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Observers in Beirut were surprised by the scale of the popular epidemic, unprecedented since the revolt against the Syrian occupation after the assassination in 2005 of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, father of the current leader. The unitary movement of demonstrations, led by young people and supported transversely by civil society, flew over the sectarian division that would make Lebanon unfeasible in the civil war from 1975 to 1990.
In the Lebanese Cabinet, the Sunni Muslims of the Prime Minister sit alongside the Shiites of Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian party-militia, but there are also Orthodox and Catholic Christians or representatives of the Druze minority. Given the street pressure, all agreed to release the budgets for 2020, with a deficit of only 0.6% compared to the 7% forecast for the current year and without introducing new taxes. Apparently, the Prime Minister had threatened to resign if the accounts for the following year were not fully approved, which might add political instability to economic uncertainty.
Hariri imitated the need with General Charles De Gaulle during a television appearance to ensure that he had heard the voice of the street. In addition to symbolic gestures such as the 50% cut in salaries of senior officials and the removal of superfluous agencies, such as the Ministry of Information, the Prime Minister promised to reduce the growing public deficit, which over 150% of gross domestic product (GDP) and allocate aid among the thousands of families living below the poverty line.
"This decision was not made to end the expression of your disgust," he told the Lebanese in a speech quoted by the BBC. "Your movement has been used so that we can reach an agreement (within the government)," he said during a demonstration of recognition towards the citizens. Alarm signals are increasing in the country of cedar: after two decades of stability against the dollar, the Lebanese pound has suffered a devaluation of 10% against the US dollar. The World Bank predicts that the Lebanese economy will fall by 0.2% of GDP this year.
Although the WhatsApp tariff project was abandoned at the beginning of the popular protests, protests intensified to paralyze the country's activity, the streets occupied in an essentially peaceful and festive atmosphere. Educational centers, factories and businesses remained closed, while tens of thousands of people walked with the national team as the only poster.
Thousands of Lebanese were still Monday night without returning to the streets, suspicious of the distribution of power established nearly three decades ago. The arrangement that puts an end to sectarian killings – which he attributes to positions based on religious background – has become uncomfortable and has generated a climate of widespread corruption, while Ineffectiveness has ruined one of the most dynamic and relatively tolerant countries in the region. .
"We have taken steps to fight corruption and tackle major projects," said Hariri in his message, with the aim of restoring public confidence. However, the government has announced that banks will remain closed Tuesday until the situation stabilizes. Nearly 40 countries, with the European Union at the helm, announced last year a fund of donations of up to 10 billion euros to get Lebanon out of bankruptcy, provided that it does not go bankrupt. Hariri agrees to implement economic reforms and expenditure control. As the residents of Beirut suffering from WhatsApp often point out, they would be satisfied to have a normal country, in which the light is not cut off or where the Internet falls, at any moment, in which the windows can be opened without breathe the miasma of accumulated dirt for years.
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