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A man in Bangkok reads the front page of the newspaper the day after the US Elections. The victory of Donald Trump astonished the world. EFE/Archivo
A man in Bangkok reads the front page of the newspaper the day after the US Elections. The victory of Donald Trump astonished the world. EFE/Archivo

The world wonders why

Following Donald Trump’s victory in the American elections, commentators and political analysts from around the world keep wondering how his nationalist and anti-immigration speech persuaded the world's first democracy to vote for him. AL DIA has compiled 10 of the best OP/ED pieces published in the international press after the elections.

 

1. Pirouettes

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Following Donald Trump’s victory in the American elections, commentators and political analysts from around the world keep wondering how his nationalist and anti-immigration speech persuaded the world's first democracy to vote for him. AL DIA has compiled 10 of the best OP/ED pieces published in the international press after the elections.

 

1. Pirouettes

The “Final Five” is a strikingly multiracial group, with African-American (Simon Biles and Douglas), Caucasian (Kocian and Raisman) and Hispanic (Hernandez) gymnasts. (…)  The audience at the Barclays Center was a mix too, seemingly from all boroughs and backgrounds, rich and poor (many tickets were distributed at subsidized rates). Nobody in the hall gave a damn about whether the gymnasts were black, brown, white or blue; they shrieked with pleasure in a colour-blind way. This was an America united, not divided by racial slurs or anger.” 

Gillian Tett Op/ED in the Financial Times . Read full text

Gillian Tett serves as US managing editor for the Financial Times, covering a range of economic, financial, political and social issues. @gilliantett

 

2. Outcasts in class 

"It turns out that Latinos were the election’s biggest losers and not just because Mr. Trump won the presidency after a long campaign of slinging threats and insults at them. The bitterest loss was dealt by the 59.5 million mostly white people who voted for Mr. Trump. That was a rejection by their own countrymen." 

Roberto Suro OP column in the NY Times. Read full text

Roberto Suro is a professor of public policy and journalism at the University of Southern California.

 

3. A test of faith 

"Trump is vulgarity unbounded, a knowledge-free national leader who will not only set markets tumbling but will strike fear into the hearts of the vulnerable, the weak, and, above all, the many varieties of Other whom he has so deeply insulted. The African-American Other. The Hispanic Other. The female Other. The Jewish and Muslim Other. The most hopeful way to look at this grievous event—and it’s a stretch—is that this election and the years to follow will be a test of the strength, or the fragility, of American institutions. It will be a test of our seriousness and resolve." 

David Remnick,  The New Yorker. Read full text

David Remnick has been editor of The New Yorker since 1998 and a staff writer since 1992.

 

4. Kids letters

"I certainly didn’t think Tiffany’s dad, the guy who sat two rows in front of my parents, the guy who paid for those obnoxious stone sculptures decorating the middle school parking area, would try to ruin my life."

Diana Delgado’s Op ED piece in the LA Times. Read full text

Diana Delgado Cornejo is an R.S.H.M. Social Justice Scholar, freelance writer and a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Class of 2016.

 

5. Off the leash

"What we see in all these nationalist populisms is an ideology that claims that the directly expressed will of “the people” trumps all other sources of authority. And the populist leader identifies himself – or herself, in the case of Marine Le Pen – as the single voice of the people. Trump’s “I am your voice” is a totemic populist line."

Timothy Garton Ash OP/ED piece for  British newspaper The Guardian. Read full text

 Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer and Guardian columnist.

 

6. Clear Desk

"Trump's team has been working for months on what they call “The First Day Project." The idea is simple: Trump will dedicate January 20th, the day he will assume the presidency, to sign papers, so he can cancel all Obama’s presidential orders,  and thus he will destroy in a stroke the last eight years of government, along with the route that was traced for the future."

OP Column by Esteban Illades appeared in Mexican magazine Milenio . Read full text

Esteban Illades is a Mexican journalist and writer, founder of Nexus, a political magazine, and auhor La noche más triste (2014).

"What we see in all these nationalist populisms is an ideology that claims that the directly expressed will of “the people” trumps all other sources of authority. And the populist leader identifies himself – or herself, in the case of Marine Le Pen – as the single voice of the people. Trump’s “I am your voice” is a totemic populist line." Timothy Garton-Ash, The Guardian

7.Colonial Style

Both the American hatred in this elections, and the British in the Brexit, are indicators of a new nationalism among colonizing countries. The guilt of the colonizer, apparently, is already a thing of the past. The "us vs them" speech, which was previously unimaginable, is now a weapon in the hands of the mainstream Right, and not just used by radical parties. Apparently it works very well.

OP/ED column published by Roberto Morris in the Mexican magazine NEXOS. Read full text

Roberto Morris has an MA in Public Politics from the  London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) .  He is a partner at Strategic Affaris, a Comunications and Public Affairs consulting firm. Twitter: @robertomorris

 

8. Orlando is not forgotten

“As a liberal Muslim who has experienced, first-hand, Islamic extremism in this world, I have been opposed to the decision by President Obama and the Democratic Party to tap dance around the “Islam” in Islamic State. Of course, Trump’s rhetoric has been far more than indelicate and folks can have policy differences with his recommendations, but, to me, it has been exaggerated and demonized by the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia”.

OP column by Asra Q. Nomani at The Washington Post. Read full text

Asra Q. Nomani is a former Wall Street Journal reporter and a co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement. She can be found on Twitter at @AsraNomani.

 

9. Sushi party

"In Japan people organize divorce parties.  They are like weddings, but in reverse: couples celebrate that they no longer love each other. (...). They say that this elections are the celebration of democracy. Well. Those of yesterday have been like a Japanese divorce, where, despite the good food and the show, the guests feel like crying."

Santiago Roncagliolo, Op-Ed column in Spanish newspaper El País. Read full text

Santiago Roncagliolo is a Peruvian writer and a regular contributor at El País. Winner of the  Alfaguara Prize Book for his novel 'Abril Rojo' in 2006.

 

10. Fresh start

"At your disposal is the possibility to prove to all of us that we were wrong -please do it: we can live with humiliation- or to confirm our ideas and begin to walk in a rocky path full of retaliation leadership and unpalatable revenges. Let me tell you this in another way, Mr. Trump: you have the obligation to heal the wounds that you , yourself, caused."

Diego Fonseca Op-ED at NYTimesES (NY Times Spanish edition). Read full text

Diego Fonseca is an Argentine writer and journalist, living in Washington DC. He is a regular contributor for various Latin media, such as Etiqueta Negra, El Universal, Reforma.

 

 

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