Avila Chevalier, after primary upset, says she is not a communist

Darializa Avila Chevalier, the 32-year-old democratic socialist candidate who ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat in last week’s New York Democratic primary, told MS NOW on Monday that she is not a communist, responding to a CNN report on old social media posts in which she appeared sympathetic to communism.

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Asked in a phone interview if she was a communist, Avila Chevalier said: “I’m not. I’m a democratic socialist.”

She called the focus on such rhetoric a “distraction.”

“The point isn’t whether or not I say it, the point is that they’re going to be reactive and trying to evoke a reaction to engage in that kind of distraction, and so what I’m trying to say is, I can say it until I’m blue in the face that I’m not a communist; I’m a democratic socialist,” Avila Chevalier said. “But that is again part of that distraction, where I now have to spend more time talking about that than actually addressing the issues for my communities.”

The posts, which CNN said came from a since-deleted account, included one lamenting the lack of Marxist literature in public libraries. Asked about it, Avila Chevalier said she believes “in freedom of speech, and believe[s] in making sure that we have access to all types of thought.”

“In an era of book bans, I think it’s important that we actually know what it is we’re criticizing,” she said.