Mamdani-endorsed Avila Chevalier says she won’t respond to being called a communist

Darializa Avila Chevalier says she won’t engage with being called a “communist,” framing her socialist-leaning ideas as aligned with core Democratic priorities like affordability and “budgets as moral documents.”
She ousted incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat to lead the Democratic race in New York’s 13th District (Upper Manhattan and parts of the West Bronx).
Backed by Zohran Mamdani and the DSA, her platform pushes city-run grocery stores, free healthcare and transit, and higher taxes on the wealthy — and party leaders have downplayed worries about the progressive wins.