Sri Lanka economic crisis

“Pakistan and Sri Lanka have experienced the most political tumult in South Asia, and in both cases it’s been driven by economic stress.”

Sri Lanka’s apparel and tea industries are seeing orders diverted to India amid shortages and unrest.

“The political and economic crisis have exposed the multiple failures of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency.”

But protestors are unimpressed. They want the ruling Rajapaksa clan to go.

That will not be easy as the president enjoys enormous powers and cannot be impeached easily.

The leaderless nature of the protests was part of the attraction for many Sri Lankans. But leaders need to emerge if the movement is going to succeed in bringing about political change.

The ruling coalition, which commanded a two-thirds majority last month, is now battling for survival.

Continued instability on the island will have repercussions in India. That will be a burden for India, not for China.

Sri Lanka has few options other than an IMF bailout. But engagement with neocolonial international financial institutions is actually one of the causes of Sri Lanka's economic woes.

The government had resisted dealing with the IMF, claiming that this would undermine the country's interests. Its latest decision marks a policy shift.

A currency crunch has hindered imports of fuel and other essentials from overseas, including milk powder, cooking gas, and petrol.

In addition to foreign debt obligations exceeding $7 billion, Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves are down to $1.6 billion, barely enough for a few weeks of imports.