Amid mounting problems… is Lebanon heading from crisis to catastrophe? Analyst answers

Lebanon has been suffering from a financial and economic crisis since October 2019 that has had repercussions on various sectors, as the deterioration in the living conditions of the Lebanese has worsened, and inflation has seen a big rise amidst the continuous collapse of the value of the national currency against the U.S. dollar, as the dollar’s exchange rate in the parallel market exceeded 117 thousand Lebanese pounds for the first time in the history of Lebanon. Media reports even mentioned that it reached the threshold of 120 thousand Lebanese pounds, while the black market dollar has not calmed since yesterday morning, and it completed its upward course breaking all the records it had broken previously, under the complete silence of officials.

Economic Crises

According to Lebanese media reports, the current situation is one of the most difficult economic crises in Lebanon, confirming that the solution begins with politics and ends with the economy. He added that Lebanon needs a sound economic recovery plan to revive the country and extricate it from its current crisis, and that the Lebanese currency is deteriorating hysterically.

Difficult conditions

Lebanese political analyst Mohammed Saeed al-Riz said the situation in Lebanon is not just a crisis, but a disaster in the economic, financial and banking sectors. He said all political parties and politicians in Lebanon are responsible for what is happening, and called for working together to find solutions for the people and for the future of Lebanon.

The Lebanese analyst added that the current situation has caused supermarkets to stop selling in lira, and gas stations have raised their hoses after the price of a fuel tank exceeded two million pounds. On the political level, the situation is not better, because disputes and bickering, both parliamentary and government, have overshadowed the absence of any new developments in the presidential file.

He continued: The Lebanese society is living an unprecedented social crisis, which took a dramatic turn over the past few days, with the increase in suicides, especially among the youth, and this revealed the extent of oppression faced by the people, from the consequences of not addressing the deterioration of the exchange rate, and its impact on the prices of bread, medicine, transportation, electricity, water and schools.