This June newsletter marks the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one, and it requires a bit of housekeeping.
SDA is for professionals who want to pursue politics as a hobby. That is how Socialism has been built over the last century.
This photo was taken yesterday with Uruguayan leftist leader Sebastián Hagobian and former Dominican President of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan Temístocles Montás Domínguez, who also served as a cabinet minister under a PLD administration.
They know our place at the table because we share the same values.
Housekeeping
For us, Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, and Socialism are the same thing. As Americans, we like to simplify things. We simply say “Socialism.”
We are Americans, and we shorten everything. “Socialism” is the name of our movement, and it is a global movement, as explained on the Socialist International website. You can read about it here: https://www.socialistinternational.org/about-us/declaration-of-principles.
If you are a visual learner, you can also listen to Pavlos Yeroulanos explain it:
People in different parts of the world use the term differently because of their regional historical context, and intellectuals have learned what the term means based on that context. However, the democratization of the movement, combined with globalization, has made the term increasingly confusing.
When I attend international conferences, this debate never ends, and the same explanation I give there applies here as well.
Everyone has a hard time explaining how the Socialist International’s Declaration of Principles is somehow not Socialism.
It is in the name of the organization: Socialist International.
DSA stole our party in 2017, and people around the world ask me about it. Is Zohran Mamdani a Socialist? My answer, based on my experience, is “no.”
As a matter of housekeeping, SDA exists to organize Socialists who believe in the Socialist International’s understanding of Socialism.
If that is not your philosophy, we have developed an extensive onboarding process designed to identify people who do not share that international socialist tradition and encourage them to join other organizations.
DSA vs SDA
This issue will not go away until DSA and the Progressive International agree on some basic principles. That will only happen after a broader global discussion among left-wing movements establishes some common definitions. Until then, confusion over what “Socialism” means will continue.
I have been a card-carrying member of the French Socialist Party since 2004 and have participated in drafting several party manifestos. As a result, I have a solid foundation in Socialist theory.
Many elected officials who now describe themselves as Socialists had not even been born when I joined the Socialist Party, yet today they are lecturing the world about Socialism.
I was young once. In 1986, I joined the French Communist Youth, but I realized it was not for me. Many elected DSA officials defend Communist positions, and it is normal for younger activists to be more radical than their elders.
We all go through that stage, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. However, when an organization adopts the symbols of Socialism, it is expected to uphold those ideals.
DSA is not a Socialist organization, and any Socialist of the Socialist International who spends ten minutes interacting with them quickly realizes that.
This creates confusion for American academics, journalists, and voters alike.
DSA and SDA share a similar logo, and we have asked DSA to stop using it because its values do not align with those of the Socialist International. Until Socialist International parties fully understand how the American political system works, this confusion will continue.
The international leaders of the Progressive International want to weaken the Socialist movement in their own countries, and they are using these young American idealists to help accomplish that.
That will be SDA’s challenge: living in DSA’s shadow in the United States. Although we both use the word “Socialist,” DSA refuses to take control of the Democratic Party. We do not.
Our disagreement with DSA is ultimately one that voters will decide. They will determine who the real Socialists are and how we should govern.
The race in NY-13
To govern and demonstrate what Socialist governance looks like, we must earn the trust of voters.
I ran to document what is required to place our name on the ballot and to create the necessary momentum for change while using the fewest possible resources.
This hobby is pursued through elections. In NY-13 there were several elections, but the ones that mattered most to SDA were the party elections. This cycle we won two of them, with Rosa Diaz and Paperboy Love Prince.
Rosa is now part of the New York State Democratic Party and will be able to introduce Socialist resolutions.
That is what truly mattered. Everything else was simply an added bonus.
The Bonus of NY-13
When I began this campaign, I never imagined that Adriano Espaillat would no longer represent NY-13 in Congress. The extraordinary—and frankly obscene—amount of money poured into the race by people outside the district highlighted how money can distort political debate.
The first bonus is the end of the Adriano Espaillat era, something SDA has been working toward since 2020. Along the way, we documented and chronicled the internal workings of the Democratic Party.
The second bonus was the opportunity to demonstrate the difference in quality when broadcasters choose to feature only candidates who meet arbitrary fundraising thresholds versus those who do not.
Usually, it is right-wing-controlled media that decides who gets heard. This time, however, NBC/Telemundo allowed its Spanish-speaking audience to hear from all four candidates on the ballot. Their reasons may have been somewhat cynical, but it happened.
The four debates are below.
On NY1 Cable:
On WPIX Superstation:
On Cable Access BronxTalk, where all ballot-qualified candidates participated.
On NBC/Telemundo for the Spanish-speaking community.
COPPPAL
Last month I wrote about our participation in COPPPAL. Today we participated in the plenary session in Mexico as observers.
I had the opportunity to meet longtime comrades and represent the United States as part of an observer organization, surrounded by experienced party leaders from across the Americas.
However, just as I spend time explaining Socialism to Americans, I also spent time explaining the American Democratic Party to them and why county party leadership is often more important than elected officials in Washington, D.C.
Tomorrow there will be a formal vote on whether we become an observer party of COPPPAL. I do not like to jinx these things, so I will wait until the vote is official before sharing the news.
Socialism Monthly On-Boarding
I have split the on-boarding sessions between the first and third Wednesdays of the month:
First Wednesday – 7:30 PM Pacific: https://www.mobilize.us/socialists/event/773488
Third Wednesday – 7:30 PM Eastern: https://www.mobilize.us/socialists/event/897754
Welcome dear Comrade!
In solidarity,
Hasta la victoria, ¡siempre!
Theo