Americas press review
In the spotlight: the disturbing spread of the “great replacement” theory in the United States
The massacre in Buffalo, New York, continues to make headlines in the United States.
© AP Photo/David Goldman
Text by: Marie Normand Follow
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Last week's shooting in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, which left 10 people dead, continues to make headlines in the US.
It is one of the deadliest racist massacres in the country's recent history.
On the front page of several newspapers, the same photo: friends console and hug a survivor of the shooting.
All are African American.
The New York Times
returns to the profile of the shooter, Payton Gendron.
The 18-year-old, a little lonely, had argued last spring, in front of his high school class, that he wanted to commit “
mass murder
”.
Alerted, the police had forced him to spend a day and a half in the hospital, the time to pass a psychological assessment.
But once released, he "
disappeared from the radar
», without the weapon he possessed being taken away from him.
USA Today
recalls that the FBI had alerted last year that the "
largest chunk
" of some "
2,000
terrorist investigations opened in the country concerned racially motivated attacks
".
The press returns to the worrying progression of the theory of the "great replacement" in the United States, espoused by the suspect of the massacre.
This theory claims that "
Western elites, sometimes manipulated by Jews, want to '
replace
' white Americans
."
The “
great replacement
” was formalized more than 70 years ago, notes the
Washington Post
, in the book by Democratic Senator Theodore Bilbo, former governor of Mississippi.
Recently, the
New York Times
continues , the "great replacement" theory "
has become mainstream
" while it has recently remained "
confined
" to obscure forums on Reddit and white nationalist sites.
These ideas flood "
the 180-page manifesto
" written by the 18-year-old shooter, says
Mother Jones
.
A theory that “
sells
”
"
The fear it crystallized—of an America in which whites were no longer the majority—became a potent force in conservative media and politics
,” writes The
New York Times
.
It was "
remixed to attract audiences, retweets and small dollar donations
".
The daily pinpoints in particular in a major investigation the host of Fox News, Tucker Carlson.
He relayed, in “
more than 400 episodes of his show
”, the idea that “
Democrats and other elites sought to push for demographic change through immigration
”, to “
bring to the United States more obedient voters
.
"
Of course, none of this will result in any significant punishment for the host ,”
Mother Jones
believes
, since “
adherence to these supremacist ideas is now the bread and butter of the rest of the Republican Party
.”
The
Washington Post
also underlines this Monday the “
radical turn taken by a growing number of Republicans
”, in particular by Elise Stefanik, the number 3 of the House of Representatives, who broadcast advertisements on Facebook taking up this conspiracy theory.
The Canadian newspaper
La Presse
also evokes the “
trivialization
” of this discourse.
He notes the eloquent results of this poll published last Monday by the AP agency: "
A full third of Americans, and nearly half of Republicans, think that '
there is a group of people in this country who are trying to replace Americans by immigrants who share their political opinions”.
Demonstrations around the “francization” of Quebec
In Canada, thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday in downtown Montreal against a bill - PL96 - which aims to
"ensure the vitality and future of the French language in Quebec
".
The Quebec government website
indicates that this project intends to establish French as the only official language, in the administration, but also “
in all spheres of society
”.
The demonstrators "
denounce a discriminatory bill against Anglophones
", particularly in access to care - doctors will have to speak French - and in education, because English-speaking colleges will be obliged to provide French courses or French lessons for students.
In its editorial, the
Montreal Gazette
maintains that this new law “
will harm not only many English-speaking Quebecers, but also the entire province
”.
In particular, he points out the effects of this francization for businesses: “
more paperwork and more constraints
”.
“
Exactly what businesses need
” in a post-pandemic recovery period, the newspaper quips.
"
Quebec is also our home
," adds the
Montreal Gazette
in its editorial.
“
We are not a threat, we are an asset.
It is high time our government started treating us as such
.”
Chile: a “very long” Constitution?
A word from Chile, to finish.
This Monday, the Constituent Assembly meets in plenary session in the ruins of Huanchaca in Antofagasta.
She will present her draft new Constitution.
After ten months of work, it agreed on a first text, which reaches 499 articles and nearly 50,000 words, which makes it an “
excessively long
” Constitution, judges
La Tercera
.
“
Hundreds of articles more than the text which currently governs the country
”, indicates the newspaper.
The text is also longer than that of other constitutions in Latin America.
The investigative media
Ciper
is interested in the latest rights adopted by this Assembly.
To be noted in particular: the “
right to decent work
”, to “
fair, just and sufficient remuneration
”.
According to this text,
“the State must also promote social and gender co-responsibility, so that women are not the only ones to take on domestic tasks
”.
The project will be submitted to the Harmonization Commission.
She will be responsible for preparing a final version of the text, which will be put to the vote of the Chileans on September 4.
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