Beyond fear politics: what SA can learn from Mamdani's New York victory

THE story of New York's new mayor, Zohran Kwame Mamdani, starts not in America, but in Cape Town.

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His childhood in South Africa during the end of apartheid gave him a firsthand look at inequality.

This experience, he said, taught him that justice must be real and tangible, not just an idea.

This lesson is now facing a backlash from powerful figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Their opposition isn't just personal. It's a rejection of the very idea of material justice that Mamdani learnt in South Africa.

For some on the South African left, Mamdani's win is a cause for celebration. But the real lesson of his victory is being missed. His win wasn't achieved through social media posts or by declaring himself too pure for the political system. Like the ANC, the US Democrats have also lost its original people-centred purpose after being captured by business interest.

Mamdani did not reject the compromised Democrats in the USA, like many reject the ANC and other parties in South Africa. He chose to be the change within the Democratic Party. He won by doing the hard, unglamorous work of organising. He joined tenant unions, stood with striking workers, and listened to people's everyday problems. He built power from the ground up. He is not controlled by Zionist Israel, nor is he a puppet of commercial interests.

Crucially, the Democratic Party - a large, often conservative institution that has been frequently hostile to his radical ideas, did not fully endorse him.

Even Barrack Obama offered messages of support, but failed to endorse him fully.

Mamdani didn't wait for the party to become perfect. Instead, he used its platform to reach more people, proving that you can build a principled movement from inside an imperfect system.

His politics of hope is a vision based on care, dignity and the belief that society is stronger when everyone is included. It focuses on concrete goals like housing and health care for all.