Some young Americans warm to socialism, even Miami Cubans

MIAMI (AP) — Andy Vila's mother remembers her son as a bright, rebellious child who enjoyed Harry Potter books and dressing up as the U.S. president. But when he began to embrace the same ideology his family had fled in socialist Cuba, she pleaded in vain for him to stop his political activism.

His socialism made Vila an outlier in his Miami community and opened deep rifts with relatives. He was briefly exiled from home, and his mother entered therapy to bridge their differences. To mention socialism at family dinners, "that's a no-go," Vila said. Relatives would "look at me funny and say, 'We've escaped that.'"

At 21, Vila is part of a wave of young Americans openly supporting socialism, even among Miami's staunchly anti-left Cubans. Although the definition of the ideology varies widely, it is making particular inroads among millennials and Generation Z voters, who are expected to make up 37% of the 2020 U.S. electorate, according to the Pew Research Center.

While more than half of Americans rejected socialism in a recent Gallup poll, 43% surveyed said some version of it would be good for the country. That sentiment was held by 58% of respondents ages 18 to 34, compared with just 36% of those 55 and older.

The popularity of self-described democratic socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has influenced the 2020 Democratic candidates, several of whom say they at least partially support socialist-style policies.

Vila emigrated from Cuba with his parents in 2004, receiving asylum and a pathway to citizenship. Initially optimistic about a new country where anything seemed possible, he became disillusioned with the American dream after his family lost its home during the Great Recession.

As a teen, he identified as a Libertarian-style Republican and spent hours...