“When you impoverish the poor and middle class you undermine democracy,” said Jihen Chandoul, an economist and co-founder of the Tunisian Observatory of Economy, a research institute. Those policies often produce jarring hardship and political upheaval that can undermine support for the very kind of democratic and capitalist systems the West is trying to build. Protests against higher taxes and rising prices broke out across the country in January after new economic policies advocated by the I.M.F. and Tunisia’s Western sponsors took effect. International ratings agencies have repeatedly lowered Tunisia’s creditworthiness, straining the government’s ability to borrow to invest in jobs or public works programs.

Source: New York Times May 03, 2018 13:41 UTC