November has arrived, and with it, the long-anticipated devaluation of the Egyptian pound. Precipitated by weeks of growing panic in the currency market, the measure was an integral reform needed to secure the disbursal of a 12 billion USD loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), finally inked last Friday. The move was inevitable after the Egyptian government backed itself into a corner with ill-conceived and poorly-executed economic development plans and exhausted the generosity of Gulf nations that had pumped tens of billions into the economy over the past years. Yet, the free float of the pound, as well as the slashing of fuel subsidies (another key condition for the IMF loan), will exacerbate the pressure on Egyptians’ livelihoods and pull millions into economic precarity.
Parallel to news about the IMF were calls for protests on November 11, ostensibly organized in response to the floundering economy. While many on the ground in Egypt wrote the protests off, the Egyptian media overplayed the threat, and the security apparatus also seemed to take them seriously, arresting hundreds and securing areas around downtown Cairo. But mass demonstrations across the country failed to materialize.
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