Under the weight of the skyrocketing global prices of fuel and oil, the Lebanese are experiencing a new chapter of silent livelihood depletion. A crisis is no longer just a passing hardship, but has turned into a daily context that eats away what remains of income and savings, amid political and economic warnings that society’s ability to “adapt” has reached a dead end that may push political parties, most notably Hezbollah, to use the street card to escape forward.
The price trap: local greed and a stifling electricity crisis The tragedy of the Lebanese market does not stop at the borders of global stock exchanges, but is compounded by blatant structural distortions:
- Dual monopoly and lack of oversight: Every global rise quickly turns into an excuse to raise prices locally, while reductions disappear as soon as costs decline, in light of the lack of control and accountability devices.
- Generator Bleeding and Transmission: The complete absence of state electricity and forced reliance on private generators leads to inflated production and service costs beyond most countries in the region, widening the fatal gap between wages and the cost of survival.
From silent complaint to explosion: the October 17 scenario looms on the horizon In the face of this livelihood suffocation, political sources whisper that Hezbollah may resort to mobilizing the streets and exploiting the accumulated state of social unrest to shuffle the political cards:
- Investing in anger: The transition of tension from a mere individual complaint to a widespread wave of protests may bring back memories of the scene of the October 2019 uprising, but with completely different tools and backgrounds.
- The battle of “Who controls the street?”: The challenge is not limited to people coming out, but rather who has the organizational ability to ride this wave and direct its compass politically in his favor.
Pressure card or escape forward? In light of the complex interplay between the collapse of livelihood, the political blockage, and security warnings, Hezbollah may see in the street card a tactical way out and a space to exert maximum pressure on the government and opponents, and transform the gasoline can and the generator bill from a daily concern for the citizen into a new barricade in the internal conflict.
