In previous reports we explained Iraq’s rentier economic policy and its long-term negative effects on the lower classes.
We also mentioned that the ongoing crisis caused by the falling of oil prices have put financial pressure on the Iraqi government, in addition to the accumulated financial corruption and the large debts that the government owes to the World Bank.
This made Iraq unable to pay salaries to its state employees.
As usual, the Iraqi government was very inefficient in its handling of this financial crisis.
Even after the constant protests that took place in all of Iraq calling for better living conditions and condemning the delay in paying salaries to employees and retirees for more than 6 months in the Kurdistan region and more than two months in the rest of Iraq.
The Iraqi government has lowered the price of the Iraqi dinar (the local currency) relatively to the US dollar in order to have a sufficient amount of Iraqi currency to pay salaries to its employees in responded to the protests .
The exchange rate for 100 US dollars was equal to 120,000 Iraqi dinars in 2019.
Now 100 US dollars has become equal to 145,000 dinars, and it is expected that next year the value of the Iraqi currency relative to the 100 US dollars will reach 166,000 Iraqi dinars.
This fiscal policy had a disastrous impact on the Iraqi market and negatively affected the income of the working class.
The prices of vegetables, fruits and all the supplies that Iraq imports from abroad have increased, especially since Iraq does not support local production.
This fiscal policy is not in the interest of the lower classes, especially those whose income ranges between $8 – $5 per day, the unemployed, and state employees who lost a quarter of their salary without realizing it.
Iraq recently witnessed accelerated security incidents and angry protests by state employees who did not receive their salaries from the state, in addition to the unemployed and women. These protests took various forms, including peaceful and non-peaceful actions.
The authorities did not provide any solutions to the problems of the unemployment, lack of services, financial problems except : assassinating activists, killing journalists,
and suppressing protests.
In addition, pro-Iranian militias and their parties in the government are constantly trying to drag the Iraqi people into a civil war by attacking the Iraqi army, assassinations activists and bombing the American embassy in Baghdad to cover their failure to meet the needs or the dem of Iraqis and to cover up on their corrupt parties and crimes against the Iraqi people.
These militias have recently bombed the American embassy with 20 Katyusha rockets.
All of them hit the residential neighborhoods surrounding the embassy in Baghdad, causing material and human losses.
The embassy, however, was not affected by these attacks.
The US embassy in Baghdad issued a statement that it intends to close the embassy in Baghdad after rumors were leaked that militias were planning to bomb the US embassy in Baghdad to take revenge on the annual anniversary of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani.
In return, USA provided Iraq with more than 30 military vehicles free of charge to protect the Green Zone in which the Iraqi government and the US embassy are sheltering in Baghdad.
Activists and actors in the protest movement called to go out in Tahrir Square in Baghdad to protest against the government on
1/1/2021, these calls were welcomed by the unemployed, women and the state employees , and we will be with you in a live broadcast to cover the activities of this special day on our Facebook.
30 December 2020
WAS
FB : https://www.facebook.com/wasiraqi/
Links for previous reports:
1-Protests turn violent in Iraqi Kurdistan
2-Our political report for July!
3-Corona has returned and so did the revolution! – May Report
Nominating a new parliament speaker without any immediate solutions since last year, 2023.
