BEIRUT: Lebanese protesters blocked key roads with burning barricades Monday in rage at the country’s political paralysis and deep economic crisis, after its currency hit record lows on the black market. The country is in the grips of its worst economic crisis in decades, compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. Prices have soared and more than half of the population is living below the poverty line, but the divided political class has for more than six months been unable to form a cabinet. Black smoke billowed up from overturned rubbish dumpsters and tyres set ablaze by protesters at various entrances to Beirut from early morning as part of a mobilisation they dubbed a “day of rage”.

“We’ve closed off all the roads today to tell everyone: It’s over, we have nothing left to lose,” said Pascale Nohra, a protester blocking the northern road into Beirut. “We’ve even lost our dignity.” She said it was time to revive the mass cross-sectarian protests of late 2019 against an entrenched political class, that has dominated the country since the 1975-1990 civil war. “We want everybody to show solidarity,” said the former real estate worker. “We need to return to the streets and revive our revolution.” Similar protests were held Monday in the northern port city of Tripoli. Lebanon’s currency has lost more than 80 percent of its value since the autumn of 2019, plunging to an all-time low of nearly 11,000 pounds to the greenback. In a country that imports most of its food, state subsidies have until now helped to partially stem the inflation.

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun ordered the army and security forces to clear the roads but was set back by the army chief’s warning that soldiers would not be eager to exert the call — as they have been suffering from the country’s political stalemate just as its citizens, news agency Reuters reported. “The officer also is suffering and is hungry, to the officials I say, where are you going? What are you waiting for? What are you planning to do?” army chief General Joseph Aoun said in a statement, urging politicians to find long term solutions to lift Lebanon from its ongoing financial crisis.

Money running out

In a country that imports 80 percent of its food, much of the six million population depends on subsidies to get by. Even without them being lifted, many are already struggling, said Beit El Baraka founder Maya Ibrahimchah. “There have been many more demands for help over the past four months,” she said. “Those we are helping today are all from the middle class.” The state has poured up to $437 million into subsidies a month, the World Bank estimates, to keep prices in check for bread, medicine, fuel and electricity, as well as around 300 other items since mid-2020. To counter the pound’s drastic devaluation, importers get access to dollars at a preferential rate to ensure they can afford to continue bringing in supplies. For flour, fuel and medicine, for example, they offer dollars at the official exchange rate of 1,507 pounds to cover most of their cost. But traders must resort to the black market to cover the difference, where Tuesday the rate hit a record low of 10,000 pounds to the dollar. As a result, in less than a year the price of a large bag of subsidized bread has risen from 1,500 to 2,500 pounds.

Authorities have remained vague about how the subsidies will be reduced, though meetings are ongoing. In early December, central bank governor Riad Salameh said it could only fund subsidies for another two months. Later that month, he said two billion dollars were available for them. At the end of February, the central bank’s website showed it had $17.9 billion in foreign currency reserves, yet $17.5 billion of that is the bank’s required reserves. The bank did not respond to AFP’s repeated requests for comment. The UN food agency has warned any subsidy reduction would have “major inflationary repercussions” and “put an unbearable strain on households”. The price of bread could increase by up to three times and fuel by 4.5 times, the World Food Programme said, adding it was critical to immediately scale up assistance to the poorest. – AFP