Zohran Mamdani receives Corinthians shirts after citing Sócrates and Democracia Corinthiana | OneFootball

According to Globo.com, New York mayor Zohran Mamdani received Corinthians shirts on Saturday after referencing Sócrates and Democracia Corinthiana in a city-released programme last week.

The shirts were presented by Rafael Castilho, Corinthians’ cultural director, former legal director Vinicius Cascone, and ex-player Walter Casagrande, a symbol of the 1980s movement, at an event in New York.

During the programme, Mamdani discussed the start of the World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting, and recalled the political activism of Sócrates, the midfielder who played for Corinthians from 1978 to 1984 and made 298 appearances.

He reflected on Brazil’s military dictatorship of that era, noting how players at Corinthians launched an experiment in self-governance known as Democracia Corinthiana, where everyone, from star striker to laundry staff, had a vote.

Mamdani said that, while the regime was torturing and killing citizens, Sócrates led team-mates onto the pitch wearing jackets bearing a call to vote for president. As New York prepares to celebrate the World Cup, he said football has given millions a sense of belonging, connection and shared solidarity, created movements and helped to unseat dictators, and for 90 minutes at a time offered ways to overcome problems.

Source: Globo.com