Whether global oil prices rise or stabilize at any given time, Lebanese citizens can no longer avoid the losses inflicted by the "desired" dollar of the "black market" in Lebanon to obtain their fuel. Regardless of whether the prices of wheat, grains, food, medicine, and medical supplies fluctuate globally, Lebanese people find it increasingly challenging to secure their bread, food, drink, and treatments except according to the whims of the "black" dollar.
**Has Lebanon's Economic Identity Changed?**
Has Lebanon's economic identity changed in this circumstance? Is what remains of a free economic system in the country genuinely free, or have we become "slaves" to the black market in our food, drink, health, education... right down to our most basic needs? What benefit is there in leaving the game of free economy "out of control" in this manner, without any official intervention to curb the influx of black market dollars, all in the name of freedom and preserving Lebanon's free economic identity, especially since we have now become slaves to everything illegal and lack a real and effective economic identity on the ground?
We will not believe that the state is incapable of doing anything to stop the repercussions of the black market dollar inferno. We refuse to believe that a government in a still-existing state is helpless to intervene in the market and the economy entirely, to this embarrassing extent, to stop the financial collapse. We will not believe, no matter how many justifications some offer or explanations that polish the image of the ruling authority's inaction. The truth is that you do not want to act; it’s not that you cannot. Period.
**Poverty of the People**
Former MP Mohammed Al-Hajjar emphasized that "when the recipe is clear, as it is implemented by all countries facing problems similar to ours, the Lebanese state is obligated to follow it: implementing reforms and reaching agreements with international financial institutions, starting with the IMF. There are no other options."
In an interview with "Akhbar Al-Yawm," he noted that "the refusal to implement clear and appropriate decisions in this context indicates that there are those who want to impoverish Lebanon and its people, creating famine in the country."
**Intersecting Interests**
Al-Hajjar reminded that the "Capital Control Law," for example, which we concluded studying since the 2018 Parliament's term, has not been successfully enacted to date, relying on many different excuses each time, indicating that all parties are subject to numerous question marks. He added: "The Future Movement bears its responsibility as a political team. When we saw no opportunity to act and that there was no life for those we called, we withdrew from the scene, refraining from participating in the parliamentary elections and suspending political activity, as we did not want to be false witnesses. Meanwhile, others remained and participated in the elections under many slogans. But what are they doing now? This supports the hypothesis that all of them are part of the ongoing collapse."
He concluded: "Some are directly participating in the conspiracy against the country and its people, while others engage indirectly, using ready-made and populist justifications, as if there are no major collapses in Lebanon and as if people are not suffering to the utmost. The same narrative continues to control everything, making you think that someone wants to disillusion the people with their country and everything. We are now living amid a horrifying game of intersecting interests among all these groups."
