World Bank blames Lebanon's rulers for economic meltdown
ABC News
The World Bank says Lebanon’s political class is to blame for the country's economic collapse, warning that the meltdown threatens Beirut's long-term stability
BEIRUT -- The World Bank accused Lebanon’s political class of orchestrating the country's economic collapse, warning in a report released Tuesday that the meltdown is a long-term threat to the small Mideast nation.
The World Bank's Lebanon Economic Monitor showed the country's gross domestic product plummeted from close to $52 billion in 2019 to a projected $21.8 billion in 2021, marking a more than 58% contraction. That's the biggest contraction of the 193 countries listed by the publication.
“Lebanon’s deliberate depression is orchestrated by the country’s elite” that has long controlled the country, said the report, titled, “The Great Denial.”
The meltdown began in October 2019 and has thrown more than 75% of the country’s population into poverty. The same political class blamed for the decades of corruption and mismanagement leading up the crisis has done almost nothing to help Lebanon climb out of the crisis.
