For the first time in the three decades since the end of the civil war in 1990, mass decentralized protests have swept across Lebanon since October 17, 2019 with citizens tolling the bells for a political and economic system that placed neoliberalism and sectarianism as its linchpins.
The long-existing model is collapsing, as a precarious financial situation threatens the country’s dollar peg. In fact, the official rate of the Lebanese Lira, fixed at 1507.5/USD, has devalued by north of 60% in parallel exchange markets. Moreover, a deep crisis in liquidities saw the banks set illegal and discretionary capital controls that granted connected clients preferential treatment. This culminated in a rapid economic contraction, with businesses closing their doors, workers getting laid off, salaries being cut, chronic sectoral strikes, and mounting inflation.
After protesters succeeded in pressuring Saad Hariri to resign as PM on October 29, a long deadlock ensued with parties struggling to find a figure that could satisfy all political sides as well as the protesters on the streets. After numerous candidates got rejected even before Parliament got a chance to vote on them, Hariri seemed set to be reappointed as PM on December 16.
