In 2025, the United States observed the first proper referendum on the second Trump Administration. Democrats performed well, winning gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey and prevailing in many local contests. Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, received over one million votes in November; Mayor John V. Lindsay was the last person to draw such resounding support in that contest.
Within those local results, I want to highlight some specific victories of fellow members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – especially given my current run for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 1 of Travis County, Texas. In Minneapolis, Robin Wonsley cruised to re-election on the Minneapolis City Council, and Soren Stevenson won in the first round of a ranked choice system after narrowly losing in 2023. Katie Wilson prevailed in the mayoral race in Seattle, and Denzel McCampbell won a seat on the Detroit City Council. Two democratic socialists in Jersey City, Jake Ephros and Joel Brooks, became the first open socialists elected in New Jersey in a century. Members of our organization celebrated victories from coast-to-coast on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 and Tuesday, December 2, 2025.
Photo from a Jacobin conference Andrew attended in New York City, September 2025
America renewed its interest in socialist politics across the past year. After Trump’s re-election, Council Member Mike Siegel, a fellow member of the Austin Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, won a runoff election for Austin CIty Council’s District 7 on December 14, 2024. Facing the various cruelties of many in power in 2025, including endless wars, extrajudicial murders by ICE, deep cuts to the American social safety net, and lawless military strikes, more people find themselves curious about what, exactly, socialism is. At doors and in the community, people continue to resonate with the message that kids don’t need to face criminalization in response to their actions, renters deserve due process in eviction proceedings, and quality of life concerns – such as homelessness – shouldn’t land a person in the court system. Democratic socialists are committed to preserving and building the public infrastructure in this era of mass privatization, with an emphasis on shifting money from carceral systems like prisons to social services like parks & libraries.
My own journey with socialism has been a long and fulfilling one. I first ran for office in 2022 as a democratic socialist, challenging a long-term incumbent. I lost decisively. I was thirty years old during my first election, and the Biden Administration was in power. Circumstances and conditions have changed rapidly in four years. One thing that has remained consistent across this period is my engagement with the Democratic Socialists of America. I joined the organization in 2021; after I was defeated in my first election, I went deeper into my organizing with the chapter. I knocked on doors for Prop A (and against Prop B) in 2023, attended the biennial DSA convention in Chicago, visited Cuba, spoke to voters about the campaigns of Jose Garza and Mike Siegel, and built invaluable relationships with other members of the chapter.
I spoke at Austin DSA’s org fair on Saturday, November 15, 2025. Ahead of my remarks, I noticed excitement all around me for DSA’s campaigns. Through our Austin Against Apartheid work, we’ve gotten scores of businesses in the community to adopt a boycott-divestment-sanctions framework and agree to not sell Israeli products. Our Trans + Intersex Rights and Bodily Autonomy (TIRBA) campaign is uplifting the incontrovertible fact that every person controls their own body; through our work with TIRBA, queer and trans people will experience freedom everywhere, and abortions will be easily available upon demand. We recently launched our Labor for an Arms Embargo work to push for an end to the incessant aid that the U.S. pours into the genocidal settler-colonial state of Israel. We are laboring with a clear vision of what the world will be in fifty years – one where socialism governs.
I must end with a reflection on the material realities of our time. In Austin, a broad coalition of socialists, labor leaders, and mutual aid organizers suffered a loss with the defeat of Prop Q in November 2025. This election occurred while millions of people faced uncertainty with their SNAP benefits. People are hurting in many ways right now, and an increase in taxes simply wasn’t going to fly. However, as we face this austerity budget in Austin – with its $520 million untouched police line-item – I want the public to know that me and fellow socialists are here for our neighbors. We are committed to building a political party that is truly responsive to the needs of people who – like me – live paycheck-to-paycheck, highlighting the harms that masses of workers experience under American capitalism. My second campaign is simply one piece of that puzzle; even if I lose again, I am so glad that I have found a political philosophy that animates me so clearly. As a Black socialist, I am committed to building a multiracial, multigender, and multinational movement for human dignity. I hope you will join us.
Andrew Reginald Hairston is a civil rights lawyer, writer, and democratic socialist based in Austin. He is running for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 1 of Travis County, Texas on March 3, 2026. More information is available at hairstonforpeace.com
The Portland, Oregon chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America calls on Portland City Council and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson to take critical action to protect Portlanders from ICE and all Federal policing agencies.
Two Portlanders were shot by federal agents working as a rogue personal army for President Trump. We hold them in our thoughts, as well as the people of Minneapolis grieving Renee Nicole Good, who was killed this week by CBP murderers.
At a vigil and rally at city hall last night with 400 people in attendance, Portland DSA was joined by representatives of unions and community organizations, calling for the abolition of ICE and for the city to stand up to state violence. City Councilors Mitch Green, Sameer Kanal, Angelita Morillo, Tiffany Koyama Lane, Jamie Dunphy, and Candace Avalos also attended and spoke at the event.
“ICE must be abolished. The work of our time is to tear down the system that built it and remake it into one that embraces and designs systems that include all people from all places. This work will be done, because the alternative is unbearable. We do that by organizing block by block, neighbor to neighbor until we’ve built a mass movement. From Portland to Minneapolis, we will win,” said Councilor Mitch Green.
“ICE is a rogue paramilitary force that has declared war on our cities. This is a hostile takeover. We must not comply. We need complete noncompliance at all levels of government,” said Olivia Katbi, co-chair of Portland DSA.
Portland is a frequent target of Trump’s brutal crackdown on speech and communal defense— and, for an obvious reason: Portlanders believe in peace, freedom, and an end to state-sponsored brutality in all its forms. Time and time again, Portlanders have stood up and taken to the streets for the rights of all people, especially immigrants and people of color, to live free from the fear of police brutality and Trump’s fascist deportation regime.
“As we grieve the harm done to our community, we must also be clear-eyed about the moment we are in. This is how history repeats itself — unless people interrupt it,” said Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane.
One fact is clear today: Sanctuary City status alone will not protect Portlanders. Now is the time for the City of Portland to take a more aggressive approach to keeping Portlanders safe from Federal terror.
We call on City Council to:
Pass a policy of complete noncompliance with federal policing agencies, treating armed federal agents as overtly hostile actors
Instruct the District Attorney to obtain a warrant to arrest the federal agents who committed the shooting
Develop specific policies to defang and disempower federal agents within Portland, including prohibition of masks, local taxation of income earned from federal law enforcement activities, and any other meaningful restriction on their ability to recruit and operate within Portland
Implement a human rights investment screen, to ensure Portland is not invested in companies that assist in ICE’s violence
Alongside the many organizations and Portlanders fighting to keep our immigrant neighbors safe, Portland DSA is ready to stand against Trump’s violence – both at home and abroad. Join us on Saturday, January 10 at 11 AM at the Battleship Oregon Memorial in Tom McCall Waterfront Park to protest the war on Venezuela and ongoing ICE violence in Portland and across the country.
“It’s going to take all of us standing in solidarity, and understanding that we must be disciplined in this moment. No matter how many people try to divide our movements, we must be disciplined. Our fight is one fight,” said Councilor Angelita Morillo.
Luisa Martinez, a formerly undocumented immigrant who is a member of Portland DSA and leader in the national organization, said: “ICE was created in 2003 and can be abolished. Throwing human beings into prison for civil infractions is a violation of international human rights laws. This violence and human suffering enriches private prison corporations while working people go without adequate housing, health care, and education.”
“ICE needs to be taken apart, brick by brick, and we need to salt the earth,” said Councilor Sameer Kanal.
To celebrate Zohran Mamdami’s inauguration, and in honor of the mass mobilization that made this moment possible, our first newsletter of 2026 is about ways to get involved right now.
First, GMDSA is proud to endorse the following candidates:
Marek Broderick for Burlington City Council Ward 8
Matt Gile for Vermont House of Representatives (Chittenden-21)
Jeffrey Peterson for Vermont House of Representatives (Chittenden-16)
We will be canvassing for Marek starting at 1:00PM in Burlington, location TBA. Reply to this email if you would like to join, and expect many more canvassing opportunities in our next newsletter and beyond. If you’ve been considering getting involved but don’t know how, canvassing is one of the best ways to start. Zohran’s campaign knocked 3 million doors!
To that end, our Electoral and Communications Committees are launching a new, joint initiative. If you are part of a group doing something about our current crisis, formal or informal, big or small, if you’ll have us, we want to meet you in person (or, if you prefer, over Zoom) to learn how we can help.
The first stop of this tour will be at Building A Local Economy (BALE) in South Royalton on January 21 at 6:00PM. Our 2026 Electoral and Communications Chairs, Adam and Alejandro, will be giving a talk and discussing our political strategy with BALE’s Resistance Hub.
A lot is going wrong right now, and we know that there are people all over Vermont trying to do something about it. We already work with many of you, and the coalitions we’ve made are behind our biggest successes, but we know that there are more of you out there doing important things. We want to work with you. Write in, and we can do it together.
Upcoming Events:
Canvassing for Councilor Marek Broderick Saturday, January 3, starting location TBA.
GMDSA member Brandon Lawson is hosting Green Mountain IWW Workplace Organizing Workshop Sunday January 11 at 3:00PM in the Community Room in the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington.
Worker’s Circle is every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 6:00PM at 179 S. Winooski Avenue in Burlington. The next one is January 14.
GMDSA @ BALE - January 21 at 6:00PM.
For regular GMDSA Committee meetings, see our calendar.
State News:
Starbucks workers are on strike across 145 stores and counting, and the union is asking customers to stop shopping at Starbucks.
Hospice United had a successful Honk and Wave on December 20 as they bargain their first contract.
Milwaukee’s Democratic Socialists stand in solidarity with all those oppressed by ICE—not just in Minneapolis, but here in Milwaukee and across the country—by calling for the agency’s abolition after ICE marked its deadliest year in two decades.
“We need to keep our communities safe from the masked agents empowered by our right-wing government to act belligerently without consequence,” Milwaukee DSA Co-Chair Andy Barbour said. “Our only way out of this is through organizing our friends and neighbors into a socialist movement that shows solidarity with immigrants and those targeted by ICE. Only with our collective power will we be able to force an end to the violence.”
Local DSA organizers remain firm in their opposition to ICE operations and the damage they wrought to area families, and they demand agents leave southeastern Wisconsin and stay out.
“Renee Good was murdered for loving her neighbors, and her work lives in each of us who pick up the flame of resistance against injustice,” Milwaukee DSA Co-Chair Autumn Pickett said. “Trump’s administration wants us to feel afraid and powerless—we will not cower. They want us overwhelmed by their depravity—we will not lose sight of freedom. They want us broken by their power—though they can kill a rose, they cannot stop the coming of the spring.”
Milwaukee DSA is Milwaukee’s largest socialist organization fighting against imperialism for a democratic economy, a just society, and a sustainable environment. Join today at dsausa.org/join.
Western New York, alongside regions across the country, faces healthcare disaster due to the dysfunction of America’s privatized healthcare system being accelerated by federal cuts and state inaction. The Buffalo chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has run a campaign for over a year, Back Off BNP, researching, educating, and organizing WNY residents around the collaboration of local hospital systems, health insurers, and major corporations in the Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP).
“Quality healthcare is not just a necessity for us and our kids, it is a human right. It’s unacceptable that we live in fear of insurers, or of bosses dangling healthcare benefits like a carrot over our heads.“
The campaign seeks to publicize the chamber of commerce’s political influence in favor of private capital and corporations in the state, and against the solution of universal healthcare in New York state, legislation called the New York Health Act (NYHA; NY State Senate Bill 2023-S7590 and Assembly Bill A7897). DSA calls for an urgent focus on NYHA this 2026 legislative session as premiums for WNYers skyrocket to unsustainable amounts due to commercial health insurance plans seeking to offset Medicaid cuts and the effects of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill.
“Private health insurers, such as Independent Health, are being empowered to deny therapeutic and rehabilitative services to patients through arbitrarily and automatically requiring prior authorization. They make massive amounts of money to deny healthcare, get in the way of treatment, and I see them inflict cruelty and desertion on stroke and traumatic brain injury patients,” said Olivia Colgrove, co-chair of the Buffalo DSA Healthcare Committee that organized the picket and a speech-language pathologist. The issue referenced by Colgrove has received high-profile coverage in The Guardian, focusing on Kaleida (whose president and CEO sits on the board of BNP).
“We have been volunteers sounding the alarm on the rollback of what little public healthcare still exists, and the crisis that expansion of the role of private insurers in these programs represents. Trump’s second term is already showing how fragile a system based on private insurance is,” said Moira Madden, co-chair of the Buffalo DSA Healthcare Committee and emergency mental health caseworker. “It’s past time for urgency in the movement for universal healthcare on the state level (e.g. NYHA), as a way to protect against this worsening dysfunction. January 2026 begins a new state legislative session, and a new opportunity for public advocacy and oversight of anti-NYHA lobbyists.”
“Quality healthcare is not just a necessity for us and our kids, it is a human right. It’s unacceptable that we live in fear of insurers, or of bosses dangling healthcare benefits like a carrot over our heads. I am proud to stand with Buffalo DSA, as our campaign and chapter fight for the New York Health Act,” said Adam Bojak, Buffalo DSA member and candidate for state assembly in district 149.
On January 8, 2026 the Buffalo Niagara Partnership will be presenting their lobbying agenda for the year to their political allies at the Jazzboline restaurant in Amherst, from 4-7pm. Buffalo DSA has once again been organizing their membership, sympathetic organizations, and the signatories to their Back Off BNP campaign so far to picket the event and BNP’s longstanding role in opposing the NYHA solution to the healthcare crisis that could be led by New York.
More on NYHA and BNP
NYHA would create statewide, universal, “single payer” healthcare, meaning if passed, all New Yorkers would be enrolled in a single, public insurance program. All services requiring a medical professional of the patient’s choice would be fully covered, without extraneous fees or the negative, profit-motivated intervention of a private insurer.
Buffalo DSA has long rallied around NYHA’s passage alongside like-minded groups and unions statewide, based on its positive projected outcomes for workers’ rights, families, and individuals in all stages of life in New York, as well as the state’s health systems. NYHA, according to the organization, would provide $80 billion in savings over 10 years, as a self-sustaining program through the state’s progressive tax structure. Per their research, New York would not need to cut any essential or existing social programs to fund NYHA, and would create ~150,000 new jobs in the public sector, with retraining for and rehiring of current private insurance workers. Public hospitals would benefit from a higher reimbursement rate, which would lower chances of hospital closures, improving health outcomes for New Yorkers.
The corresponding legislation for NYHA has stalled over the course of several sessions, in part due to lobbyists like the Buffalo Niagara Partnership; the region’s most-utilized health insurers hold leadership on the BNP board and the organization enjoys close ties with local politicians. As Buffalo DSA states in its report on NYHA Opposition, the BNP’s Memorandum of Opposition against these bills, and its membership in an untraceable campaign called “Realities of Single Payer” are examples of their lack of care for the region’s residents. “The way the BNP has wielded its power to lobby against universal healthcare is cruel and unacceptable,” said Madden. “Everyday working people, who outnumber the executives of the BNP, deserve a healthcare system that works for everyone. Anti-NYHA lobbying only serves to enrich the insurance and health system executives on the leadership board.”
Western New York residents are encouraged to visit Buffalo DSA’s campaign website to learn more about the New York Health Act and sign the organization’s petition. Those interested in volunteering for further campaigning are encouraged to contact the chapter; the group says no previous campaign experience is required.
Buffalo DSA, Inc. is a member dues funded and member-directed not-for-profit in the State of New York. Democratic Socialists of America believe both the economy and society should be run democratically—to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few. Join Buffalo DSA by visiting buffalodsa.org.
Madison Area DSA unequivocally condemns the illegal and unprovoked bombing of Caracas and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.
This is not an “intervention” against “narcoterrorism” or in favor of democracy, as the Trump Regime claims. It is a blatant act of war in pursuit of resource control and hemispheric dominance, and it sends a message to Latin American and other governments around the world: submit to American imperialism or you’ll be next.
This escalation, while shocking, represents the logical culmination of decades of economic, diplomatic, and covert war by the US against Venezuela, and a return to the norms that characterized the darkest era of US aggression in Latin America that occurred under the auspices of the Monroe Doctrine. It is the latest installment in the pattern of American imperialist violence and regime-change policy that has played out many times over in every corner of the world.
The actions of the United States, in every previous imperialist war and now in Venezuela, clearly violate:
The UN Charter and the fundamental principle of national sovereignty;
International law against war crimes;
The right of all peoples, including the Venezuelan people, to self-determination.
The liberal establishment has once again failed to fight back against the illegal and barbaric acts of the Trump Regime. Rather than recognize the fundamental injustice of imperialism and seek to dismantle it, prominent Democrats have focused on procedural gripes. Rather than condemn the attack, they complain that Trump failed to obtain Congressional approval. This ignores the blatant illegality of the bombing and kidnapping, and the inhumanity of America’s policy towards Venezuela in general. Their responses lay bare the inherent incapacity of neoliberal hegemony to oppose fascist tendency.
As Democratic Socialists, we recognize the true motives and intended effects of the Trump Regime’s escalation:
Seizure of Venezuela’s sovereign oil wealth and the transfer of that wealth from the Venezuelan people to private American companies;
Geopolitical control over the Western Hemisphere through the destruction of Venezuelan resistance to US hegemony and the further dissuading of any other Latin American government from insubordination to Washington and the interests of foreign capital;
The destruction of Bolivarian socialism and any other alternative to neoliberal capitalism.
We therefore demand, not simply a return to liberal norms, but rather:
An immediate end to all hostilities;
The return of President Maduro and First Lady Flores;
The lifting of all sanctions and other forms of economic warfare;
Reparations for lost Venezuelan life and property, both national and private;
An end to the Monroe Doctrine and US interventions that violate other nations’ sovereignty;
Prosecution for war crimes of any US government personnel who planned or executed this illegal military action;
The immediate release and exoneration of any and all individuals detained and arrested on American soil for protesting the bombing and kidnapping, in violation of the First Amendment;
Unconditional amnesty for all current and future Venezuelan immigrants and refugees in the United States in response to the United States’ violent treatment of their homeland.
To the working class of the United States, we say: This war is not in our name. It is waged by a capitalist oligarchy that exploits us and that, while bombing innocent civilians abroad, also bombs our communities with austerity, police violence, and neglect. The billions spent on this criminal adventure are stolen from our healthcare, our housing, our schools, and our climate future. The Venezuelan working class are our siblings and allies in the global class war, and we stand in solidarity with them and all victims of U.S. imperialist wars.
Triangle DSA condemns the US abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores. As socialists, we can clearly see this for what it is – an imperial ploy to seize oil resources and destabilize the Bolivarian Socialist government of Venezuela. The American oligarchy acted with impunity, laying the precedent that any nation that does not submit to profit-seeking interests will face unjustified military aggression.
On Saturday, TDSA members showed up alongside our comrades in PSL, other local organizations, and members of the public to protest this act of terror on civilians in Caracas and the escalation of the US’s ongoing war against Venezuelan sovereignty.
The fight for socialism is necessarily international and anti-imperialist. The destructive path of domination and state terror by the US both in Latin America and the Middle East will bring nothing but suffering to innocent people in the global south and increased profits to the ruling class. This is a path to global ruin that can only be brought to an end by socialist revolution.
By organizing within the imperial core, we stand with the workers of the world in a shared struggle to end imperialism, neocolonialism, and war, and to establish a new international order based on relations of solidarity, equality, and cooperation. Join DSA in demanding No War with Venezuela!
After a crushing year under the Trump administration, the US left had little to celebrate at the end of 2025. The Israeli government continues its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, ignoring global protests and a ceasefire reached with Hamas. The US is ramping up its attacks on Venezuelan sovereignty (most recently culminating in the kidnapping of its President Maduro). Millions of Americans are facing huge health insurance rate hikes as Congress failed to extend ACA tax credits. ICE continues its thuggish offensive against immigrant communities across US cities, and so much more. Needless to say, working class Americans and leftists were sent reeling backward last year, with one of the few bright spots being the victory of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in NYC’s mayoral race; his campaign’s popularity with everyday people reflected in its ability to amass an army of 100,000 volunteers. It’s no surprise, then, that Mamdani’s inauguration on January 1st brought tens of thousands from across New York and the country, to pay witness and celebrate perhaps the one good thing the left achieved in 2025.
Usually, the swearing in of a major US city’s new mayor receives at least some attention in national news outlets, especially NYC’s mayor. But, the hype around and attention paid to Mr. Mamdani’s ceremony was turned up to a whole new level rarely seen for a municipal politician. As the new public face of a whole generation of American leftists, there are millions across the US who have invested a lot of hope in him successfully attaining most, if not all, of the major points of his affordability agenda. People who have never set foot in NYC are excited for the prospects of what his administration can achieve during this dark reactionary era in American politics. In many respects, Mamdani’s inauguration wasn’t just for his mayoralty, it was the inauguration of a hopeful and resurgent left wing entering 2026.
The total number of people attending and tuning into Mamdani’s inaugural events, including a nearby watch party, blew the roof off other recent NYC mayoral inaugurations. As comparison, at Bill de Blasio’s first inauguration it’s estimated that 5,000 people attended. For Eric Adams’ inauguration, held in Times Square, roughly 20,000 people showed up for the festivities. And while Mamdani’s City Hall Park ceremony was capped at 4,000 tickets, roughly 40,000 morepeople RSVP’d for the inaugural watch party, and hundreds of thousands more across the globe tuned in to live broadcasts of the event. People traveled from all over, from as nearby as Connecticut and as far away as Texas, just to be a part of what felt like a historic moment for the left. And, while everyone was ostensibly there to celebrate Mamdani officially entering office, it felt as though the moment was bigger than just one man. It was a watershed moment for a movement, the lifting of some of the weight on peoples’ shoulders caused by the last twelve months of Trump’s reign of terror.
Speakers at the event reflected this broader wave of hope. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set the day’s progressive tone by noting that NYC chose “courage over fear,” and “prosperity for the many over spoils for the few.” Imam Khalid Latif, Director of the Islamic Center of New York City, led attendees in a prayer that hammered on the theme of justice for all, not just the few. He noted that Mamdani’s socialist victory depended not on some abstract faith, but on the active agency of volunteers, workers, and every day residents working hard for change; with a reminder that leadership exists to serve residents, not to rise above them. “Let justice not be a slogan, but a structure. Let equity not be a promise, but a practice. Let policy be shaped by compassion, and budgets reflective of our values.” A poem by Cornelius Eady kept the crowd enraptured as he spoke about NYC as a sanctuary for the marginalized and alienated, calling on listeners to keep imagination alive.
After the swearing-in of the city’s new Comptroller and Public Advocate, there was a noticeable nod to labor when the chosen musical interlude was a live rendition of the famous labor anthem “Bread and Roses,” performed by Lucy Dacus. Then, in the final lead up to Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders delivered what has become a standard of talking points for progressives and leftists in the US. He spoke about how it isn’t radical but rather the only decent thing to do to demand structural changes like affordable groceries, universal healthcare, and for wealthy corporations and elites to pay their fair share in taxes, with the last demand getting attendees on their feet chanting “tax the rich!”
Finally, Zohran Mamdani delivered his 22 minute speech, acknowledging that his agenda would be a grand undertaking, but that “the only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.” He also struck a unifying tone at times, declaring he wanted to bring people from different backgrounds together. “And if for too long [New York] communities have existed as distinct from one another, we will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. Because no matter what you eat, what language you speak, how you pray, or where you come from—the words that most define us are the two we all share: New Yorkers.”
But, alongside this theme of unification and being a mayor for all New Yorkers, Mamdani also made sure his audience, and those elsewhere listening from home, knew where he stood politically without apology. “We will govern without shame and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.” This line earned a pop from the crowd, and a brief chant of “DSA!” (Democratic Socialists of America, a political organization to which Mamdani belongs).
It’s this kind of unabashed defense of his political beliefs openly to the left of establishment parties, coupled with its ability to amass a ground-up operation involving 100,000 volunteers, that has earned Mamdani so much respect amongst working class voters. And it’s this kind of message that makes his inauguration one for an entire movement of US socialists, not just his administration. It was a coming out party for the entire US left, a reignition of a flame that had felt dimmed and endangered for over a year. Here was a successful politician, a socialist, elected the executive of America’s largest city standing before hundreds of thousands, both live and tuning in, declaring that not only will he not apologize for his political positions, but that they are the correct positions to meet the current moment.
Mamdani’s inaugural event was a great feeling for generations of Americans who had started to feel resigned and depressed about the reactionary lurch of American politics. And, to be sure, those feelings still exist as long as Trump-ist elements keep their iron grip on federal levers of power. But the inauguration of this one glimmer of hope in NYC represented the inauguration of an entire movement that has been praying and agitating for change. A representative from the millennial class of new politicians coming up on the scene, making a splash on national politics and planting the flag of democratic socialism in the heart of America’s largest city. There is a long road to go, and undoubtedly Mamdani’s administration will meet with a mixture of successes and failures. But for one day on January 1st, 2026, it felt like the engine of America’s left wing was primed and roared back to life. Will it be able to keep itself going and advance the movement forward, or will this prove to be yet another false start?
The Pinellas County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America condemns in the strongest terms the United States’ disgraceful military assault on Venezuela and reported kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, early on January 3, 2026. This outrageous act represents a grave escalation of U.S. intervention in Latin America and a blatant violation of national sovereignty and international law.
The use of military force to seize a sitting head of state and his partner and transport them abroad for trial is a horrendous act of aggression, and should not be tolerated. It mirrors the 1989 invasion of Panama and reflects a deeply imperialist approach to foreign policy that prioritizes domination and resource control over diplomacy, peace, and international norms. It risks triggering widespread instability across the region, exacerbating humanitarian crises, and further eroding trust in international institutions.
For decades, successive U.S. administrations have leveraged sanctions, economic pressure, diplomatic isolation, and covert operations to undermine Venezuelan self-governance, producing humanitarian suffering and political instability while seeking to control the country’s vast oil and mineral resources. The United States’ long history of interference in the region reflects a pattern of imperial domination rather than any genuine concern for human rights or democratic governance.
The Pinellas County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America demands an immediate end to this assault and respect for Venezuelan sovereignty. We urge Congress to assert its constitutional authority and halt further unauthorized military engagements abroad. We call on the United Nations to convene an emergency session to address this breach of international law. We call for the removal of all U.S. military forces from Puerto Rico and an end to the colonial use of the island as a military outpost just miles north of Venezuela. We also call for the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro Moros from U.S. custody and for the dropping of all charges raised against him in this illegitimate indictment by the United States government. Lastly, we implore anyone who is incensed by this news to mobilize local and national pressure campaigns to oppose sanctions, military intervention, and economic coercion as tools of U.S. foreign policy.
We stand in solidarity with Latin American grassroots movements resisting imperialism and advocating for regional autonomy, peace, and justice. The United States must abandon its imperial approach and support just, democratic, and peaceful solutions determined by the people of Venezuela and the broader Global South.
This article represents the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of The Detroit Socialist or Metro Detroit DSA as a whole.
Public Domain political cartoon by N.S. Puette. Original caption: “Europe: You’re not the only rooster in South America! Uncle Sam: I was aware of that when I cooped you up!”
Armed conflict between states is the highest form of class warfare. In the case of two imperialist nations, the ruling classes of each nation are competing for the division of the world, using the working classes of both nations as expendable pawns. The victory of either one is a victory for imperialism writ large, and a loss for the working classes of both nations. A victory for the working class is achieved only through the defeat of both of their respective imperialist governments. This is the general logic behind the practice of revolutionary defeatism. But this does not apply to conflict between an imperialist nation and a non-imperialist nation. In that situation, victory for the non-imperialist nation is a victory for all working people everywhere, including for the working people of the imperialist nation. The latter situation is clearly what we are finding ourselves in with this conflict between the US and Venezuela.
There are endless debates and discussions that can be had over the state of Venezuelan society. One can make arguments either for or against it being a “socialist” state. One can argue all day over whether Maduro is a “dictator.” Both of those discussions are interesting, but are completely irrelevant to our practice as socialists in the United States. Since we live and struggle within the (albeit declining) global imperialist hegemon, our attitude towards armed conflict by our government must be one of total opposition. There is no righteous war that can be waged by the United States on behalf of capital, no prism or lens through which we can look at aggression on the part of our state as anything other than imperialist, full stop.
Over the coming hours, days, and weeks, our government (and in particular, the Republican Party) will attempt to portray the capture of Nicolas Maduro as liberating the Venezuelan people. We as socialists must be able to see through this, and loudly declare it as a lie. The only liberation that comes from imperialist war is the liberation of capital. In his address on January 3rd, just a few hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump confirmed that his administration’s intention was the direct occupation and control of Venezuela. As he has alluded to elsewhere, the immediate course of action of that administration will be to liberalize access to the Venezuelan oil reserves. Foreign investment, spearheaded of course by the US, will liberate Venezuelan oil from its captors, freeing it to be profited off of by capitalists. The imperialists will repeat ad nauseum that Venezuela’s oil is now in the hands of its people, but the only Venezuelans who will benefit from this are those willing to betray their country for profit.
Statements by prominent opposition figures make this trajectory unmistakably clear. Maria Corina Machado, who famously won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize (which Trump hilariously took as a direct snub to himself), has openly declared her commitment to privatization and market liberalization should she be installed as leader. Her vision for Venezuela includes removing the state from the oil sector, opening markets, and privatizing national industries. While at this point, it seems that Trump is not interested in having her oversee the American occupation of Venezuela, these policies will undoubtedly be pushed by any administration that ends up in power in the country. These policies represent a wholesale reversal of efforts to assert national control over strategic resources — in effect, a reversal of the Bolivarian Revolution. This agenda is imperialism, distilled to its essence, and promises Venezuelan workers renewed exploitation and dependency on the US.
One wonders how newly inaugurated Zohran Mamdani will handle this situation. In 2020, Maduro was indicted in New York’s Southern District, and if he goes to New York for arraignment and eventual trial, Zohran and our comrades in the NYC chapter will be in a particularly difficult position. He said in his inauguration speech that he would “govern as a democratic socialist.” What does a democratic socialist do when an ostensibly leftist foreign head of state has been abducted by the federal government and is facing charges in the city they are governing? Will he use his position to protest against the actions of the Trump administration? Will he show solidarity with the people of Venezuela? I have faith that he will try and that his heart is with Venezuela, but he is already in a nearly impossible situation, only a couple days into his term.
The choice facing socialists is stark. We can either accept the narratives offered by imperial power — debating which foreign leaders deserve our sympathy — or we can remain committed to a materialist analysis that centers class struggle on a global scale. Opposition to US imperialism is the minimum requirement of socialist politics. The presidency, by its very nature, lends itself to personal dictatorship. Even the most hands-off of presidents (Coolidge and his ilk) still have near limitless power within easy reach. The presidency has gathered more and more power to itself over the past century, and the ideal of the separation of powers (already a fiction at our nation’s birth, but hidden under a veil of democratic norms and “good-faith” governance) has been rendered a comfortable, if quaint myth. The president can start a war on his own initiative (with 90 days to deliver Congress a fait accompli), can deploy troops on American soil, and can even abduct a foreign head of state.
Political power is ultimately a question of force, and who can exercise it. Therefore, if the presidency is now capable of wielding every form of direct state violence, what can he not do? What can Congress or the Supreme Court do but offer a sternly worded rebuttal? The solution to this is to finish Reconstruction: to demand full democratization of the state, the abolition of the imperial presidency, of the Supreme Court, and of the oligarchic Senate, and the empowerment of a new representative body, directly elected by the people, holding full legislative and executive power. This is the foundation of the Democratic Socialist Republic.
MJ is a member of the Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America.
