In the charged global landscape of metropolitan politics, the recent electoral victories of Loyiso Masuku as the first female chairperson of the ANC in Johannesburg and of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City present a fascinating politics parallel.
Both leaders, emerging from communities historically considered “outsiders” or migrants within their own cities, have secured top leadership roles in two of the world’s most iconic and complex urban centres.
Their journeys reveal shared narratives of identity, strength and the ever-changing fabric of global cities.
Johannesburg, a city of about six-million people, has seen significant tensions over resources, citizenship and belonging, often directed against foreign nationals, particularly from other African countries, but sometimes also against internal migrants from neighbouring provinces.
Masuku’s political identity is intrinsically linked to this narrative of internal migration, a journey millions of South Africans know intimately.
Masuku was born and raised in the Eastern Cape and relocated to Johannesburg for her tertiary education and work. Her victory as ANC chair in Johannesburg, where electoral and political strongholds are in the long-established townships, signals a shift and maturation in the conservative politics of tribalism and regionalism.
Masuku is a dual pioneer; she has shattered a specific glass ceiling as the first woman to hold the position of ANC chairperson in Johannesburg, a position long dominated by male figures across the country.
Her election is a necessary pushback on the sexism, regionalism and tribalism that consume ANC politics.
On the other hand, Mamdani is a pioneer of a different, yet familiar, New York story. As the son of Ugandan-Indian immigrants and an outspoken democratic socialist, he has emphatically entered a political arena where power has traditionally flowed through older, more established networks.
His 2020 election to the New York City Council was itself a breakthrough and his subsequent mayoral campaign positioned him as a trailblazer for a new, unapologetically left-wing and diasporic political agenda. Without a doubt, he has paved the way for a new type of politics in the US.
Johannesburg and New York, despite their contrasts, are archetypes of a 21st-century urban oxymoron: strong economic engines that also produce unparalleled, racialised inequality.
This shared reality for both Masuku and Mamdani makes them some of the most influential politicians in the world. The impact of their leadership and decisions will reverberate not just in their city but also across the globe.
Johannesburg and New York are the epitome of inequality. Johannesburg contributes almost 15% to SA’s GDP and New York City’s metropolitan area has a GDP rivalling that of many countries, including Canada.
Despite this flow of wealth, both cities are among the most unequal cities in the world. Johannesburg’s Gini coefficient is staggering, evident as you move from Sandton’s skyscrapers into Alexandra’s informal settlements.
On the other hand, a similar observation can be made between Wall Street and the South Bronx, where the top 1% earn more than 40% of the income.
Johannesburg is a city of internal migration. More than 40% of its residents were born outside Gauteng, with the Eastern Cape being the largest contributor. New York is a city of international migration; more than 36% of its residents are foreign-born.
In both cities, these populations form the essential backbone of the economy; therefore, the shift in political power we see in New York and Johannesburg is a function of the change in the complex composition of both places. To recognise and accept this is to embrace a mature discourse on identity, locality and culture.
Masuku’s election does more than put a woman in charge; it signals that the future of SA’s oldest liberation movement in its most important economic hub may depend on the perspectives of those it once saw as inconsequential.
It asserts that the lived experience of in-migration and gendered exclusion cannot be weaponised in leadership battles. Mamdani’s success performs a similar demonstration; he has made the voice of migrants credible and class-based politics central.
Their triumphs are a sign of sophisticated politics that should be prevalent in cosmopolitan cities anyway. This is a clear return to politics that are unapologetically rooted in the material struggles of the marginalised.
- Nyathela serves in the provincial task team of the ANC in Gauteng and writes in her personal capacity
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.