David Duhalde
“Social democratic thought leader”, trade unionist, and Knicks fan (2025-26 NBA champions to you). 🌹
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Articles by David Duhalde
The DSA Strategy to Build Power
Harold Meyerson’s piece “Why Have Less Than One Percent of American Socialists Joined DSA?” tackles a question that those from supporters to opponents of socialism have pondered. If socialism now has millions of stated adherents, why have very few of them opted to join the most prominent socialist organization? Alternatively, how can groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) mobilize and activate the millions sympathetic to their broad views?
The American Prospect
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American Communists Did a Lot Right and a Lot Wrong
I was a small child while the Eastern Bloc was collapsing. During this time, my parents and I would vacation in Upstate New York at a retreat called Arrow Park. The austere resort was known for being owned by a Communist Party–affiliated fraternal organization, with an ostensible bust of Walt Whitman at the entrance that looked more like Karl Marx than the American poet. At the lake, I enjoyed swimming, boat rides, and a limited menu.
Jesse Jackson Paved the Way for a New US Left
The Reverend Jesse Jackson passed away this week at the age of eighty-four years old. A national figure and leader in civil rights, international diplomacy, and the Democratic Party, he occupied a space few could in US politics. While much less prominent in his final years as illness took him away from the spotlight, Jackson’s influence is felt today in many ways.
“Movement Parties” and Democratic Socialists of America
“Movement Parties” and Democratic Socialists of America Published February 12, 2026 Review of Organize or Burn: How New York Socialists Fight for Climate Survival by Fabian Holt (NYU Press, 2025) Organize or Burn: How New York Socialists Fight for Climate Survival By Fabian Holt NYU Press; 312 pages October 21, 2025 Paperback: $30.00 ISBN: 9781479837816 NYU Press At the time of this writing, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is about to break 100,000 members, with nearly 14,000 of them...
How Democratic Socialists of America Has Developed Into a "Movement Party"
In February, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) reached the milestone of 100,000 members, with nearly 14,000 of them in New York City alone. The election of Zohran Mamdani, a longtime DSA activist and New York assemblymember, as the city’s mayor brought unprecedented attention to the socialist group. Thousands of socialist activists have played a real and often unseen role in getting DSA to not only elect candidates but win public policy in places like New York.
“Movement Parties” and Democratic Socialists of America
At the time of this writing, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is about to break 100,000 members, with nearly 14,000 of them in New York City alone. The election of Zohran Mamdani, a longtime DSA activist and New York assemblymember, as the city’s mayor brought unprecedented attention to the socialist group. Thousands of socialist activists have played a real and often unseen role in getting DSA to not only elect candidates but win public policy in places like New York.
The Final Days and the Struggle Continues: A Tribute to Diana Caballero and Reminder for Unity Today
The Final Days and the Struggle Continues: A Tribute to Diana Caballero and Reminder for Unity Today Published February 15, 2025 I never had the privilege to meet Diana Caballero. But she was a presence in my life through her partner, Jose La Luz, a founding member of Democratic Socialists America (DSA) and former national leader I’ve known for nearly two decades.
Socialists in Office Are Building Power on the Local Level
One of the downstream impacts of Donald Trump’s election last month has been a renewed interest in socialist organizing. That has been reflected in the growing ranks of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which has seen its membership increase by nearly 3,000 members since November 5, for a total of around 69,000 (still down from a high water mark of nearly 95,000 in 2021).
To Rally After Trump's Second Victory, DSA Must Look Past 2016
November 26, 2024 by David Duhalde It is natural to compare the 2024 election to Trump’s first victory — but DSA can learn more from the aftermath of the 2004 presidential race. Donald Trump’s victory on Nov. 5 has led people to look back on his win in 2016, but we can draw lessons from the political aftermath of the 2004 presidential election. During the 2004 race, I was an elected leader in the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
Mirror, Mirror, Build the Wall
Mirror, Mirror, Build the Wall Published August 10, 2024 Naomi Klein’s latest publication, Doppelganger, comes from the author’s new interest in the impact of conspiracy theories inspired by the public’s ongoing confusion of herself with dis-informer Naomi Wolf. Klein uses these mix-ups to examine how the anti-solidaristic conspiracy theories Wolf champions create barriers to building a left mass movement.
Dissenters and the Student Movement for Palestine
Brianna Gibson of the BlackOUT Collective interviews Sidney Miralao from Dissenters, an anti-imperial youth organization playing an important role in the student movement for a free Palestine. Learn what’s happening on the ground and how this political moment is creating a new generation of disciplined leaders.
How We Rebuilt the Young Democratic Socialists
Nearly two decades ago the Young Democratic Socialists (YDS), as it was then called, was on the brink of collapse. Our traditional social-democratic milieu organizing methods were failing us. As the National Youth Organizer for the YDS, a role I held from 2006 to 2008, I saw the student group escape its lowest point. This narrow evasion of complete collapse rested on a reassessment of our longtime organizing strategies and tactics.
How We Rebuilt the Young Democratic Socialists
How We Rebuilt the Young Democratic Socialists Published April 20, 2024 Nearly two decades ago the Young Democratic Socialists (YDS), as it was then called, was on the brink of collapse. Our traditional social-democratic milieu organizing methods were failing us. As the National Youth Organizer for the YDS, a role I held from 2006 to 2008, I saw the student group escape its lowest point.
How We Rebuilt the Young Democratic Socialists
A history of the late 2000s youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America and how they used lessons from Mao and contemporary labor to reevaluate their conditions and build a winning strategy. Nearly two decades ago the Young Democratic Socialists (YDS), as it was then called, was on the brink of collapse. Our traditional social-democratic milieu organizing methods were failing us.
Maria Svart built DSA
March 19, 2024 by David Duhalde In the mid-aughts, as New York City DSA struggled to rebuild as a chapter, the late Michael Hirsch, then a national DSA leader, remarked in a planning discussion that “the only presentable person we have is Maria.” That Maria, of course, was Maria Svart. At the time, Maria was the co-chair of Young Democratic Socialists (now Young Democratic Socialists of America, or YDSA) and I was its National Youth Organizer.
DSA’s Staff Members Deserve Dignity
by DAVID DUHALDE By now, many Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members have probably already seen the iconic AFSCME parody video (if not, go watch it now before reading the rest of this piece - you’ll thank me later), which cheekily celebrates an old union PSA. The commercial highlighted the critical work of public sector union members, which is often overlooked and invisible to their neighbors.
Immediately After the 1973 Chilean Coup, US Socialists Supported Those Fighting for Freedom
Immediately After the 1973 Chilean Coup, US Socialists Supported Those Fighting for Freedom Published September 16, 2023 In August, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and several congressional leaders visited Brazil, Colombia, and Chile to meet with leftist activists and elected officials — a goodwill trip that the Wall Street Journal dubbed “AOC’s Socialist Sympathy Tour.” In Chile, Ocasio-Cortez and her colleagues insisted that the US government declassify more documents related to Washington’s...
DSOC, NAM, and DSA's Role in Chile Solidarity
September 11, 2023 by David Duhalde Read at Jacobin: “Immediately After the 1973 Chilean Coup, US Socialists Supported Those Fighting For Freedom” For the 50th anniversary of the Chilean coup that overthrew the left-wing Popular Unity coalition, long-time Democratic Socialist of America member David Duhalde in Jacobin magazine has written a history of US-based democratic socialist solidarity with the Chilean people.
Immediately After the 1973 Chilean Coup, US Socialists Supported Those Fighting for Freedom
In August, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and several congressional leaders visited Brazil, Colombia, and Chile to meet with leftist activists and elected officials — a goodwill trip that the Wall Street Journal dubbed “AOC’s Socialist Sympathy Tour.” In Chile, Ocasio-Cortez and her colleagues insisted that the US government declassify more documents related to Washington’s support for the coup that overthrew socialist president Salvador Allende in 1973.
Defend Democracy Through Defending Democracy
An argument against the "Defend Democracy through Political Independence" resolution for the upcoming national convention. Member-Submitted Resolution #2 (MSR 2), “Defend Democracy through Political Independence,” contends that the Republican Party and its Trumpist elements pose a threat to the multiracial working class (although much less of a threat than in 2016) and that Democrats—not Republicans—are the principal opponent of socialists in blue states.
For a DSA Ready to Move in the Labor Movement — Socialist Majority
by DAVID DUHALDE Labor Amendment E, the Groundwork slate’s amendment to the National Labor Committee (NLC) consensus resolution, is critical for equity in DSA’s work on the national level, avoiding layoffs, and actually protecting the DSA’s existing unionized workers.
U.S. Elected Socialists Just Held Their Largest Gathering in Nearly 40 Years
Over the weekend of June 16, 80 democratic socialist elected officials and their aides from across the country came together for the first U.S. socialist policy conference since the 1980s.
DSA Fund Brings Together Socialists in Office for D.C. Conference
VIDEO Sunshine Ludder, deputy director of DSA Fund, featured on an episode of The Zero Hour. Over the weekend of June 16, 80 democratic socialist elected officials and their aides from across the country came together for the first U.S. socialist policy conference since the 1980s.
Democratic Socialist Electeds Just Held Their Biggest Gathering In A Generation
A recent conference brought together democratic socialist elected officials from across the United States—including Bernie Sanders—to collaborate and strategize on advancing progressive public policy. by David Duhalde, In These Times Over the weekend of June 16, 80 democratic socialist elected officials and their aides from across the country came together for the first U.S. socialist policy conference since the 1980s.
U.S. Elected Socialists Just Held Their Largest Gathering in Nearly 40 Years
David Duhalde June 29, 2023 Over the weekend of June 16, 80 democratic socialist elected officials and their aides from across the country came together for the first U.S. socialist policy conference since the 1980s.
Talking Strategy with DSA Leaders
Veteran leaders and members of DSA talk about the past, present and future of the leading democratic socialist organization in the US. by David Duhalde, Dick Flacks, Kristian Hernandez, Daraka Larimore-Hall - Spring/Summer 2023 DSA members David Duhalde and Kristian Hernandez recently appeared on an episode of Talking Strategy, Making History, a podcast hosted by DSA members Dick Flacks and Daraka Larimore-Hall.
How Can We Bridge the Gap Between Electoral and Labor Organizing?
Kim Moody's newest book fails to make a convincing case for turning away from Democratic Party primary elections. But it is a useful prompt for thinking about how to bridge gaps between electoral and labor organizing. Review of Breaking the Impasse: Electoral Politics, Mass Action, and the New Socialist Movement in the United States, by Kim Moody (Haymarket Books, 2022). On the last day of November 2022, the US Congress voted to prevent a railroad strike.
Moving Beyond the Dirty Stay
by DAVID DUHALDE Last October, NYC Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) delegates gathered for their annual convention. One of the many hotly debated resolutions was the 1-2-3-4 Plan to Build a Party-Like Structure. The proposal sought to limit the autonomy of DSA-backed candidates and bring such candidates into a coordinated infrastructure. Delegates voted down this resolution by a margin of 70-123.
Podcast: David Duhalde discusses how grassroots organizing can win elections
Beacon Podcast Podcast: David Duhalde discusses how grassroots organizing can win elections 00:00/ 28:31 In this special episode of the podcast, Ben talks with David Duhalde (he/him), long-time democratic socialist activist and the author of a chapter in the new book “Power Concedes Nothing: How Grassroots Organizing Wins Elections.” Ben and David talk about David’s experiences organizing as a college student in Maine, and what it was like to be part of DSA during and after the 2016 election.
If Bernie Runs in 2024, His Campaign Should Build a Left Political Organization
The end of Bernie 2020 was crushing for anyone invested in the campaign. Not only were we easily smothered under the internal machinations of the Democratic Party brass, but all of the energy, data, and infrastructure of the campaign instantly went up in smoke around April 2020, leaving little trace behind. The demobilizing effect of the pandemic certainly had something to do with this, but it also became clear in the aftermath that Bernie 2020 was never made to last.
The Biden Administration Is Privatizing What’s Left of Its Pandemic Response
Despite the very understandable impulse to move on from the pandemic, the pandemic hasn’t moved on from us, killing four hundred Americans a day and hospitalizing six thousand. But the disappearance of COVID from the list of political priorities has had another major side effect: the Biden administration is now moving to dismantle what few remaining public health measures exist in the United States to manage the virus, and with little opposition.
We Don’t Need Another New Progressive Organization
In their recent piece, “To Win a Political Revolution, We Need a New Mass Organization,” Jeremy Gong and Nick French argue that the Left’s inability to build effectively on the promising red shoots of the Bernie Sanders campaigns, the 2018 teacher strike wave, and other recent signs of left resurgence come down largely to a failure of organization.
The State of American Socialism
DSA Fund Chair David Duhalde speaks with the Left Anchor podcast about the issues and dilemmas facing democratic socialists today. Left Anchor, a podcast sponsored by The American Prospect, recently interviewed Democratic Socialists of America Fund chair and veteran DSA member David Duhalde on a wide range of issues facing the democratic socialist movement today. This is an edited transcript of the episode, co-hosted by Ryan Cooper and Alexi the Greek, and is published with permission.
Opinion | The Socialist Left Should Be Giving the Jan. 6 Hearings the Attention They Deserve
Opinion | The Socialist Left Should Be Giving the Jan. 6 Hearings the Attention They Deserve | David Duhalde
Why Socialists Shouldn’t Ignore the January 6 Hearings
In late June, as I arrived at my weekly union stewards training, I stumbled upon a group of fellow delegates talking about the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. While these labor activists primarily discussed revelations that Trump allegedly approved of rioters’ call to “hang Mike Pence,” their political conversation flew in the face of the idea that working people are indifferent about the congressional hearings on last year’s near-coup.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
Despite DSA's growth and transformation, the "new DSA's" approach to electoral politics has many continuities with the "old DSA." This piece by David Duhalde was written in response to two recent articles about DSA and the “Millennial Left.” It originally appeared in Platypus Review 144 and is republished here with permission. – eds. There is always a bit of (even much) truth in clichés such as this.
Chile Shows How Social Movements Can Win Elections
Source: Convergence Nearly 50 years after Chile’s democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende was ousted in a military coup, a young left-wing legislator rocketed into the country’s top office. Gabriel Boric beat his far-right opponent, José Antonio Kast, in the December 2021 runoff election.
Chile Shows How Social Movements Can Win Elections
Nearly 50 years after Chile’s democratically-elected, socialist President Salvador Allende was ousted in a military coup, a young left-wing legislator rocketed into the country’s top office. Gabriel Boric beat his far-right opponent, José Antonio Kast, in the December 2021 runoff election. He owed his victory to a center-left coalition against the far right, energized by militant and persistent social movement organizing that has put the country on the road to a new constitution.
Chile Shows How Social Movements Can Win Elections
Chileans’ commitment to replacing the country’s neoliberal constitution shaped last year’s presidential election. Nearly 50 years after Chile’s democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende was ousted in a military coup, a young left-wing legislator rocketed into the country’s top office. Gabriel Boric beat his far-right opponent, José Antonio Kast, in the December 2021 runoff election.
DSA Report Back: Chile Delegation, 2021
January 5, 2022 by David Duhalde When the Democratic Socialists of America was invited along with new left-wing parties and movement organizations to observe the recent presidential election in Chile, I wasn’t hopeful that we’d be witnessing a victory. I was still excited to go as DSA’s representative because I partly came to socialism because of my Chilean-born father’s support of (and subsequent punishment for his participation in) the leftist Popular Unity in the early 1970s.
For Chileans, the Choice in Today’s Election Is Socialism or Barbarism
Chileans vote today between two presidential candidates: one that could be the most radical leftist since Salvador Allende or another easily as reactionary as far-right dictator Augusto Pinochet. The outcome of this contest’s stark contrast between left-wing Gabriel Boric of the Social Convergence Party and José Antonio Kast of the Republican Party — a name inspired by the United States’ GOP — will have impacts beyond Chile.
A Tale of Two September 11ths
Source: Democratic Left What do you think when you hear the words “September 11”? Do you picture terrorism and endless wars, fear of the “other”? Grief and heartbreak without end? Do you think of innocent people targeted both by government and nefarious forces? Or do you see people coming together in the face of oppression to continue to fight for a better world, global citizens uniting against the worst excesses of imperial power to protect people they may never meet or know?
A Tale of Two September 11ths
September 11, 2021 by David Duhalde What do you think when you hear the words “September 11”? Do you picture terrorism and endless wars, fear of the “other”? Grief and heartbreak without end? Do you think of innocent people targeted both by government and nefarious forces? Or do you see people coming together in the face of oppression to continue to fight for a better world, global citizens uniting against the worst excesses of imperial power to protect people they may never meet or know?
Reflections on the 2021 DSA National Convention
Source: Socialist Forum The 2021 Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) national convention was a step towards maintaining our consensus on issues such as labor and electoral strategy, while advancing existing momentum around internationalism and a new organization-wide platform. The National Political Committee (NPC) election results, however, left much to be desired.
From Climate Strikes to the Union Hall
The Young Worker Listening Project (YWLP), an initiative of the Young Worker Committee of the Labor Network for Sustainability, is an effort to challenge the “workers versus the environment” narrative by collecting and developing stories of how young workers are pushing climate activism in their jobs, in their unions, and in their communities.
Campaign Finance Reform by Itself Won’t End Elite Control of Politics
In both his runs for the presidency, Bernie Sanders issued frequent battle cries for campaign finance reform. Absolutely nothing about this strategy was uncalled for and, if anything, Sanders’s loud and unapologetic attack on the power of organized money in American politics was long overdue from a major presidential candidate.
Returning to the Fold: DSA and Coalition Politics After Trump » Organizing Upgrade
Members of Atlanta DSA backed by the national organization conducting an anti-Republican turnout effort in the Georgia runoffs tied to the Green New Deal and other policy outcomes that would only be possible under a Democratic-controlled Senate.
Localize It - Socialist Forum
Instead of finding the next Bernie in 2024, DSA and the broad Left should use our new strength to focus on down ballot and local candidates. 2020 feels a lot like a repeat of 2008. A president-elect has won office largely due to an economic crisis – this time joined by a pandemic – and is bringing many familiar faces with him into the new administration.
What David Dinkins Taught Us
Earlier this week I learned of the passing of my boyhood mayor, David Dinkins. While I was too young to remember his 1989 election, his leadership of New York City was one of my first childhood political memories. I knew my parents supported him as did many of our family and friends. He was a resolute figure, and a committed progressive, that governed during a time of continued fiscal crisis, concerns over crime, and growing racial tension.
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