Mass Sri Lankan protests forced a president out, but the IMF still imposed austerity

Evidence

Popular protests against an economy that serves very few wealthy individuals reached their peak in July 2022, when about two million demonstrators occupied the government’s offices, forcing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and resign. With his successor, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the austerity counteroffensive was swift under the suffocating pressure of the International Monetary Fund. A country reeling from the foreign debt default in April 2022 succumbed to an austerity plan according to the usual mechanisms. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 346

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Complements ‘On Sacrifice’ theme: the regime change did not change the economic order — the structural forces proved stronger than the popular uprising.
• XREF: connects to: Sri Lanka’s default prompted IMF-mandated austerity after debt default — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention, 346; Kenyan mass protest overturned an IMF-driven austerity tax bill. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 404; A third of Sri Lankan families lack secure food sources amid economic crisis — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention, 345 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Sri Lanka’s default prompted IMF-mandated austerity after debt default #expands (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 346
• Kenyan mass protest overturned an IMF-driven austerity tax bill. #corroborates (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 404
• A third of Sri Lankan families lack secure food sources amid economic crisis #expands (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 345