The rift in the US socialist movement deepens: "Ocasio-Cortez is an opportunist"
The growth of the movement among the American left is creating unusual tensions. One of the biggest disputes concerns the possible candidacy of the politician known for her sharp criticism of Israel. Sources in the organization criticized: "We wasted an opportunity, dealing with delusional issues like Fidel Castro and the abolition of the Senate and the police."
The socialist movement in the Democratic Party is experiencing a surge in support, which is sparking unusual disputes. A critical issue is whether to support the candidacy of the anti-Israel legislator for the US presidency. Sources in the movement are criticizing what they identify as delusional conduct by leadership, who were caught unprepared and provided strange answers on key issues, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The possibility that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will run for the US presidency in 2028 has exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), one of the central movements identified with the socialist left in the USA. Within the organization, debates are growing over who should represent the movement, what policies it should promote, and whether to support Ocasio-Cortez, whom some activists see as too much of an establishment figure.
The disputes come at a time when the socialist left in general and the DSA in particular are enjoying greater political success than ever before, and a record number of people are joining the organization. However, the increasing public exposure brings with it criticism of the leadership and the way it presents the movement's positions to the public.
One of the strategists working with the organization said that the DSA is no longer just a reading club, and that it is an opportunity to expand the organization through figures like Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and Zohran Mamdani. Instead, he criticized, the organization's leaders choose to appear on television and talk about abolishing the Senate, Fidel Castro, and other topics that he perceives as strange. "It's a wasted opportunity," he said.
Priscilla Yabrino, the DSA's communications director, admitted that the organization is facing a new situation. "The ways we operated in the past are now making headlines in ways we didn't expect," she said. According to her, the organization's leaders are not professional politicians, but people from the working class who are relatively new to dealing with the media. She said it was a learning experience, and added that the leadership is listening to feedback from the organization's members.
The platform that caused a stir
One of the developments that sparked criticism was the publication of a new national DSA platform in July, under the title "Workers deserve more." The document presented the organization's political vision, alongside a series of controversial proposals, including the abolition of the US Senate, ending funding for the Department of Defense, and activity for the full abolition of the police and prison system. The platform surprised many politicians identified with the DSA. Some of them were quick to distance themselves from it, including Ocasio-Cortez.
Megan Romer, co-chair of the national DSA, struggled to explain some of the organization's positions during an interview for a New Yorker podcast. When the host asked her to explain her intention when she said that the rich and powerful should be "taxed to hell," he asked her why she doesn't provide more precise details. Romer replied that it was a good question, and tried to expand on her answer. Later, Romer was asked if the 2000 Camp David Accords would have addressed her concerns regarding Israel and Gaza. In response, she said she would have to check the exact details of the proposal, because she does not know them by heart.
The statement about Fidel Castro intensified the criticism
In August, the national DSA caused another stir after publishing a statement commemorating the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. In the statement, the organization condemned what it called the "genocide of the Cuban people" by the Trump administration. "Fidel was an organizer, a fighter, and he remains a solid symbol of the anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination for the Global South," the organization wrote. Later, Ashik Siddique, the second national co-chair of the DSA, struggled to defend the Castro regime during an interview with CNN.
These events led critics inside and outside the organization to argue that the DSA is struggling to adapt to its new political status. The movement, which according to veteran members has always been divided into factions and contained sharp ideological disputes, is now required to deal with much greater public attention.
The dispute around Ocasio-Cortez
The possibility that Ocasio-Cortez will run for president in 2028 on behalf of the Democratic Party has itself become a focus of struggle within the organization. Ocasio-Cortez is one of the most prominent legislators in the Democratic Party and is closely identified with very sharp criticism of Israel.
In the summer, the national DSA voted in favor of maintaining greater control over the process of determining the candidate the organization will support in the 2028 presidential election. Some local branches saw this as an attempt to prevent quick support for Ocasio-Cortez. The DSA branch in New York publicly came out against the move. The branch's co-chair, Gustavo Gordillo, wrote that the national leadership of the DSA "...simply voted to overturn our convention's decision."
Ocasio-Cortez herself also took care to distance herself from the national DSA. When asked by ABC News about some of the organization's proposals, she clarified that she is not a member of the national DSA, but only of the local branch in New York City.
Even within the DSA there are those who oppose Ocasio-Cortez
The rift does not end with the dispute between the national leadership and the local branches. Within the DSA, there are also ideological factions that explicitly oppose the possibility that Ocasio-Cortez will become the central figure of the socialist movement towards 2028.
The Marxist-Leninist-Maoist faction of the DSA recently published a letter in which it rejected any attempt to present Ocasio-Cortez as the possible future standard-bearer of the DSA in the presidential election, or of the broader socialist movement. The faction argued that Ocasio-Cortez's record demonstrates a consistent pattern of opportunism.
Despite the disputes, veteran members of the DSA say that this is also a natural process of expansion. According to them, a record number of people are joining the organization, and socialists have always been divided into different factions and often disagreed with each other, sometimes with great passion.
