In a decisive victory for progressive and working-class movements, community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier secured the Democratic nomination for New York’s 13th Congressional District on Tuesday night. Backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Avila Chevalier’s triumph is part of a sweeping progressive shift across New York City, demonstrating the growing power of socialist platforms that champion Medicare-for-All, the abolition of ICE, and an end to systemic global oppression.

Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old daughter of Dominican immigrants born in Florida who later converted to Islam, has spent her career on the ground organizing for marginalized communities. Her political journey is deeply rooted in student activism; while attending Columbia University, she helped establish Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), an organization dedicated to the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against state-sanctioned violence and colonialism. Her foundational role in the movement was highlighted in an opinion biography she wrote for the independent news outlet The Electronic Intifada.

The campaign has faced intense resistance from conservative and establishment figures who have seized upon past rhetoric from CUAD to distract from the core issues of economic justice and anti-imperialism. Opponents have focused on a deleted 2024 Instagram post from the group which read, "We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization." When read in its full context, the post articulated a radical rejection of historical colonial structures, stating: "We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South. Our Intifada is an internationalist one — we are fighting for nothing less than the liberation of all people. We reject every genocidal, eugenicist regime that seeks to undermine the personhood of the colonized."

Avila Chevalier has remained committed to these principles of global solidarity. Eight years after her graduation in 2016, she returned to the Columbia campus in May 2024 to support the student-led anti-war encampment. Wearing a keffiyeh and a CUAD t-shirt, she stood with students protesting international violence, speaking with the Associated Press before the encampment was cleared by law enforcement.

As the progressive movement gains ground, elite institutions and establishment politicians have sought to distance themselves from the movement. Columbia University issued statements denouncing CUAD and denying any formal affiliation with the group. Meanwhile, centrist Democrats have joined Republicans in attacking the socialist ticket. Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa., criticized the nominee on social media, writing: "Anti-Israel. Anti-America. Anti-Western Civilization. Why am I the only Democrat in the U.S. Senate that refuses to excuse this or defend any of those self-identified communists?"

Despite the hostility from corporate-aligned politicians, the working-class electorate in New York City has signaled a clear desire for systemic change. On June 18, 2026, Avila Chevalier campaigned alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a massive Get Out the Vote rally at King's Theater, drawing thousands of supporters. The subsequent primary sweep of socialist candidates reflects a mandate for structural reform, with voters enthusiastically endorsing progressive policies designed to dismantle oppressive domestic and foreign frameworks.

National conservative figures, led by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, have expressed alarm at the election results, characterizing the democratic socialist platform as "Marxist." However, progressive advocates have welcomed the results as a sign of historical progress. Left-wing commentator Hasan Piker celebrated the primary victories, noting that they bring the country "closer than ever" to achieving true democratic socialism.

Avila Chevalier’s victory represents a milestone for representation and anti-imperialist politics in Congress, setting up a general election campaign centered on equity, global liberation, and the urgent needs of working-class families in New York.

Sources: * [New York State Board of Elections](https://www.elections.ny.gov) * [Columbia University Office of Public Affairs](https://www.columbia.edu) * [Office of U.S. Senator John Fetterman](https://www.fetterman.senate.gov)