In recent days, there have been calls on social media urging people to take to the streets in Egypt on November 11 to demand the overthrow of the regime.
The tweeters used hashtags to promote the mobilization and demonstration of “Friday 11 November”, including “#Leave_Oh_Sisi”, “#Get down to topple_Sisi” and “Go down_11_11”, as a sign of rejection of the regime of President Abdel Fattah El -Sisi, who has been in power since 2014.
On the other hand, private and government newspapers spoke of popular support for Sisi’s decisions and indicated that the tag “100 million with you, Sisi”, the Twitter list in Egypt, was at the top of the list.
He stressed that the president is attentive to the interests of the country and the citizen in the first place, even if his decisions come at the expense of his credit and popularity with citizens, as long as these decisions bring their results in their favor.
However, the success of such calls for demonstrations and people’s response to them is “indecisive”, especially since there have been similar calls that previously targeted Sisi, who has by no means achieved their goals, according to analysts.
Amr Al-Shobaki, an expert at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, believes that “the influential calls in Egypt come from well-known political forces.”
He told the Al-Hurra website that this type of invitation is different. Because they are appeals launched by “unknown sources” addressed to “invisible social segments”, in reference to the most vulnerable strata of society.
Egypt is suffering from a severe economic crisis largely caused by the repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as it helped influence the poorer classes and reduce the purchasing power of many people with limited incomes after the flight of capital. and the decline in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
For his part, the Egyptian journalist writer, Walid Abbas, said that those who believe that the scenario of January 25, 2011 will repeat itself on November 11, 2022, is “a little more important … things are not like that”.
Speaking to the Al-Hurra website from Paris, Abbas believes that “any person who rises up invents new forms (of revolutions) and does not necessarily repeat the same scenario”, demonstrating what is happening in Iran after the 2019 demonstrations. were due to fuel, and today the protests are led by women. .
He added: “Maybe there will be demonstrations, but to what extent will they be effective and lead to change?”
Al-Shobaki also goes in this direction by saying that “addressing the interactions in the womb of society is an invisible problem that observers and researchers cannot solve”.
The “Dubai dream” has dried up Egypt
Since he came to power, President Sisi has always had to face demands for departure and similar calls to demonstrate, but none of these have been successful.
These appeals coincide with the Egyptian hospitality of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, between 8 and 18 November of the same month.
Al-Shobaki believes that those who urge people to demonstrate right now “want to invest” in the conference and in the international media spotlight they enjoy.
He said that the investment of “COP27” by famous political forces is “understandable”, but “the danger of investing in this sense”, noting that Egypt “is eager to speak in a civil and democratic way”.
These requests come in the midst of a severe economic crisis facing Egypt, which has led to the decline of the local currency to a record high against the US dollar.
Refinitiv data showed that the Egyptian currency fell more than 14% to a record high against the dollar, topping 22.50 on Thursday after the Central Bank said it permanently switched to a “rate system. flexible exchange rate “and to have raised interest rates by 200 basis points.
On the eve of this decision, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced an increase in the minimum wage from £ 2,700 to £ 3,000 per month (about $ 130), as well as a £ 300 ‘exceptional bonus’ to meet the’ high cost. of life”.
The International Monetary Fund has long urged Egypt to allow greater exchange rate flexibility to grant Cairo an agreed loan on Thursday, after announcing a 46-month extended loan worth $ 3 billion.
The Central Bank of Egypt said it was determined to step up economic reforms and that the exchange rate “will mirror the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against other foreign currencies through supply and demand forces under a rate system. flexible exchange rate. “
The war in Ukraine exacerbated Egypt’s grain and oil bills and dealt a severe blow to tourism arriving from two of its largest markets, Ukraine and Russia. Tourism is a major source of hard currency for the country.
But Abbas believes that the economic crisis existed before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine due to bad policies that “must change”.
He said: “We cannot manage the country with the same economic policies … Even those who have supported the president in his policies say today that he is facing a phase in which change is necessary.” He continued: “Building new cities and bridges … this dream of turning Cairo into another Dubai has drained the resources of the state.”
“more trouble”
According to official data, headline inflation in Egypt accelerated to 15% in September year-on-year, the highest level in nearly four years, according to Reuters.
The government injected a package of financial aid to the country’s poorest citizens to counter the erosion of purchasing power. The minimum wage was also raised to £ 3,000 (around $ 130 – after the record drop) instead of £ 2,700.
On Thursday, Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said £ 67.3 billion (about $ 3 billion) was organized to provide an additional social protection package, starting next month, including raising the minimum wage. .
The government package also provides for the approval of £ 300 as a monthly exceptional grant for retirees and their beneficiaries, at an annual cost of £ 32 billion, and £ 300 as an exceptional grant for approximately 1.5 million people in undeclared work. the total cost of which is borne by the Ministry of Labor.
While Al-Shobaki believes that “this financial package is a positive step, not a sufficient one, it must be followed by other steps”, Abbas sees it as a sign of greater economic suffering.
The Egyptian writer said: “This means that we are on the verge of difficult situations, which are trying to anticipate anger.” Abbas expected that there were “serious developments that will lead to greater economic problems”.
