A Venezuelan refugee who fled political persecution is warning that the socialist policies promoted by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani could bring similar hardships to the United States.
“Young people who right now are trying to support socialist ideas because they think this time would be different — it would not be different,” Franklin Camargo, 27, told Fox News Digital. “You don’t want the government to dictate your life. You don’t want the government to stop you from having aspirations, from having desires, from pursuing your own happiness. Trust me, you don’t want that.”
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won the Democratic Party nomination for New York City mayor in June, centered his campaign on making life more affordable for residents. His platform includes freezing rent prices, investing in public housing, city-owned grocery stores, “no-cost” child care, and higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Mamdani has also called for greater equality in New York City, across New York State, and nationwide, and has argued that there should be no billionaires.
But Camargo, who escaped Nicolás Maduro’s regime, believes the challenges facing New Yorkers stem from government intervention and statism, not capitalism or individualism. He argues that Mamdani’s policies are “anti-American” and have produced disastrous results in Venezuela, Cuba, the Soviet Union, and North Korea.
Camargo was just a year old when Hugo Chávez rose to power in Venezuela in 1999. His parents and grandparents lived in a prosperous nation, once boasting the fourth-largest GDP per capita in the world. But Camargo grew up witnessing the country collapse under aggressive socialist policies, including rent controls, nationalization of industries, censorship, and attacks on the wealthy.
“They made it impossible for the average individual to survive without the government’s help,” Camargo recalled.
As a child, Camargo visited the U.S. twice on family vacations, which left a lasting impression.
“I remember being amazed by the technology, the cars, how organized this country was,” he said. “I was even impressed by the grocery stores — the variety of Oreos, the variety of milks.”
Though initially unaware of politics or economics, Camargo realized that different principles were applied in the United States and sought to learn more. In his teens, he studied U.S. history and the works of economists Milton Friedman and Adam Smith, eventually becoming an outspoken advocate for capitalism through speeches and media appearances.
His activism came with significant risks. While studying medicine, he was expelled and labeled a “terrorist” for challenging socialist ideology on campus. His cousin was imprisoned and tortured for political beliefs, and facing threats himself, Camargo fled to the U.S. in 2019. He now works as a political commentator and presenter for PragerU.
Camargo fears that failed socialist policies are gaining traction in progressive cities like New York.
“Mamdani is a Venezuelan, a Soviet Union, Cuban type of socialist,” Camargo said. “He’s talking about nationalizing the means of production. Chávez did that in Venezuela in most industries. He’s talking about destroying billionaires. Chávez thought the rich had too much money, and he went after them. And he built an equal society — everyone is equally poor. Over 90% of the population lives in extreme poverty.”
Having experienced the corruption, censorship, and scarcity caused by socialist policies firsthand, Camargo emphasizes the importance of protecting American values.
“America is the greatest nation on earth because of the values that founded this country,” he said. “In 1776, nothing like it existed — the idea that government should exist only to protect individual rights, and that every individual has the right to pursue their own happiness. That doesn’t mean the government is going to make you happy.”
“It doesn’t mean that the government is going to give you food or housing… or give you anything you need for free,” he added. “Because as the famous quote says, ‘a government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything away from you.’”
Camargo warns young Americans embracing socialist promises that history will repeat itself.
“Every time socialism has been implemented, it doesn’t work,” he said. “This time won’t be different.”
Zohran Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
