Inflation reaches 190 percent in Lebanon, protesters gather in front of the central bank
In the Lebanese capital, Beirut, people gathered in front of the Lebanese Central Bank to protest the deteriorating economic situation.
In Lebanon, retirees protested their low salaries due to high inflation and the depreciation of the local currency.
Hundreds of retired military and public servants, who gathered in the Martyrs’ Square in the capital Beirut, marched near the Government Palace, where the Prime Minister’s office is located, with Lebanese and army flags in their hands.
Retirees, holding banners reading “Lebanon and its people are on the verge of death” and “Retirees are hungry, where is the government?” They demanded that the government improve their living conditions. The security forces, who here took intense measures with wire fences and barricades, did not allow the protesters to approach the Government Palace.
Photo: AA
THEY WALKED TO THE CENTRAL BANK
The protesters, who wanted to demand that their salaries be paid “in low dollars”, gathered in front of the Lebanese Central Bank building after the statement.
There was a brief tension between the protesters who wanted to enter the bank building and the security forces. The security forces did not allow the protesters to enter.
Photo: AA
ECONOMIC CRISIS IN LEBANON
Consumer inflation in Lebanon reached 190 percent annually in February. According to data released yesterday by the Central Statistics Administration, the prices of communications, health, restaurants and hotels, as well as the costs of food, water and energy, increased considerably in the country. Monthly inflation was 26 percent.
Inflation, which reached 155% in 2021, increased to 171.2% in 2022. The rise in statistics was seen to continue at full speed in 2023.
According to World Bank data, the Lebanese economy contracted by around 58 percent between 2019 and 2021, with its Gross Domestic Product falling from around $52 billion in 2019 to $21.8 billion in 2021. Tax revenue in Lebanon fell by more than half between 2019 and 2021, according to the IMF.
Photo: AA
In an environment of economic crisis that has lasted for about 3.5 years, deposit accounts in dollars in banks were also frozen to prevent the melting of foreign currency reserves.
In the country, 1 US dollar traded at 1,500 Lebanese lira in 2019, while the depreciation of the local currency increased simultaneously with successive developments. While 1 US dollar was 20 thousand Lebanese liras in January 2022, its depreciation has accelerated in the last year.
In Lebanon, where 80 percent of the population is reported to be on the poverty line, the dollar, which traded at the 100,000 Lebanese lira level on the black market on March 14, broke a new record. by reaching 140,000 lire on March 1. twenty-one
Photo: AA
THE POLITICAL CRISIS BLOCKADED THE COUNTRY
The IMF and other international financiers are calling for various reforms to be enacted in the country to unlock billions of dollars in aid. But Lebanese politicians have yet to implement the critical structural and financial reforms needed to unlock the next $3 billion in IMF aid.
Reforms depend on the formation of a new government, the election of a president and consensus among the country’s political elite. 10 months have passed since the parliamentary elections. Former President Michel Avn’s term expired last October. However, the politicians got bogged down in forming a new cabinet. (AA, SPEAKER)