Coronavirus in Iraq further exacerbates country's crisis

Text by: RFI Follow

Country in economic and political crisis for months, Iraq sees its situation worsening with the epidemic of the coronavirus which involves a collapse of the oil prices.

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Second producer among the OPEC countries, Iraq is totally dependent on oil, whose sales finance 90% of the state budget. The coronavirus crisis has plunged black gold prices .

The country is going through the worst financial crisis in its recent history when in recent months the country has already been agitated by demonstrations hostile to the political class deemed incompetent and corrupt.

For the past few weeks, Iraq has had a new government. In recent days, Prime Minister Moustafa al-Kazimi has promised that wages for the month of May will be paid on time, even if doubts remain about the government's ability to find the $ 4 billion needed.

This week, foreign workers in the oil sector demonstrated in Basra, in southern Iraq, because their wages had not been paid. Planes have been specially chartered by the oil company Shell to enable them to leave the country.

A scenario that has been repeated for weeks in the Middle East faced with the dramatic situation of thousands of foreign workers in difficulty.

► Read also: Coronavirus: Iraqis face weaknesses in their health system, a doctor says

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