Regions and chartered cities of Ethiopia, also knows as states, in 1992. Wikicommons/Golbez. Some rights reserved.
René Lefort, in his recent article, (openDemocracy, 21 October 2018), regrets the “sudden and total loss” of TPLF (Tigray Liberation Front) hegemony that gave Ethiopia, according to him, “unquestionable economic successes” and political stability for over two decades. But, Lefort’s assertion does not withstand scrutiny.
In terms of 1980s prices, for example, real income per capita has declined in Ethiopia by more than six-fold. Consequently, living standards have been going downhill for quite some time in the country. There is no economy in Ethiopia that one can call an “unquestionable success”. In fact, Ethiopia’s age-old, hand-to-mouth economy has long failed to generate wealth to cope with a population explosion unprecendented the country has ever seen in its history.
