Source: The City Reporter
by Claudia Irizarry Aponte Jan. 27, 2026, 4:56 p.m.
The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America announced Tuesday its endorsement of Darializa Avila Chevalier, a community organizer from Harlem who is looking to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-The Bronx) in New York’s 13th Congressional district.
The endorsement is a boost for the 32-year-old Avila Chevalier, a political newcomer who last year launched her campaign against the five-term incumbent and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Rep. Espaillat is considered the dean of Dominican elected officials in the Upper Manhattan and Bronx communities he’s represented in Washington and in the state legislature for decades.
Flanked by DSA leaders and about two dozen supporters at the announcement in Morningside Park, Avila Chevalier invoked the memory of her late maternal grandfather, who was a member of the resistance movement against Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and his successor Joaquín Balaguer.