Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'A candidate who promises a city that people can afford wins (in New York)'

Early this morning has brought us news from the United States that inspires hope: Trump has been defeated resoundingly in his city, New York, in the municipal elections. New Yorkers have elected as mayor a candidate from 34 years old, Muslim, born in Uganda and a socialist.

How did he do it? By tirelessly campaigning throughout the city for a whole year, using all the most widely spoken languages. They say his campaign knocked on a million doors. And what did he promise people? Here's the key: a city people can afford. He promised to freeze rents, build thousands of apartments, provide free public transport, offer free childcare up to age five, and—get this—municipal supermarkets focused on keeping prices low.

Donald Trump tweeted yesterday that if he beat Mamdani, he would cut federal funding to New York City as much as possible. A way of saying he was the wrong candidate. And how have people reacted? Look at this map from The New York Times showing the five boroughs of New York City: In blue, where Mamdani won, and in beige where the establishment candidate, Andrew Cuomo, won. Mamdani won with just over 50% of the vote, but in neighborhoods like Harlem, he garnered 71%. In contrast, Cuomo won on the Upper East Side with 60%.

Mamdani has spoken to people about their problems and in their language. The idea of being the candidate for a city where people can afford to live has been decisive. We only need to think about what's happening in our cities: people have to leave because they can't afford to live there. Or they can't make ends meet, even if there are two incomes in the household. In Catalonia, for example, the government is considering banning the purchase of homes for speculative purposes.We'll see if Mamdani's victory creates a wave, but we note that the next, almost certain victory of the far right is not some inescapable biblical doom, and that people have listened to other proposals. Perhaps some will think that we've seen this program before and that, in the long run, socialism doesn't work because it impoverishes. It will be up to the centrist parties to demonstrate that dialogue between money and the common good is possible.

We could talk to you about the trial of the Attorney General, about the talks between Feijóo and Abascal to find a replacement for Mazón, about Juan Carlos de Borbón's memoirs, which are on sale in France starting today. But we won't. We'll instead quote a line from Sebastià Alzamora at the end of his article today:"A flood of dandruff and sewage flows overflowing from the sewers of Spanish politics".

Good morning.