Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: From Poor Waitress To Leader Of Progressive America – OpEd
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, shortened to AOC, has become one of the most prominent American politicians in recent years. This young 34-year-old Hispanic Democratic politician represents a political phenomenon. Her unexpected success is yet another indication of how unconventional or alternative candidates who are not part of the establishment can succeed in American politics lately.
As the Republican and Democratic parties have lost much of their reputation, identity, and substance in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, this has favored the rise of colorful and non-classical politicians, the most prominent of whom are Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders and Republican showman Donald Trump. Ocasio-Cortez definitely belongs to this category of anti-establishment politicians. She gained national recognition in her late twenties and became a symbol of the progressive movement in the United States. Her success story inspires many, especially young and marginalized members of American society.
Tough Beginnings
Alexandria was born on October 13, 1989, in New York, in the poor Bronx neighborhood. She comes from a poor working-class family of Puerto Rican immigrants. Her father, Sergio Ocasio-Roman, is the child of Puerto Rican immigrants, and her mother, Blanca Ocasio-Cortez, moved to the US from Puerto Rico. Her parents worked hard to secure a better future for their daughter. Until the age of 5, AOC lived with her parents in the Bronx, and then they moved to the New York suburb of Yorktown Heights in Westchester County. From an early age, Ocasio-Cortez showed extraordinary intelligence and diligence. She attended elementary schools in the Bronx, and later, thanks to her efforts, she was admitted to Yorktown High School, a high school in the wealthier part of Westchester County. During her high school education, she excelled in science. At the Intel ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair), she won second place for a microbiology research project. During high school, she attended youth sessions of the National Hispanic Institute Lorenzo de Zavala. She received a scholarship from this institution.
She graduated from high school in 2007, after which she enrolled at Boston University, majoring in economics and international relations. During her studies, she was active in socio-political initiatives, including volunteering for the election campaign of Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy (younger brother of JFK), which further fueled her interest in politics and social justice. Ocasio-Cortez interned for Kennedy in his Department of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Issues. She was the only Spanish-speaking speaker in the office and the only person responsible for helping Hispanic voters. She experienced a tragedy in 2008 when her father died of lung cancer. Ocasio-Cortez then faced financial difficulties and started working to help her mother. She graduated in 2011 with honors (cum laude). After finishing college, she returned to the Bronx, where she worked as a waitress and bartender to contribute to her mother's income, who worked as a cleaner and bus driver. They were threatened with foreclosure on their home, and money was desperately needed.
Political Activism
The experience of working in cafes and the threat of foreclosure deeply shaped AOC's views on economic issues and the fight for workers' rights. Later, she launched Brook Avenue Press, a publishing house that published books about the Bronx. In 2016, she participated in Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign as a coordinator. Sanders' campaign, which spoke about economic inequality and social justice, left a significant impression on her. After the election, at the end of 2016, she traveled across America, visiting places like Flint, Michigan, and the Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The reason for the trip was the drinking water crisis in Flint and the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The positive experience of working with people encouraged her political work.
Unexpected Victory in the 2018 Elections
With the support of the progressive activist organization, Justice Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez decided to challenge longtime Congressman Joe Crowley in the Democratic Party primaries for New York's 14th congressional district in 2018. She started her campaign in April 2017 while still working as a waitress in a Mexican restaurant. She faced a lack of money for the campaign, but that did not deter her. In the campaign, she did not accept donations from large corporations but relied on street activism and mobilizing ordinary, often oppressed voters. Ocasio-Cortez's campaign focused on issues such as universal healthcare, free higher education, affordable housing, and immigration policy reform. Despite her minimal chances of winning, she managed to attract significant media attention and gain the support of young and progressive voters. Crowley was supported by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, numerous NGOs, but AOC did not give up. She had the support of civic organizations like MoveOn and Democracy for America. Although Crowley had the support of the Democratic establishment (he had served 10 terms as senator) and spent 18 times more money on the campaign, Ocasio-Cortez defeated him in the primaries on June 26, with a percentage result of 57.1 - 42.5.
The victory of the young Latina woman resonated like a bomb and immediately brought her recognition across the US and beyond, as leading world media wrote about her success. It could be said that a new American political star was born at that time. She received congratulations from Noam Chomsky and Bernie Sanders, followed by support from former President Barack Obama and many progressive organizations. AOC's victory in the general election for Congress was not in doubt, as New York's 14th district leans left. She won the election on November 6 with 78% of the vote, while her Republican opponent Anthony Pappas received only 14% of the vote. On January 3, 2019, at just 29 years old, she officially became the youngest member of the US House of Representatives ever. She was easily re-elected to Congress in the 2020 and 2022 elections, where she convincingly defeated Republican candidates with 71 and 70 percent of the votes.
The Secret to Success
The rapid political rise of Ocasio-Cortez is the result of hard work, dedication, charisma, and a combination of circumstances. Her entry into high politics was not predetermined, as she did not have the support of the American deep state. AOC was not a member of the American elite, and her success in politics is primarily due to creative and tireless street activism, and to a lesser extent, her ethnic and racial affiliation with the Hispanic minority community. Given that the Democratic Party seeks to attract minorities such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian and Arab Americans, her Puerto Rican background and darker skin were somewhat gifts from heaven that facilitated Ocasio-Cortez's political rise. Whether she would have succeeded equally if she had been a classic young white American is questionable and we cannot know. Perhaps she would have, but her Hispanic background was a significant "booster."
Political Agenda
On her website, Ocasio-Cortez highlights 12 key areas of her political program: healthcare for all, housing as a human right, an economy of peace, justice for workers and small businesses, real public safety, dignified immigration policy, just recovery for Puerto Rico, Green New Deal, improved public education, women's rights, support for LGBTQIA+ rights, and dignified aging. AOC strongly supports universal healthcare, the "Medicare for All" program. The goal is to reduce the influence of private medical clinics and lower healthcare costs. Under the slogan housing as a human right, Ocasio-Cortez implies policies that would ensure affordable housing for all, including increased investment in housing construction, tenant protection from evictions, and better rent regulation to protect tenants. The economy of peace prefers ending US participation in foreign wars and emphasizes diplomatic dispute resolution. AOC seeks justice for workers and small businesses through the renewal of unions, a federal job guarantee, and investment in people, not corporations. She advocates for a progressive tax policy that would increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations to finance public services and social programs.
She advocates for public safety to be realized through criminal justice system reform, including reducing mass incarceration, decriminalizing low-risk offenses, and investing in prevention programs. Dignified immigration denotes comprehensive immigration system reform, including the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and providing US citizenship for undocumented immigrants already living in the US. The Green New Deal is AOC's most famous initiative. It is an ambitious plan to combat climate change through massive investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and infrastructure. The goal is to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions, create millions of "green" jobs, and ensure a just transition for groups vulnerable to the shift to alternative energy forms. Ocasio-Cortez advocates for increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour (currently $7.25). This measure aims to reduce economic inequality and poverty. She also promotes free higher education at public universities. She supports the cancellation of student debt, considering education a right, not a privilege. Her socialist views have been influenced by her Catholic faith, which she has openly spoken about.
Foreign Policy
In terms of foreign policy, Ocasio-Cortez emphasizes the importance of protecting human rights worldwide. She is critical of authoritarian regimes and supports pro-democracy movements. She advocates for reducing U.S. military spending and redirecting those funds to health, education, and infrastructure programs. In line with her green agenda, she promotes the fight against climate change on a global scale. She advocates for reforming the global asylum system and protecting the rights of those fleeing war, persecution, and climate disasters. She stresses the need for international cooperation in addressing the root causes of forced migration. As a person of Puerto Rican descent, she particularly emphasizes the importance of fair U.S. policy towards Latin America. She supports lifting sanctions that harm ordinary people and promotes policies that encourage democracy, economic development, and human rights. Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she supports a two-state solution and is very critical of the Israeli government's policies towards Palestinians. This spring, she called Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip genocide.
Embracing Pragmatism
Ocasio-Cortez entered the political scene as a follower of Sanders but has deradicalized over time. Although this might not be expected from a fiery progressive Latina advocating for democratic socialism, over the years, she has shown developed political intelligence, manifested through collaboration with Republican congressmen. This is even more remarkable considering the intense animosity between the two parties. However, collaboration between Democrats and Republicans is indeed possible. In 2019, AOC and Senator Ted Cruz from Texas considered writing a joint bill to ban former Congress members from becoming lobbyists. When journalists asked her why she was considering an alliance with conservatives despised by leftists, she said, "I will swallow all my disgust in this situation because we have found a common interest." Although that idea did not pass, she continued collaborating with Republicans. Last year, she supported a bill proposed by Republican Dan Crenshaw from Texas, concerning the study of psychedelic drug therapy as a potential treatment for soldiers with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. She did not mind that Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL officer, supported building a wall on the Mexican border and reducing women's reproductive rights. She continued working with Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, where she is the second most influential Democrat. AOC and other committee members, including Republicans Mark Meadows from North Carolina and Jim Jordan from Ohio, condemned the aircraft manufacturer TransDigm for a report showing the company overcharged the Pentagon for its services. After the hearing, TransDigm agreed to return $16.1 million. In the spring of 2023, she supported a bill backed by Brian Fitzpatrick, a moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, and Matt Gaetz, a fierce Republican from Florida. The law banned members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
Commitment to Bipartisan Consensus
Ocasio-Cortez has mostly supported other bipartisan initiatives. She is not the only Democratic representative who collaborates with Republicans, but she is the most visible. Her approach changes the look of bipartisan consensus. Once, this term implied connecting moderates from both sides of the political spectrum to pass laws that, despite being unpopular, were somewhat acceptable to most Americans. AOC has transformed bipartisan consensus into joint work of firmly opposed representatives on populist policies massively supported by the public. Last year's public opinion research showed that 20% of Americans consider the lack of bipartisan cooperation the biggest problem in the American political system. Ocasio-Cortez realized this early on and strives to contribute to bridging the gap between the left and the right. She is most passionately advocating for bipartisan consensus in resisting powerful pharmaceutical and technological corporations that act as "states within states." In this field, Democrats and Republicans agree best.
Mediator of Two Democratic Currents
In the last decade, two development paths of the Democratic Party have crystallized. The first development path is establishment (liberal) led by Obama, Clinton, and Biden. It relies mostly on identity politics, gender ideology, woke culture, green agenda, and a significant role of the state in the economy. The second development path is alternative (progressive), embodied by Bernie Sanders. It is based on democratic socialism, greater workers' rights, the fight against social inequalities, workplace democracy, free healthcare and education, higher taxes, and judicial reform. It could be said that over the years of her work as a Congress representative, AOC has established herself as a mediator of these two democratic currents. Although she started as a progressive politician, she faced obstacles over time and realized she could combine mainstream and alternative policies. Politically, Ocasio-Cortez is a kind of female mix of Obama and Sanders, combining Obama's policies advocating for minority communities, multiracial inclusive America, and charisma with Sanders' populist fight for the disenfranchised layers of society. She has chosen the middle path, a wise decision in times when the Democratic Party struggles to remain attractive to voters.
Great Prospects
AOC supported Biden's re-election for president in 2024. Despite all Biden's shortcomings (e.g., support for the Israeli military campaign in Gaza), she considers him a better choice than Trump. She wisely explained to the media that voting for Biden does not mean the voter approves all his policies but that things would be even worse under Trump, which is probably true considering Trump's aggressive pro-Israel rhetoric. When Biden withdrew from the candidacy, she supported Kamala Harris.
In the future, Ocasio-Cortez could be a figure that will unite different interests of progressives, liberals, and moderate conservatives. She could create a broad voter base that could bring victory to the Democrats in presidential elections or even ensure longer dominance. She does not necessarily have to run for the U.S. presidency but can do so through other high party and state functions. In any case, her true face will be revealed in the future when she gains more power and authority, which is logical to assume will happen. It will show whether she represents real change in American politics or just a formal one. It is certain that her background can attract minority voters, primarily Hispanic Americans, especially those who rarely go to the polls. With her progressive-populist policy, Ocasio-Cortez will be able to attract the disenfranchised who crave higher wages and better social status.