Iranian Economy in the Past Year

As we had predicted a stagflationary economic crisis, poverty, unemployment and class gap grew in 2017, and our analyses were proved as the time passed. The Iranian capitalist class, which controls political power, is not able to adopt the policies that can relieve the crisis. On the one hand, the ruling class’ “neoliberal” economic plans have aggravated the crisis, and on the other hand, the political structure itself has escalated the crisis. Another factor that will put its impact on the economy the next year, more gravely than before, is a crisis in the regime’s foreign policy that will increase the capitalists’ fear of the regime’s overthrow. This fear will accelerate the ruling system’s collapse and will lead to capital flight. The parliament’s economic committee chairman Pourebrahimi says more than 30bn dollars left the country in late months of 2017. In brief, the prospect of the Iranian economy in 2018 will be even worse than 2016, even if the Islamic regime and the capitalist system can survive.

However, despite these economic facts, which is clear to workers and toilers, the Iranian regime and the Rouhani administration always boast about an economic growth. Even Khamenei, the regime’s so-called leader, shamelessly and outrageously spoke about decreasing poverty and increasing social justice and progress.

The falsehood of regime’s claims are so obvious to workers and toilers that we do not need to respond.

Mesbahi-Moqadam, a member of the watchdog Expediency Council of the regime, said on the TV that two per cent of households possessed 80 per cent of bank deposits. This means that the two per cent’s wealth amounts to about 240bn dollars!

This is a horrible class gap, and perhaps this situation under the bloody jackoots of the Islamic regime cannot be compared to any other country in the world. The fall of the workers’ real wages can be easily seen in the decrease of the wages’ contribution to the production expenses. Temporary work contracts, outsourcing, giving a free hand to contractors to exploit workers brutally, eliminating subsidies under the ridiculous pretext of making them targeted, privatisation of education and health that is introduced as “involving people” and reducing to zero welfare services have created the current situation.

Rouhani administration always complained that it spends enormously in paying cash subsidies, and we frequently exposed this lie. However, this year and during the budget debate it was known that making the subsidies so-called targeted has not been a burden on the national budget but the government has made a big money by implementing this scheme. In 2017, the government has earned about 100,000bn tumans versus paying only 37,000bn tumans cash subsidies to the people!

Liberalising utility fees, and prices of petrol, bread etc has troubled groups of people even in affording staples such as bread. According to figures, the bread’s consumption has sharply decreased in recent years, while with the growing poverty bread was the only food the people had to consume to survive.

Not to mention the situation of education and health. For instance, the 2017 budget bill predicts the privatisation of 20 per cent of schools, all under the pretext of reducing the government’s role in the economy! What an interesting pretext!

The Islamic Republic pretends to be a fool. Education, health, social security is not a business but a basic social right. All individuals in the society are entitled to use these services, and the government should provide and guarantee these services.

Even MP Shahab Naderi acknowledges that 80 per cent of the people live under the poverty line. Then, how can these people benefit from these rights? The interior minister speaks about the unemployment of 60 per cent in some cities, and Yahya Al Eshaq, former minister of commerce and a member of the chamber of commerce says 70 per cent of small and medium industries have been closed down and the rest work with a capacity of 30 per cent.

This is a real picture of the Iranian economy. If the regime’s leaders like Khamenei and Rouhani deny the reality it can be deduced that the regime does not intend to hear the people’s demands, and the only way remained for workers and toilers is to overthrow the regime and seize the political power through soviets.

(Kaar-No.767; April 2018)