Opinion: The Socialist Roots of Latino Politics in New York

“The beginnings of Latino politics in New York largely embraced a brand of socialism and was principally the domain of Puerto Ricans,” the author writes. “This group organized an entire political movement focused on racial and social justice.”

Councilmember Alexa Avilés is exploring a run for Congress in a bid to take on the current Congressman Dan Goldman. That she is doing so recalls the very beginnings of Latino politics in New York.

Like those early figures, Avilés is both Puerto Rican and a socialist. Is Avilés’ rise the continuation of a trend in New York City largely initiated by another Puerto Rican socialist—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)? Let me explain why it goes much deeper into our history than that.

The beginnings of Latino politics in New York largely embraced a brand of socialism and was principally the domain of Puerto Ricans. Avilés and AOC are heirs of a politics that goes back over a century. The election of AOC in 2018 began a new chapter in what we call “Latino” politics in New York, one that as I am indicating here, takes a page (whether consciously or not) from the embryonic phase of our people’s politics in the city.

The key early figures in Latino politics—Jesús Colón, Bernardo Vega, Matias Nieves, among others—were socialists through and through. They understood the principles of classical socialism as pivotal for the attainment of economic justice, particularly for marginalized groups like Puerto Ricans. The work of Colón and company followed that of a group of Puerto Rican and Cuban migrants in the late 19th century, whom historian Jeffrey Hoffnung-Garskof has called “migrant revolutionaries.”

This group organized an entire political movement focused on racial and social justice. Their work focused on what we now call Afro-Latinidad, and was intentionally coalitional in nature. Colón, Vega and company continued this work in the late 1910s and 1920s, though they particularly sought the amelioration of the economic plight of Puerto Rican Latinos and other impoverished groups.

Many of these early Puerto Rican socialists, and others who were integral members of the New York City labor movement, were cigar makers. Workers’ rights, fair wages, and fair labor practices formed the nucleus of their struggle. They organized strikes, wrote treatises, and (in the case of Vega) formed the first Puerto Rican chapter of the Socialist Party of New York, in so doing seeking political recognition in addition to economic justice for their people.

It is important to note that, at this point, there is no indication that Vega or others were particularly focused on political representation. These early organizing efforts emerged from a desire to alleviate poverty, improve working conditions, and secure more jobs for Puerto Ricans and other impoverished communities. For Vega, immersion in the socialist politics of the day was not driven merely by an attachment to a particular economic or political philosophy. Instead, it was shaped by his own impoverished circumstances.

Vega was a socialist not because it was fashionable, but because he saw in it a practical response to economic injustice—an injustice he was experiencing firsthand as a Puerto Rican living in New York. In his “Memoirs of Bernardo Vega,” he describes some of the struggles he endured during his early years in the city, writing: “…times were very bad. There simply was no work, and with every passing day I saw my situation grow bleaker and bleaker.”

Vega and other Puerto Ricans found a political home in the Socialist Party of New York. In his memoir, Vega describes a warm reception from many of the members of the party, including its leader, Morris Hillquit. Not only did they offer to help Vega find work and become important interlocutors, but the Socialist Party of New York offered Vega a model and an impetus to think about broader ways to fight for economic justice on behalf of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos. 

Vega, Jesús Colón, and others would form the Alianza Obrera Puertorriqueña, a movement that took on the fight for economic justice while effectively creating a bridge between New York’s Socialist Party and Puerto Rico’s own socialist party. Perhaps unbeknownst to them at the time, these pivotal early organizing efforts would pave the way for the election of the first Latino to win elected office in New York just 10 years later, with the 1937 election of Puerto Rican socialist Oscar García Rivera.

I expand on some of this history in two of my previously published essays on the topic, published here and here. The latter particularly shows that the development of Latino politics in New York eventually veered away from its early socialist sensibilities. And this is why I consider AOC’s victory and continued rise as the insertion of a new chapter in the continued development in Latino politics in New York. This is also why, although it is a new chapter, it is a reversion to our earliest roots.

This new chapter does not end with AOC but rather begins with her. The buzz which her electoral success created around the city was not just among those immersed in socialist politics, but also among younger Latina/o aspiring political and community leaders. Several months after AOC’s surprise victory, Julia Salazar, also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), defeated then long-time incumbent State Senator Martin Dilan. Salazar is of Colombian descent. 

In 2019, just a year after AOC became a national figure, Tiffany Cabán, another Puerto Rican Latina, embarked on what seemed to be a David vs. Goliath contest, taking on Melinda Katz for the district attorney position in Queens. Cabán, who had never before run for office and came into the race with virtually no name recognition, almost spurred another political earthquake. She lost to Katz by a mere 60 votes in a race in which over 90,000 voters participated.

In 2020, Jessica González-Rojas, also a DSA member, won election to the State Assembly. She is of Paraguayan and Puerto Rican descent. Avilés won in 2021, and in 2022 Kristen Gonzalez won election to the State Senate. Of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent, Gonzalez is likewise a member of the DSA. Claire Valdez, representing parts of Queens in the State Assembly, is another DSA member elected in 2024. These socialist elected officials are all Latinas. 

And there could be another addition to this list, provided that Diana Moreno is successful in her bid to replace Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Assembly. Interestingly enough, another DSA member, Brian Romero, is seeking to replace his former boss, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, in the Assembly. He would essentially be the first DSA male Latino to win an elected office, provided his bid is successful.

As we can observe, this new era in Latino politics in Gotham has seen the rise and success of Latino (in this case, all Latinas) socialist political leaders with possible additions to the list. Will we have a second Puerto Rican socialist woman win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to continue the story?

Eli Valentin is a former Gotham Gazette contributor and currently serves as assistant dean of graduate and leadership studies at Virginia Union University’s Graduate Center in Harlem. His forthcoming book, “Politicking from the Barrio: Essays in Latino Politics in New York” (forthcoming from Wipf and Stock), chronicles the development of Latino politics in New York over the last decade.