WASHINGTON.— Headed by the Chilean feminist group, The Thesis, and its theme, A rapist in your way, which has become the national feminist anthem thousands of activists from across the country marched this Saturday in Washington against the president, Donald Trump , and in defense of women and immigrants, within the framework of the "National March of Women."
Challenging the cold and the sleet, the activists first congregated in the park of Freedom Plaza, where the Las Tesis collective, in its first appearance in Washington, rehearsed with the crowd the song A rapist in your path , a kind of hymn that It has become viral in social networks and in various capitals of the world.
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In addition to Washington, there were also protests in dozens of cities from coast to coast in the country, including New York, Chicago (Illinois), Los Angeles (California), Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Austin (Texas), and Sarasota (Florida).
Speaking to Noticias Telemundo, the members of the group explained that the marches are a key tool for the mobilization of women against an "oppressive patriarchy."
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“The purpose is for governments to understand that the reality we live cannot be lived anymore. The patriarchy has to fall ... it has to burn, everything has to change and we will continue fighting from our bodies, in the streets, in resistance, from art, ”said the activists.
Accompanied by percussion rhythms of the capital band “Batala”, the protesters, many wearing pink caps, walked towards the White House under the escort of the capital's police.
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As he approached the presidential complex, the Las Tesis group led the performance of his anthem, which has put his native Valparaíso, and Chile, in the international arena.
This year, the organizers programmed the national march around issues such as gender equity, the defense of immigrants, and the protection of the environment.
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Teresa Hendricks, an immigration lawyer in the state of Michigan, brought to the protest a cage to condemn that, in her opinion, the Trump Administration has treated migrant children as "criminals" by locking them in detention centers.
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“This is an example of the cruelty of our country and the government, and especially of President Trump… we want people to see what is happening to children. The message is that we have to deal with children, especially children and parents who come to work and contribute to the economy, ”said Hendricks, who represents about 100,000 farm workers in Michigan.
Its cage, built with plastic tubes, showed inside a girl-shaped dummy, wrapped in an aluminum quilt, representing children detained at the border and in the custody of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP , for its acronym in English).
The imprisonment of migrant children has led to the revulsion of humanitarian groups and defenders of immigrants, as well as multiple lawsuits in court.
On the other hand, Marta Pérez García, a Puerto Rican graphic artist, came to the march because she considers it important to say "enough of patriarchy, that there is no equity", and mobilize women in the world.
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Pérez García, who participated in a performance of the Thesis song in Puerto Rico, said the feminists of the Chilean group "put a clear point on gender violence happening, it has to stop."
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The square, a few blocks from the White House, was a showcase for a long struggle for gender equity in the United States, with a crowd that included women in the elderly, young university students, workers, and children.
It is that, even in the United States, where women obtained the right to vote just a century ago, gender inequalities remain latent: women earn just 80 cents for every dollar the white man receives, and among Latinas, the figure goes down to 53 cents.
Since Trump's coming to power in January 2017, more women have taken to politics, chasing seats at all levels of government. However, although they are 51% of the population, they barely make up 25% of the members of the Senate and 23.4% of the House of Representatives, according to an analysis by Rutgers University.
At Lafayette Park, protesters shouted slogans in English and Spanish against Trump and deportations, and in defense of immigrants, including the iconic “yes you can!” Message.
In that sense, the Mexican American, Isamar García, 23, traveled from Arkansas to participate in the march, considering that Trump “does not respect the Hispanic community”.
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“I am here representing and marching for all Latinas. The president we have in the White House does not respect us as women, and it is important that we are out here involved in the decisions made here in Washington, ”he said.
Garcia, born in the USA of Michoacan parents, he applauded the presence of The Theses in the march as a sign that "Latino women are making noise all over the world."
It is estimated that in 2017, between 3.3 million and 4.6 million women marched in more than 600 cities in the United States, in what was then considered the largest single-day peaceful mobilization in the country's history.
In Washington, this year's march was markedly smaller than that of 2017, when half a million women protested a day after Trump took office, and that has generated criticism that the movement has lost strength through internal divisions , strategies diffuse, and lack of diversity.
This year, the organizers, motivated against "Trumpism," obtained permission for up to 10,000 people in Washington, barely a tenth of the 100,000 who participated last year.
Even so, the organizers insist that every social movement suffers setbacks and adjustments, and the goal is to continue empowering women and, in an election year, mobilize them to the polls.