This Saturday, thousands of US soldiers will parade in Washington DC to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Armed Forces – and the president’s birthday, who turns 79. The event is being criticized for similarities to militarized regimes such as North Korea and China, at a time when Trump administration is also under scrutiny by “contrary to the Constitution” measures to repress protests in Los Angeles against their harsh anti-immigration policies, resorting to military forces
Let us start with what has not yet happened – the Military Parade of the 250th anniversary of the United States Armed Forces, which is not coinciding with the 79th anniversary of the President and Supreme Commander of the military, Donald Trump, this Saturday, June 14.
With an expected cost of up to $ 45 million, according to Reuters, and still subject to possible changes, the military parade, in its form and content, finds no precedents in recent decades. The last time the US was the scene of a similar parade was in 1991, when tanks and troops paraded by Washington to expulsion from the Iraqi army of Kuwait Saddam Hussein.
This time, about 6,600 soldiers will march in National Hall from 18:30 local (23:30 in Lisbon), accompanied by 150 Army vehicles, 50 Air Force aircraft, 28 M1 tons of 60 tons each and combat vehicles M2 Bradley, Seven Military Bands, 250 new recruits to oath to the flag and various parades that, from the Shoes, They will bring a flag of America to deliver to their supreme commander.
Some streets of the American capital, reports the Washington Post, may be closed over the next four days because of the stop, which is involved in strong security measures, including a steel sealing of almost 30 kilometers and 175 metal detectors installed on checkpoints.
Organizers say they expect at least 200,000 people in the center of Washington DC. It is possible that you will never know how many of the participants will have responded to on Wednesday morning, seeking “occupants of places and extras” that “make their time available to maximize space and perception of assistance”, in exchange for $ 1,000 in Bitcoin.
The event to celebrate the round anniversary of US military forces had been in preparation since before the election of Donald Trump. But with the Republican’s victory in November, the parade has gained other proportions, attracting criticism of the “demonstration of authoritarian power” that is not consistent with the US tradition and closer to highly militarized regimes such as North Korea, Iran or China.
More than 1,500 manifestations baptized “without kings” are planned for various parts of the same day, although organizers have guaranteed that they will not hold DC events, in part to avoid direct confrontations, after the president warned that any protester who hinders his stop “will face a lot of strength.”
Critics include California governor Gavin Newsom for several days at a listed barbst exchange with Trump since the beginning of protests in Los Angeles against the performance of the anti-immigration agency (Ice), which led the federal government to mobilize 4,000 members of the National Guard and to highlight 700 naval markets to control the population in protest.
“We all know that, this Saturday, [Trump] It will give orders to our American heroes-the US military-forcing them to make a vulgar display to celebrate their birthday, as other failed dictators did in the past, ”said Newsom.
“The DC parade has been captured by him to turn into another demonstration of his fascist movements, which is very worrying, in the midst of many other worrying presidential actions,” says CNN Portugal Paul Beck, an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University.
As the British channel Sky News points out, not all countries that perform military stops are necessarily authoritarian. But the fact that it coincides with a moment of “iron and fire” in LA, and the “many other worrying presidential actions” cited by Beck, has fueled comparisons to “fascist” and criticism states, including coming from.
foto: Spencer Call
Violations of the Constitution – and what is to come
With California boiling, and in another step equivalent to authoritarian regimes, a few days ago Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed and forced to lie on the ground for questioning internal security secretary Kristi Noem about federal government decisions to wag protesters to a large peaceful measure. A judge has even declared that the National Guard can only be placed under federal control in cases of “rebellion”, adding that the ongoing protests “far short” of this scenario. But in less than 24 hours, a court of appeal suspended this decision to a new hearing, scheduled for next week.
“Protests seem to be smaller, not violent and much located in LA,” says Paul Beck. “I think this is a ‘crisis’ that Trump wanted to reinforce his anti-immigration position, in another dangerous step, this time using the power of the presidency.”
In a recent one entitled “Protests against Trump’s mass deportations can reshape US policy,” the CNN National Policy editor points out that the continuation, or not, of the status quo Blotting in parts of America will depend on the next letter from both federal and local authorities.
“Immigration issues have already worked in favor of Trump many times-but the risk here is that Trump is inciting a crisis that can spread, get out of control and cost lives,” writes Stephen Collinson. “Donald Trump may even want to rule an autocracy, but it is unclear if most Americans want to live in these conditions. And if protesters, police officers and soldiers are injured in the violence that exacerbated, it’s his fault.”
Prior to the decision and judicial counter-career of the detachment of militarized forces to LA, a series of news has shown further the scenarios of the future. On the one hand, “Administration is preparing to send thousands of foreigners to the infamous detention center of Guantanamo Bay, including people from the UK, France and Italy, with no intention of notifying their origin governments”-opening further conflict with allies. On the other hand, the president himself implied that soon, in response to the growing concerns in the sectors of agriculture and services about the scarcity of labor caused by his aggressive stance.
“Our large farmers and people working in the hotel and leisure industry have stated that our very aggressive policy on immigration is removing very good and longtime workers, and it is almost impossible to replace these jobs,” Trump wrote. “In many cases, the criminals authorized to enter our country for the very stupid Biden border policy of open borders are running for these jobs. This is not good. We have to protect our farmers, but we have to take the US criminals. The changes are coming!”
Being a rare admission of the harmful impact of anti-immigration policies on the economy, no details on the promised “changes” are not yet known, and attention remains focused on events already underway in California, where detention and repression are far from focusing on illegal people. “With there, Trump administration is taking its next anti-immigration step, holding anyone who looks like an immigrant,” says Beck. “They are not especially focused on criminals, as they seem to be gathering anyone who can lie their hands – going to, schools, etc. and with a detachment of 700 Marines, the administration is also using the military to apply local law – which violates the constitution.”
In his analysis to the current situation in California, Stephen Collinson outlines a parallel with a not too distant event. “Trump lost after his first term because he worsened a crisis-the pandemic. The story can repeat themselves-and as soon as the presidents lose the public’s confidence, they tend to find that it is impossible to recover it.” And the “rupture point can occur if the expulsions [de imigrantes] expand ”in the coming weeks and months.
“Recent polls show that while Americans support deportations and a more rigorous border policy, they do not necessarily agree when friends, neighbors, and other members of the community law are affected,” writes CNN International. “In Trump’s first term, the zero tolerance policy to separate migrant children from his parents caused a public furor, summarized in the expression. Most political observers believe the country got it right on immigration due to the unfortunate performance of the Biden government on the southern border. [com o México]. But a poignant image that summarizes cruelty or incompetence can still shake Trump’s credibility. ”
