Refugee who fled socialism warns Mamdani’s policies mirror Venezuela collapse

A Venezuelan refugee who fled political persecution is warning that socialist policies pushed by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani will bring the same hardships to America.

“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 secured the Democratic Party nomination for New York City mayor in June, ran a campaign focused on making the city more affordable for the average resident. His platform includes freezing rent prices, investing in public housing, city-owned grocery stores, “no-cost” childcare, and higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Mamdani has advocated for more equality in the city, state and across the country, and has argued there should be no billionaires.

But Camargo, who escaped dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime, argues that the problems facing New Yorkers are the result of government intervention and statism, not individualism or capitalism. He maintains that policies championed by Mamdani are “anti-American” and have led to disastrous results in Venezuela, Cuba, the Soviet Union, and North Korea.

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Camargo was only 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 watching Venezuela collapse under “aggressive” socialist policies: 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. Those trips 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,” he recalled.

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Camargo didn’t know anything about politics or economics, but realized different ideas were being applied in the United States, and he wanted to learn more.

In his teens, Camargo immersed himself in the works of economists Milton Friedman, Adam Smith, and U.S. history. He became an outspoken advocate for capitalism, giving speeches and media interviews.

His activism carried heavy costs. While studying medicine, he was expelled and branded a “terrorist” for challenging socialist ideology on campus. His cousin was imprisoned and tortured for his political beliefs. Facing threats to his own life, Camargo fled to the United States in 2019 and now works as a political commentator and presenter for PragerU.

He fears the same failed socialist policies are gaining traction in progressive cities like New York.

“Mamdani is a Venezuelan, a Soviet Union, a 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.”

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He is calling on Americans to embrace the ideas and values that make this nation unique.

“America is the greatest nation on earth because of the values that founded this country,” he continued. “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.’”

He warned young Americans who embrace socialist promises that they will come to regret it.

“Every time socialism has been implemented, it doesn’t work,” Camargo said. “This time won’t be different.”

Zohran Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.