We are hungry ‘: Lebanese protest exacerbates economic crisis

On 16 March, protesters on the streets of the Lebanese capital blocked roads with burning tires and litter compartments as the currency continued to rise all the time and the country’s financial crisis intensified.

Protests resumed – though in low numbers – after peaking for several days relative to the Lebanese pound, reaching a new low of US $ 15,000 on the black market.

“Where are the people? Come down, we are hungry, we are fed up!” Shouted a patron, Ahmed Shuman, disappointed at the low number of people who took part in the protest.

In another Beirut neighborhood, small groups of young men, some driving scooters, smashed shop windows with stones and asked to be shut down in an apparent effort to broaden public outrage and force closures.

In panic, motorists queued outside gas stations for fear of rising prices. Police roamed around some gas stations in the south of Lebanon to ensure that no one hoarded fuel in anticipation of a price increase.

The value of the currency has plummeted by 90% since October 2019, when anti-government protests have risen by more than 25% in the last few weeks. Inflation and prices of basic goods have skyrocketed in the country, which imports more than 80% of its basic goods.

Meanwhile, senior politicians have refused to work together to form a new government that will implement the necessary reforms to lift the nation from crisis.

The currency crash has pushed more than half of the population into poverty. It has also depleted foreign reserves, raising concerns that Lebanese central banks will not be able to subsidize some basic commodities, including fuel, in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, lawmakers approved $ 200 million in aid from the shrinking foreign reserves of the central bank to go to the Lebanese power company. The transfer has to cover the purchase of fuel for the next few weeks to save the country from sinking into darkness.

The crisis is the most serious threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 1975–90 civil war. The French Foreign Minister warned last week that Lebanon was running out of time before the total collapse, blaming it on the country’s leaders whose refusal to come together to form a government deepened the crisis.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on March 15, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Jolina Porter said the US was concerned about the development of Lebanon and the apparent inaction of the country’s leadership in the face of many current crises.

He said, “Lebanese political leaders need to keep out their partisan vandalism and form a government that quickly implements important and long-overdue reforms, restores investor confidence and saves the country’s economy. “

The Lebanese government resigned in August following a major explosion at the port of Beirut, killing 211 people, injuring more than 6,000, and damaging entire neighborhoods in the capital.

Differences between President Michel Aoun, who is an ally of the militant group Hezbollah, and Prime Minister designation Saad Hariri, who are opposed to the group, have so far delayed the formation of the cabinet. Mr. Hariri was elected to the post in October.