Beirut (AFP)
Lebanese demonstrators blocked several major roads on Monday to express their "anger" at the endless deterioration of the economic and social situation of the country, also mired in a deep political crisis.
Monday morning, most of the entrances to Beirut were blocked by protesters, mobilized for a "Day of Anger".
They set dumpsters and tires on fire, causing columns of black smoke to rise above the capital.
Others have erected tents in the middle of the roads.
The demonstrators also blocked several roads south of Beirut, in Tripoli (north) and in the Bekaa valley (south-east), according to the national news agency, the army chaining interventions to reopen some.
Since the fall of 2019, Lebanon has been living at the rate of an economic collapse never seen since the end of the civil war (1975-1990), aggravated by the pandemic and a tragic explosion in August at the port of Beirut.
In addition to massive layoffs and a significant increase in poverty, the crisis is accompanied by a depreciation of the pound which has lost more than 85% of its value, causing triple-digit inflation.
The country has also been waiting for the formation of a new government for seven months, but the parties in power, deemed corrupt and incompetent, remain absorbed in bargaining over the distribution of portfolios.
- "Resuscitate the revolution" -
In recent days, the Lebanese pound has fallen again, breaking all records reached since the start of the crisis: the greenback has come close to 11,000 pounds on the black market - against an official rate maintained at 1,507 pounds to the dollar -, causing a new surge in prices.
And the gradual depletion of the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves, allocated to subsidize basic foodstuffs, raises fears of the worst.
"We blocked all the roads today to tell everyone: it's over," says Pascale Nohra, a protester in Jal el-Dib, north of Beirut.
"We have nothing more to lose. Even our dignity we have lost".
“The crisis affects all Lebanese and all religious communities,” she continues, in a multi-faith and politically polarized country.
In the fall of 2019, tens of thousands of demonstrators had beaten the pavement for several weeks against the power.
The dispute had ended up settling under the double effect of the formation of a cabinet and the pandemic.
But the reforms went unheeded and popular anger was exacerbated by the August 4 explosion at the port, a tragedy blamed on the negligence of the authorities and which left more than 200 dead.
"Today, we want to resuscitate the revolution in the street (...) because the people and the country are dead," Anthony Douaihy told AFP.
"If (...) we don't face (...) this corrupt class will rule us for another 30 years."
- "Political inaction" -
On Monday, President Michel Aoun held a "financial, economic and security" meeting in the presence of interim Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
But in a country that has never completed the reforms expected by the international community, observers remain cautious.
"The fall in the exchange rate is only the continuation of a clear downward trend (...) since the beginning of the crisis and the concomitant political inaction", summarizes Mohammad Faour, researcher in Finance at the University of Dublin.
Monday, the Observatory of the crisis at the American University of Beirut warned on the fallout of this new monetary fall, estimating that "the worst had not yet arrived".
The parties in power are procrastinating, accused by some of waiting for further decay.
"It is easier for leaders to do nothing, slowly pass losses on to the people and rule over a much poorer country than to make reforms," said economist Mike Azar.
"The necessary reforms directly hit the patronage system of political parties fueled by the public sector," he explains.
"Bank restructuring would place part of the burden on shareholders and large depositors, two politically influential classes."
In December, the World Bank spoke in a damning report of a "deliberate depression", pinning the inaction of leaders.
© 2021 AFP