{"id":7797,"date":"2021-10-15T13:49:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T13:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uit-ci.org\/?p=7797"},"modified":"2021-10-15T13:49:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T13:49:44","slug":"lebanon-thousands-protest-outside-banks-demanding-their-savings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/2021\/10\/15\/lebanon-thousands-protest-outside-banks-demanding-their-savings\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"LEBANON: THOUSANDS PROTEST OUTSIDE BANKS DEMANDING THEIR SAVINGS"},"content":{"rendered":"

By IWU-FI, 13 October 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Picture 1: \u201cReturn all deposits in the same currency in which they were deposited\u201d reads a sign at protests outside banks in Beirut EFE\/EPA\/NABIL MOUNZER)
\nIn the last few days, thousands of people gathered at the doors of Lebanese bank branches to demand the return of the money they have deposited, which they could not access. Various media, including Infobae, have echoed the situation.
\nSince August 2019, Lebanon has been going through one of the worst economic and financial crises in its recent history. Aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in the port of Beirut last year, where some 200 people died.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ahorristas protestan en las sedes bancarias que retienen sus dep\u00f3sitos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Picture 2: Savers protest at bank branches withholding their deposits)<\/p>\n

Millions of savers, mostly workers and pensioners, were severely affected by the Lebanese central bank\u2019s decision to block access to their foreign currency accounts, prohibiting them from transferring their money abroad. The country\u2019s currency (the pound) fell by 90 per cent. A \u201cfinancial playpen\u201d similar to the one experienced by Argentinians in 2001. Many small and medium-sized companies have also gone bankrupt, which has unleashed a wave of massive layoffs.<\/p>\n

The devaluation of the national currency practically meant the disappearance of the savings of a lifetime of work. Savers with dollar accounts are only allowed to make withdrawals in Lebanese pounds at an exchange rate of 3,900 pounds to the dollar, while on the black market, this is quoted at up to 17,000 pounds. In real terms, this means an 80 per cent cut in the value of their savings.<\/p>\n

According to various press agencies, including Reuter\u2019s, the central bank is refusing to increase the rate for cash withdrawals until the government presents a comprehensive economic plan. In this context, the Lebanese government, through Prime Minister Najib Mikati, announced that talks will soon begin with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which implies the implementation of an economic austerity plan, the consequences of which will fall on the Lebanese workers and people, who are already suffering from galloping inflation.<\/p>\n

Besides the economic and financial crisis, Lebanon is facing a serious political crisis. Last September, an agreement was reached to form a new government, headed by Mikati. Since the days following the Beirut port explosion in August 2020, the country could not form a new government.<\/p>\n

According to UN data reported by Infobae, 78 per cent of the Lebanese population lives below the poverty line. Meanwhile, 4 million of the country\u2019s inhabitants are at risk of running out of drinking water.<\/p>\n

From the International Workers\u2019 Unity – Fourth International (IWU-FI) we support the Lebanese people in their struggle for the return of their savings, the savings of their work years. Nationalise the banks and reject the government\u2019s plan to agree to an austerity plan with the IMF, which will mean more hunger, inflation and unemployment for the workers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By IWU-FI, 13 October 2021 (Picture 1: \u201cReturn all deposits in the same currency in which they were deposited\u201d reads a sign at protests outside banks in Beirut EFE\/EPA\/NABIL MOUNZER) In the last few days, thousands of people gathered at the doors of Lebanese bank branches to demand the return of the money they have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7798,"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7797\/revisions\/7798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uit-ci.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}