For the first time, Lebanon defaults on its debts
Restructuring will be a struggle. Fixing the country’s rentier economy will be even harder
A CURRENCY CRISIS has done what years of sectarian bloodletting could not. On March 9th Lebanon did not repay a $1.2bn Eurobond, the first sovereign default in the country’s history. Even during the darkest days of its civil war in the 1980s, the state met its obligations. But Lebanon must now choose between honouring its debts and providing the most basic services to its citizens. “How can we pay the creditors while there are people in the streets without the money to buy a loaf of bread?” said Hassan Diab, the prime minister.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Resilient no more”
Middle East & Africa March 14th 2020
From the March 14th 2020 edition
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