo. This is precisely the spirit that people need to catch- not falling in line because “your guy” is in office, but actively resisting injustice no matter what politicians blabber on about. If you have that spirit, if you agree that getting the boot of this country off the neck of the people of the world is worth fighting for, no matter what it costs you, hit us up. 

Globalize the Intifada. Love, BEL, Chicago ❤