What the Student Protests in Bangladesh Mean for PM Hasina

At slightest 5 students were killed and much than 100 injured crossed Bangladesh yesterday and today, arsenic protests complete a quota strategy for authorities jobs continued connected respective campuses astir nan country. The quota strategy reserves 30 percent of authorities jobs, which are highly competitive, for family members of veterans who fought successful Bangladesh’s 1971 warfare of independence. (AP)

Our Take

The main trigger for these protests was a High Court ruling earlier this period that reinstated nan quota, which had been abolished successful 2018 amid wide protests against it. After this latest information of demonstrations erupted, nan tribunal suspended its ruling for a month, but nan demonstrations continued, pinch protesters calling nan quota strategy unfair. Still, while these protests are ostensibly astir discontent complete occupation opportunities, they besides reflector Bangladesh’s broader polarized governmental landscape, which remains rooted successful nan bequest of its warfare of independence.

On 1 broadside of nan scenery is PM Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party, which led nan independency activity and warfare nether Hasina’s father. On nan different is erstwhile PM Khaleda Zia, whose precocious hubby led a coup against Hasina’s begetter successful 1975. Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, aliases BNP, has besides collaborated pinch an Islamist guidance statement that successful 1971 opposed independence.

As a consequence of this divide, nan Awami League has agelong utilized nan bequest of nan warfare to support its support, target guidance figures and disregard criticisms astir nan party’s authoritarian streak nether Hasina, who has been successful powerfulness since 2009. Indeed, Hasina has painted nan existent protests arsenic an affront to nan country’s “freedom fighters,” and nan student helping of nan Awami League was progressive successful nan clashes pinch protesters that turned violent.

The protests are improbable to correspond immoderate existent threat to Hasina. But they do travel astatine a bad clip for her and her party. Since taking agency for nan 2nd clip successful 2009, Hasina has consolidated powerfulness and closed antiauthoritarian abstraction while simultaneously riding a improvement roar fueled by nan country’s integration into nan world proviso chain—specifically nan textile industry. The operation of nan 2 has kept nan statement successful power, but nan second appears to beryllium moving dry, pinch Bangladesh facing an economical situation that began successful 2022 and has only worsened since.

These student protests, then, tin besides beryllium viewed arsenic conscionable nan latest motion of economical discontent successful Bangladesh. Late past year, for instance, thousands of garment workers staged protests against debased wages, which nan authorities responded to pinch convulsive repression. Without nan economical screen for her antiauthoritarian backsliding that she erstwhile had, Hasina is apt to look moreover much protests for illustration these going forward.

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Revenues from nan caller field, erstwhile it yet comes online, could easiness immoderate of nan strain connected Bolivia’s economical model, which has struggled amid declining lipid and state production. As Thomas Graham wrote successful 2022, nan state has tried to create economical alternatives, but pinch a immense informal system and small successful nan measurement of industry, that has meant much extractive activities.

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