[“Algerians cannot and will not put up with being humiliated any
longer. They want to live in a democratic Algeria with social justice.
The national wealth must be fairly distributed. Clientelism and
corruption must be forever banished,” ] [[link removed]]

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WOES WEIGH HEAVILY ON ALGERIA’S FUTURE  
[[link removed]]


 

Khelaf Benhadda
November 6, 2019
Equal Times
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

_ “Algerians cannot and will not put up with being humiliated any
longer. They want to live in a democratic Algeria with social justice.
The national wealth must be fairly distributed. Clientelism and
corruption must be forever banished,” _

Thousands of demonstrators gathered on the streets of Algiers, on 1
November 2019, to march against the government and the elections
proposed by the army., AP/Toufik Doudou

 

The last eight months have seen the rise of a protest movement without
precedent in the history of Algeria. Millions of citizens have taken
to the streets, since February 2019, in _wilayas_ (provinces) across
the country. Every Friday, week after week, Algerians come out to
express their discontent. Friday 1 November was the 37th week,
and the mobilisation was stepped up
[[link removed]].
The resignation, on 2 April 2019, of the former president, Abdelaziz
Bouteflika, who had triggered the protest movement
[[link removed]] (the _hirak_,
in Arabic) with his decision to stand for a 5th term, was not enough
to resolve the deep-rooted social discontent.

The prospect of a fifth term was seen by a young generation that could
take no more as a provocation and a humiliation. In Kherrata, a
peaceful town in the _wilaya_ of Bejaia, 23-year-old biology
student, Aghiles, remembers the very first demonstration on 16
February, before the protests went nationwide.

“Some friends and I improvised a peaceful march. We’d had enough
of the social situation, which was already complicated enough as it
was, with growing unemployment, falling purchasing power… And to top
it all, they add insult to injury with his candidacy.”

Bouteflika’s resignation, under pressure from the street and, above
all, the army, withdrawing its support for him after 20 years of close
collaboration, marked a turning point, an unexpected change. The
peaceful and civic nature of the demonstrations earned worldwide
admiration, with the most enthusiastic observers referring to it as
the ’Revolution of Smiles’
[[link removed]].
Following a transition period during which the president of the
senate, Abdelkader Bensalah, became acting head of state for 90 days,
elections were announced, cancelled in July, and then called again, at
the army’s initiative, for 12 December 2019.

Algeria has reached a crossroads and has to decide on its future path.
Opinion is divided over the promise of elections next month, and the
demonstrations have not subsided, quite the reverse. Having taken to
the streets, many Algerians have realised that they need much more
than just a change of face at the head of the country.

Higher than ever unemployment and living costs

Civil society movements opposed to the old system want to see a
political change that will bring far-reaching social and economic
reforms. Because the root of the anger now being expressed on the
streets goes back a long way. For many observers, the exasperation
with the political system is born out of the frustration felt by young
Algerians and the overall social discontent.

Although the official rate of unemployment is 11 per cent, according
to government figures, other statistics estimate a real rate of around
35 per cent. The young, who account for half of the population (53 per
cent of the population is under 30 years old), are the hardest hit.
A study published in 2016
[[link removed]] revealed
that almost four million people were working in the informal economy
(in 2010), which means that almost half of the working-age population
has no social protection. Algeria’s economy, heavily dependent
on hydrocarbon exports
[[link removed]],
has been struggling since the fall in gas and oil prices in 2014, and
people are increasingly feeling the impact.

Living costs have become prohibitively high for the middle classes in
recent years. The average monthly wage is around 30,000 dinars
(€225), but it costs 50,000 dinars (€373) to rent a three-bedroom
flat in Algiers. According to research conducted by Algeria’s
independent workers’ confederation, the CGATA, a family of five
[_editor’s note: large families being the norm_] now requires a
household income of over 87,000 dinars a month (€649) to live
decently. Another example is the price of fruit and vegetables, which
has spiralled, rising by 100 per cent in some cases within the space
of a year.

As Nassira Ghozlane, general secretary of the public workers’ union,
SNAPAP, points out, added to all these problems that make everyday
life difficult is the decrepit state of Algeria’s public services,
especially health and education.

Junior doctors (medical interns), teachers and students were the first
to call strikes and demonstrations, in 2015 and 2016, to denounce the
lack of investment, consideration and the misuse of public funds. For
Ghozlane, the sectoral struggles have been the incubators of the
protest movement that has emerged today.

“There are teachers who work for just 12,000 dinars (€90) a month.
Even those with a PhD, research professors, earn that wage and
sometimes have to wait until the end of the year to be paid,”
explains Yamina Maghraoui, president of the SNAPAP women’s
committee. According to a study conducted by the union, 65 per cent of
university students have to take on subsistence jobs. “Employees
agree to work for 3,000 dinars (€22) a month, because they have no
other choice,” adds Ghozlane.

The penury in the public health sector is notorious. “Sometimes,
there are no syringes, no alcohol and no surgical thread. We work in
appalling conditions. And people take out their anger on us, thinking
it’s the doctor that hasn’t done his work. They get aggressive,
sometimes, when we tell them there is no alcohol or gauze,” a junior
doctor, Amine B., tells _Equal Times_. Although public sector health
care is free, those who can afford it turn to private care or go
abroad for treatment, as has the former president of the Republic,
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has drawn criticism among Algerians for
being treated in France and Switzerland.

Collective resolve

Tahar Belabbes is one of those social leaders that has been fighting
for years. He has organised, led and called a series of unemployed
workers’ protests since 2013, as part of the National Committee for
the Defence of the Unemployed, mainly in the south of the country.
“I’ve never lost hope. I’ve always fought for young Algerians to
have dignity, to be able to find work and to live a decent life. Have
you not seen the hundreds of young people crossing the sea to get to
the other side?” asks the activist, referring to those known
as _harragas_. “They risk their lives for a better life. Why not
give them it here?”

The Algerian economy is suffering the consequences of its dependence
on the oil and gas sector (which brings in 75 per cent of its
revenues) and the lack of development in other sectors such as
agriculture or services, which could provide more jobs. The
disillusionment at the Tuesday demonstrations, staged by students, is
the same for everyone: further studies are affordable, and many choose
to do them (the number of students
[[link removed]] has multiplied
by four
[[link removed]] in
20 years), but the chances of finding a job are slim, and more so for
young women.

“You have next to no chance of being taken on at a company if you
don’t know anyone working there,” says Sara, a law student from
Algiers.

Students and the unemployed formed the ranks of the very first
demonstrations, alongside the low-income families and public sector
employees, bringing unexpected social diversity to the movement.
“These are protests, in their rawest form, led by young people with
no experience and no partisan backing,” says sociologist Nacer
Djabi. Indeed, the movement’s collective resolve has been forged
outside of any political party involvement and goes beyond the
socio-professional demands of the groups forming it. “We have always
had social grievances, but the sheer obstinacy shown by those in power
has led us to the conclusion, the conviction, even, that they will
never give up. So, the only solution is political change,” Tahar
Belabbes tells _Equal Times_.

“The _hirak_ is our hope. It must carry on until our demands are
met. Unemployment is rising and the country is in recession, but that
must not discourage us. The solution lies neither in dialogue nor
elections. The solution lies in the total satisfaction of our demands:
a transition period, a new constitution and a new system,” he adds.

“If we don’t achieve change now, it will be too late”

The need for unity within the movement and the refusal to make
concessions regarding the need for a fundamental change of system are
sentiments shared by Rachid Malaoui
[[link removed]],
president of the CGATA and SNAPAP. For the union leader, the situation
is more serious than it appears and it is no longer the moment to be
talking about social demands in the run-up to an election that has
been widely rejected by the movement. “We need to resolve the
political issue before we can go on to talk again and make decisions
about the social issues. If we don’t achieve change now, it will be
too late.”

Malaoui recalls that during a similar period in 2011 “the
authorities shelled out public money to quell the popular discontent,
and succeeded. There are ways and means, material and financial, if
they want to buy the leaders’ silence and temporarily satisfy the
social demands. But now the coffers are empty.”

As recalled by university professor Abderrahmane Mebtoul
[[link removed]],
in light of the global energy price outlook, Algeria “risks heading
towards default in late 2021, early 2022, with very grave social,
economic and political repercussions”.

Under the auspices of independent trade union centre the CSA, 28
unions called a general strike for 28 October, which was relatively
well backed (up to 75 per cent in some _wilayas_). “Algerians
cannot and will not put up with being humiliated any longer. They want
to live in a democratic Algeria with social justice. The national
wealth must be fairly distributed. Clientelism and corruption must be
forever banished,” exclaims Boualem Amoura, president of the
national education and training workers’ union, SATEF, and an active
member of the CSA. “You have pillaged the country, you band of
thieves”, “We want a share of the takings”, were amongst the
slogans often heard at the demonstrations.

With a month or so to go before the elections, the candidates are
waging an insufferable campaign. The powers that be want to go to the
polls at all costs. And the arrests
[[link removed]] of
demonstrators and opposition figures are being stepped up. “The
regime would not withstand a third postponement of elections,” wrote
daily newspaper _El Watan_. The independent body in charge of
organising the elections has given its assurance that the vote will be
transparent, and decisive for the country’s future. But its
president is no other than Bouteflika’s former justice minister,
hence the protesters’ lack of faith in the body and the strong
likelihood that they will boycott the election. The coming weeks are
set to be decisive for the country’s future.

_Khelaf Benhadda, is an Algerian journalist who works for the
French-language press and Algerian television. He is also the founder
and director of news sites Algérie Direct, Algérie Nouvelle and
DND ( Dernières Nouvelles de Dzaïr).  _

_This story has been translated from French._

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web [[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions [[link removed]]
Manage subscription [[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org [[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]