“Organize, don’t despair!” — Lessons from Zohran Mamdani’s victory
- Mar Garcia Sanz and Viktor Mák
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
For many progressive campaigners, recent years have felt like an uphill struggle with no end in sight. Against this background, the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayoral election is a bright beacon of hope. His electrifying campaign and resounding win show what’s possible when authenticity, organization, and mastery of digital tools come together. ECDA co-directors Mar Garcia and Viktor Mak set out why this victory belongs to all of us.
Remembering 2022: A moment of despair
We both remember 2022 vividly. That spring, Viktor was attending a gloomy election watch party in Budapest. The United Opposition — the broad alliance of Hungarian progressives who had mobilized unprecedented numbers and embodied the hope for democratic renewal — had just suffered a crushing defeat. Viktor Orbán had secured yet another supermajority. Everything seemed hopeless.
The next morning, Mar was on the phone with a devastated party leader from the United Opposition. He spoke of despair, of years of effort that seemed to have led nowhere. For many of us across Europe, that moment felt like the end of an era — crushing the belief that progressive alliances could overcome the machinery of entrenched illiberalism.
The long winter: The far-right ascendant
Since then, the far right has continued to gain ground. From Italy’s Giorgia Meloni rising to power in 2022, to the strengthening of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National in France, to electoral surges for the AfD in Germany, Vox in Spain, and the Sweden Democrats — the story of Europe’s political landscape has too often been one of reaction and retrenchment.
Across the continent, the far right has skillfully harnessed digital tools, emotional storytelling, and discontent with the failures of neoliberal governance. They have presented themselves not as defenders of privilege but as champions of the “real people,” exploiting the anger generated by inequality, precarious work, and the erosion of social protections.
Enter Zohran Mamdani: A victory at the heart of the beast
And then came Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York.
This was not just any election — it was a breakthrough in the beating heart of global capitalism. New York, the city that symbolizes financial power, inequality, and the often brutal logic of unregulated markets, became the stage for a triumph of democratic socialism and grassroots organizing.
Mamdani's victory is a message to the world that the progressive movement can reclaim agency, build trust, and win even in the most unlikely places.
To win there is to prove that another politics is possible — not on the margins, but at the very center of the system. In a city defined by extremes of wealth and poverty, by racial injustice and housing precarity, Mamdani’s victory is not just symbolic. It is a message to the world that the progressive movement can reclaim agency, build trust, and win even in the most unlikely places.
How Mamdani won: Belief, authenticity, and organization
Mamdani’s campaign stood out for two intertwined reasons: authenticity and organization.
First, he campaigned on what he truly believed — not on what pollsters or consultants told him to say. His message resonated because it was deeply felt and grounded in conviction. Not only his own conviction, but those of New Yorkers. This was the sweet spot.
Mamdani’s campaign stood out for two intertwined reasons: authenticity and organization.
Progressive candidates across Europe can learn from this: people respond to authenticity, to leaders who dare to speak from their values, with the right diagnosis, that come from empathetic listening.
Second, his campaign built a powerful infrastructure of participation. More than 100,000 volunteers mobilized; over 3 million doors were knocked. The campaign wasn’t powered by money, but by people — by networks of solidarity, by digital organizing, and by strategies that allowed engagement to scale.
This is where the progressives finally beat the far right at their own game. For a decade, reactionary movements have mastered digital tools to mobilize anger and resentment. Mamdani’s team used those same tools to mobilize hope — with humor, creativity, and a keen understanding of online culture.
The digital dimension: Humor, vertical video, and community
Mamdani’s mastery of digital organizing and communication deserves special attention. His volunteer army organization and his use of short-form video — humorous, self-aware, and rooted in local issues — became a model for how progressives can speak the language of the digital generation, while including them in their political struggle.
Crucially, social media wasn’t a substitute for the streets — it was an amplifier. Offline events fed into viral content, which in turn drew new people into the real-world movement. It was a virtuous cycle of participation, energy, and authenticity.
Why this victory matters for all of us
Zohran Mamdani’s triumph is more than a local success. It is proof that progressives are now operating on the same tactical and strategic level as the far right. For the first time in years, this victory shows that a progressive can win by understanding both the pain and the aspirations of ordinary people — and by offering concrete solutions: affordable housing, accessible healthcare, quality education, and dignity at work.
This is not just Mamdani’s victory. It belongs to everyone who still believes that politics can serve the common good, that communities can organize against despair, and that democracy can renew itself from below, from a majority of ordinary people.
A call to action
Let us not treat this as just another electoral story. It is a turning point. It reminds us that progressive values — equality, solidarity, justice — are not relics of the past, but the seeds of the future.
Let us not treat this as just another electoral story. It is a turning point.
After a decade of feeling one step behind, we are finally catching up. Mamdani’s victory shows that progressives can match — and surpass — the far right in strategy, organization, and storytelling.
So let’s hold on to this moment. Let’s learn from it, build on it, and carry it forward. Because the next victory will not be in New York — it will be yours.
Photos by Philippe Bossin
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