This month, the president of Sri Lanka was forced out of power by an angry mob. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stepped down on July 13. His departure followed months of sustained protests and ended quasi-family rule over the island nation that has lasted for almost two decades.
Sri Lanka is an island that lies off the southeast coast of India. It is about the size of West Virginia and has a population of 23 million people. Since the mid-2000s, two brothers have more-or-less run the country. Most recently, Gotabaya served as president, while older brother, Mahinda, served as prime minister. Over the last couple of years, the brothers faced mounting criticism as Sri Lanka slid into economic disorder. Coronavirus killed tourism. A generous tax cut snuffed-out $2 billion in annual revenue. A ban on chemical fertilizers killed the agricultural sector. Fuel has nearly run out. Food prices shot up 80%. The country defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt. The country’s currency depreciated sharply. Talks with the IMF have stalled. The country is nearly bankrupt, and roughly 6 million Sri Lankans do not know where their next meal will come from. Mahinda was finally ousted in May, but Gotabaya dug in. In protest, tens of thousands descended on the capital, coming from all parts of the country. Some stormed the presidential office and residence. Someone set fire to the prime minister’s home. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd but to no avail. In the end, Gotabaya left office to quell the chaos.
After Gotabaya was elected president in 2019, he was able to change the constitution to give himself more power. He used this power to add family members to top positions, strengthening his family’s rule. With one brother as prime minister and the other president, there was no separation of powers, and no real pathway to force them from office. As economic conditions worsened, the nation began to boil instead of letting off steam through an electoral or legislative process.
Eventually, a mob forced a power change. Parliament chose a new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, a former prime minister, and someone close to the Rajapaksas. Such is often the case with even quasi-fiefdoms: administration change and violence go hand-in-hand.
Source:
Hafeel Farisz and Niha Masih, “In Stormy Sri Lanka, a Hint of Calm,” Washington Post, 10 July 2022, A1.
Niha Masih, “After Ousting Leader, Sri Lanka Still Reels from One-two Economic Punch,” Washington Post, 24 July 2022, A10; see also https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2022/photos-sri-lanka-protesters-prime-minister-office/
Photo: The News Minute
Music: Alex MakeMusic from Pixabay
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