Syria fuel price hikes test public patience with economic recovery

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Protestos eruptam em toda a Síria devido ao aumento dos preços dos combustíveis.

Aumento dos preços de combustível na Síria testa paciência pública com a recuperação econômica | Notícias de Guerra na Síria | Al Jazeera Pular links Pular para o conteúdo Reproduzir ao vivo Inscrever-se Mostrar menu de navegação Menu de navegação.

The protests, which erupted on Sunday, come after months of complaints about soaring energy costs and criticisms that the lives of many Syrians have not improved since the fall of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.

O governo sírio defendeu seus esforços, argumentando que levará tempo para superar décadas de estagnação econômica e isolamento internacional.

The trigger for Sunday’s protests was a government announcement that diesel prices would rise by 40 percent, petrol by at least 25 percent and cooking gas around nine percent.

The government said the increases were temporary and caused by a spike in refined petroleum products following the US-Israeli war on Iran and renewed hostilities in Yemen.

Entretanto, o parlamento sírio convocou o Ministro da Energia, Mohammed al-Bashir, para uma audiência sobre o aumento dos preços dos combustíveis, sinal de que os funcionários estavam preocupados com a indignação pública.

When anti-regime forces overthrew al-Assad’s government, much of the country erupted in celebration.

Isso aconteceu depois de mais de uma década de guerra e do domínio de 50 anos da família al-Assad, que havia levado a sanções internacionais ao país.

Aside from expectations that freedoms would increase after the fall of the regime, which operated as a police state, many Syrians also hoped the country’s dire economic conditions would improve.

That has been a tough task for the new Syrian government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Since coming to power 21 months ago, the government has focussed on securing international legitimacy and lifting the complex network of sanctions placed on Syria.

Nesse ponto, tem sido em grande parte bem-sucedido.

Em agosto, Syria foi removida da lista de patrocinadores de terrorismo do Estado dos US, construindo sobre decisões anteriores de levantar sanções pelos US, European Union e outras potências mundiais.

This allowed for Syria to be reintegrated into the world economy and receive increased foreign investment.

There has been optimism in Syria, but while the government insists that the positive impact of the removal of sanctions and other government actions will take time, patience has run out for some.

Syria’s poverty rate is around 90 percent, according to the UN’s World Food Programme. The rise in fuel costs has a universal impact, affecting the price of transport but also food and other services.

A Síria permanece altamente dependente de importações de energia. O país produz cerca de 102. 000 barris de petróleo por dia, em comparação com a necessidade doméstica de cerca de 325.

Syria refines some of its crude domestically but its refineries cannot produce enough petroleum products to meet demands, forcing it to import substantial quantities of diesel, petrol and other fuels.

The Syrian government said it was working on an overhaul of the Baniyas refinery – the country’s largest – in the hope that it will raise processing capacity at the facility from around 80,000 to 130,000 barrels per day.

As autoridades agora buscarão maneiras de atenuar a raiva pública.

Hawach suggested a “protected diesel price for public transport and farmers”, as well as the government announcing dates for when temporary price increases would end.

As protestas surgiram enquanto o governo sírio tenta reconstruir o país após uma guerra que devastou grande parte do território e matou centenas de milhares de pessoas.

Still, after a July visit, the International Monetary Fund recommended that the Syrian government collect more revenue and be more selective about what it spends money on “to create the fiscal space needed to create room for development spending and to enhance the social safety net to protect the most vulnerable segments of the population”.

So far, the government has benefited from a degree of patience among Syrians. But despite the progress made over the past year, that patience is beginning to wear thin – particularly among the country’s most vulnerable, who have yet to feel the benefits of economic growth.

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