MANILA — “Dump Trump!”
This was the call of Filipino progressives in front of the US Embassy in Manila on Jan. 20, in their protest on the even of the inauguration of the new President of the United States, Donald Trump. Umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) led the protest joined by sectoral groups.
They dumped Trump’s photo in a garbage bin to symbolize their rejection of the US president. The protest was also in solidarity with millions of Americans who also reject Trump’s presidency.
In a statement, Bayan called Trump’s rise to the presidency “as a product of the US government’s failed neoliberal economic policies.”
“He was able to tap into the desperation of millions of Americans who have found themselves jobless, mired in debt, and left out of the increasing wealth being cornered by the elite. Unfortunately, Trump is using hate, racism, xenophobia and bigotry to cover up the failure of capitalism and to allow the big bosses like him to escape accountability and profit even more.”
Women’s group Gabriela also expressed concern that Trump’s regime will worsen the neoliberal economic policies “being imposed” by the US on poorer nations. Such policies include raising taxes on the poor, cutting health and social service budgets, and rescuing failed megabusiness conglomerates from bankruptcy by pumping government money into their banks and property bubbles. The group also feared intensified attacks against women and children.
Protesters warned President Rodrigo Duterte to be wary of the US’s new global military design under Trump, who they said “can easily turn into a terroristic demagogue who wants to provoke military confrontation to preserve the economic hegemony of the US amidst a global crisis.”
By BULATLAT
Photos by LOI MANALANSAN