Global Unrest as “Hands Off!” Protests Sweep U.S. Amid Historic Market Collapse !

Global Unrest as “Hands Off!” Protests Sweep U.S. Amid Historic Market Collapse !

MOHAN KHOUND

[Written with the help of the reports received from the various sources from WASHINGTON/MUMBAI/HONG KONG]

A perfect storm of political dissent and economic turmoil gripped the world this weekend as massive “Hands Off!” protests against U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk erupted alongside the worst global market collapse since the 2020 pandemic.

The twin crises, both directly tied to policies of the Trump administration, revealed a planet pushed to its breaking point by what demonstrators call “a billionaire assault on democracy and working people everywhere.”

A Nation in Protest
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the streets of Paris and Sydney, more than 1,400 coordinated demonstrations unfolded Saturday in what organizers declared the largest single-day mobilization against the Trump administration since his return to power.

The protests, organized by a coalition of over 150 progressive groups including Indivisible, the Human Rights Campaign, and major labor unions, drew hundreds of thousands into the streets with three core demands: stop the billionaire takeover of government, protect social safety nets, and end attacks on marginalized communities.

In Washington, a sea of protesters stretching from the Washington Monument to the Capitol carried signs reading “Hands Off Our Rights” and “Billionaires Out of Government” as speakers including Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) framed the moment as existential for democracy. “Our Constitution begins with ‘We the People,’ not ‘We the billionaires,'” Raskin thundered to roaring applause. “No moral society can survive when it’s run like a corporate liquidation sale.”

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The protests took on added urgency following recent revelations about Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which has overseen the elimination of more than 120,000 federal jobs while boasting about putting entire agencies “through the wood chipper.”

At rallies from Los Angeles to London, speakers connected these cuts to the administration’s broader agenda. “They’re coming for your Social Security, your unions, your kids’ schools, and your right to protest all at once,” warned AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler at a fiery Chicago rally.

Markets in Freefall
Even as protesters filled city squares, trading floors from Mumbai to New York were gripped by panic. The Indian stock market suffered its worst single-day drop in nine months, with both the Sensex and Nifty indices plunging 5% as the volatility index (VIX) surged over 50%. The selloff mirrored collapses across Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted 7% – triggering an automatic trading halt – and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 4.3%.

Market analysts universally pointed to Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, which he dramatically termed “Liberation Day” measures, as the immediate catalyst. China’s swift retaliation with 34% tariffs on key U.S. imports sent shockwaves through global supply chains.

Tech stocks bore the brunt of the damage, with Tesla shares cratering 12% and the Nasdaq 100 officially entering bear market territory. U.S. stock futures plummeted by 1,500 points in overnight trading, setting the stage for what analysts fear could be a Black Monday scenario.

The contagion spread to commodities, with Brent crude oil crashing below $60 per barrel for the first time since 2021 and gold prices – typically a safe haven during turmoil – dropping 3%. “This isn’t normal market correction territory anymore,” warned HSBC chief Asia economist Frederic Neumann. “We’re seeing the direct economic consequences of trade war escalation combined with investor terror about what this administration might do next.”

The Connecting Thread
Financial analysts and protest organizers alike identified the same root cause: what Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz called “the most reckless experiment in plutocratic governance in modern history.” The administration’s dual assault on government institutions and global trade norms has created a feedback loop of instability.

Recent moves to dismantle the Social Security Administration – which provides benefits to 73 million Americans – while simultaneously provoking trade wars have left both Main Street and Wall Street reeling.

“They’re burning down the institutions that maintain economic stability at home while lighting matches in the global trade system,” said former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. “The markets are simply reacting to this administration’s apparent death wish for the rules-based order.”

In India, where the government has cautiously avoided retaliatory tariffs, Finance Ministry officials held emergency meetings as the rupee hit record lows. “We’re trying to navigate an impossible situation,” one senior RBI official confessed anonymously. “This administration treats trade policy like a wrecking ball, and emerging markets are getting crushed in the rubble.”

Scenes from the Front Lines
The human impact of these converging crises played out across the globe:

In Mumbai, day trader Aarav Mehta watched helplessly as his life savings evaporated in the market crash. “One tweet from Trump, and years of work disappear,” he said, staring at flashing red numbers on his screen.

At the Washington Monument, Social Security Administration employee Maria Gutierrez marched with her union local. “First they take our jobs, then they take people’s benefits,” she said. “What’s left after that?”

Outside Tesla’s Berlin factory, climate protesters linked arms with laid-off workers. “Musk fires 30,000 people worldwide while getting tax breaks, and now Trump wants to make this the global model,” said German union rep Klaus Berger.

What Comes Next?
With the “Hands Off!” movement planning nationwide strikes and financial institutions preparing for continued volatility, world leaders face mounting pressure to respond. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde hinted at emergency interventions, while Asian governments are reportedly exploring a coordinated monetary policy response.

Back in Washington, as police dismantled protest stages, a lone sign left blowing in the wind seemed to capture the moment: “They broke the government. They broke the markets. What won’t they break?”

As night fell on Sunday, one truth became inescapable: in tying the fate of democracy so completely to the whims of billionaires and the volatility of markets, the world has entered uncharted – and increasingly dangerous – territory.

07-04-2025

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