Economic crisis and violent protests: What is happening in Jordan?

The Jordanian scene today is full of accelerating events, some of which have been violent, and in the background of the scene is an economic crisis the likes of which the country has not witnessed before.

While experts fear that the events will destabilize a pivotal country in the region, others believe that an “economic and political structure” has become necessary in Jordan.

Since the beginning of December, governorates in southern Jordan have witnessed mostly peaceful strikes, which began with truck drivers, who were later joined by others. The situation developed into the closure of markets and shops in Ma'an, Kerak and Madaba governorates in solidarity with this movement, along with other protests in Zarqa and Irbid, the second and third largest cities in the Kingdom.

But things took a turn for the worse when the Public Security Directorate (PSD) announced on Friday, December 16, the killing of the assistant police chief of Ma'an Governorate, Colonel Abdul Razzaq Al-Dalabeh, in southern Jordan, with a gunshot wound to the head while he was dealing with what the directorate described as “riots”.

The Directorate announced that 49 security personnel were injured during the riots, and that 70 PSD vehicles and more than 90 citizens' cars were attacked. The Jordanian security pledged to do what was necessary to maintain security.

Later on Friday, the authorities said they had temporarily suspended the TikTok app, claiming it had been “misused to fuel protests by some.”

The security authorities arrested 44 people who they said were involved in the riots that broke out during the protests. PSD confirmed that it had “intensified its security deployment in the Kingdom's governorates to ensure the enforcement of the rule of law and maintain the security of citizens.”

On Tuesday, December 20, the Jordanian security forces announced the death of three security personnel and the wounding of five others during a raid targeting a “terrorist cell” that includes a suspect in the killing of Colonel Abdel-Razzaq Al-Dalabeh. As a result of this raid, “the suspect, who was a campaigner of takfiri ideology, was killed. Nine other persons were arrested, and they were in possession of a number of firearms.”

Unprecedented developments

Jordan has previously witnessed several protests of a political or economic nature, but they have always been more peaceful. Here the question arises: Why did the protests this time take a different form of violence or calls for civil disobedience and closing shops?

Sameh Al-Mahariq, a Jordanian writer and political analyst, pointed out that there is widespread popular resentment as a result of economic conditions and high unemployment rates in a country where young people make up most of the population.

He told Jusoor Post that “the current government takes conservative methods in its financial decisions to avoid exacerbating indebtedness and its high cost, which is something that Jordanians are not used to.”

“The government, in its speech, seemed unwilling to follow the same strategy that exacerbated the crisis in some previous governments that sought to improve their popularity by borrowing and subsidizing consumption without carrying out structural reforms at the economic level,” he added.

“What exacerbated the Jordanians' feeling about the problem is the decline in Arab support, which some consider an additional pressure factor,” he continued.

Al-Mahariq noted that “the government's limited options led to a rhetoric that was provocative and shocking to popular circles, especially with the high cost of living in recent months.”

“In addition, there is an unresolved problem at the government level in employing the media in a positive way to integrate Jordanians in the existing and upcoming transformations at all levels,” he added.

“This situation can be described as the end of the rentier state and the lack of access to the productive state,” he continued.

A suffocating economic crisis

Jordan is a close ally of the United States and the European Union. It has long been considered one of the most stable countries in a volatile region. But its economic crisis has been exacerbated by foreign debts exceeding $50 billion, in addition to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Fuel prices are nearly double what they were last year, especially diesel, which is the main fuel for trucks and buses, in addition to kerosene, which is the main heating fuel for the poor.

The government offered some solutions, including increasing freight rates and distributing sums of money to support the most affected families, but it seems that they were not sufficiently satisfactory to the protesters.

The Jordanian authorities said they were ready to consider truck drivers' demands for lower fuel prices, but stressed that they had limited room to maneuver if they wanted to abide by the terms of the International Monetary Fund's structural reform program.

Under the program, Jordanian fuel prices are updated every month to take account of global price movements. Officials said the country has already spent 500 million dinars ($705 million) on capping fuel prices this year.

Jordan's population suffers from rising food and energy costs. Per capita gross domestic product fell sharply in 2021 and unemployment is close to 20%, according to the World Bank.

The country, which does not possess large natural resources, has long relied economically on international aid. At the end of 2021, public debt reached 113% of GDP, according to the World Bank. In September, the US agreed to provide $10 billion to the Kingdom in aid for six years through 2029.

For his part, Dr. Munther Al-Rihat, a Jordanian political analyst, confirmed to Jusoor Post that “Jordan went through many such events in the past, but it was able to overcome it and move forward.”

But he also pointed out “people's feeling of economic burdens through the prices of oil derivatives, which are subject to a fixed tax that the government relies on to pay the salaries of public sector employees and retirees, who also feel that their purchasing power is declining, which is already a problem.”

“Resolving the economic crisis is very difficult for the Jordanian government,” he said.

Al-Rihat added, “There is a demographic change in Jordan and there is massive population growth. At the same time, we have a bloated government sector and we have a very high level of corruption with a lot of money coming in from the US, the EU and even from the Gulf countries.”

“However, the government can hardly keep government jobs going,” he continued.

“The Jordanian government has always resorted to short-term measures, so to speak, without any planning for medium-term solutions,” he explained.

Al-Rihat expected that “a small part of the government support will be returned so that prices fall again in the short term, perhaps temporarily. Perhaps cash assistance will be provided to poor families in this region as a kind of consolation in the short term.”

“But this will not solve the structural problem of the economy, especially in rural areas,” he stressed, adding, “Therefore, it is necessary for the country to witness a process of radical transformation, not only on the economic level, but also on the political level.”