After having left government to the task of establishing a program to eliminate subsidies for basic goods, President Kais Saied has switched gears.
Themes 1037
Tunisia: Kais Saied tightens his grip on civil society
A number of NGOs have expressed indignation at the recent humanitarian crisis involving migrants driven out of Sfax, and the government is not impressed. Associations openly critical of authorities are blaring on the president’s radar, as acts of intimidation targeting certain organizations portend an open war against civil society’s dissenting voices.
Against the anti-migrant and anti-Black policies of the EU and Tunisia
An open letter from 379 researchers and members of civil society from the Global South and the Global North against the “Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership between the European Union (EU) and Tunisia” and against the EU’s border externalisation policies.
Najla Bouden: Poor economic record, outstanding support for repression
Her departure from the Kasbah has been as discreet as her arrival. A late night post on the Office of the President’s Facebook page informed Tunisians of Prime Minister Najla Bouden’s dismissal from office. After less than two years serving at the head of government, this unassuming university professor is leaving the field with an underwhelming track record in confronting socioeconomic issues. What is remarkable about Bouden’s term is how she stood by an increasingly authoritarian regime.
Djerba: Restoring «fsegui», a response to water scarcity
For years now, daily life on the island of Djerba has been punctuated by water cuts. In response to global warming and water stress, the Association Jlij for the Marine Environment has invested in the restoration of fsegui, public water cisterns dating from the colonial era.
Hundreds march in Tunis to denounce increasing violence against migrants
Hundreds of people marched yesterday in Tunisia in support of migrants in the country, following the death of a Tunisian man in an altercation with migrants. The march, organized by several associations, aimed to denounce the increasing violence, deportations, and discrimination faced by migrants. The protesters chanted slogans against racism and expressed solidarity with Sub-Saharan migrants present in Tunisia.
Selective Immigration: Tunisia loses its skilled workforce to broader horizons
Nurses, doctors, engineers, university students, restaurateurs…are leaving Tunisia in droves. The country is losing its skilled workforce to Europe and the Gulf countries, with no end to the exodus in sight.
Tunisia and Europe dive back into « readmission » for irregular migrants
Over the past month, Tunis has received visits from a number of European officials offering aid to the Saied regime in exchange for cooperation on migration issues. Their proposals all revolve around one prickly question: the return and readmission of Tunisian and foreign immigrants.
Violence against women: Legal fiction, social reality
Violence against women has reached an alarming high. On average, one woman is killed by her husband every month. Law 58 of 2017 was adopted to prevent such violence. And yet five years later, the political will and resources necessary for its application are still MIA.
The bread crisis: A conspiracy narrative gone stale
As president Kais Saied has explained to Tunisians, the country’s bread shortage was orchestrated by certain actors in order to provoke crises and exacerbate the social situation. The Ministry of Commerce has attributed the shortage to consumers’ frenzied and voracious appetite for bread. In the meantime, the structural crisis relating to the country’s wheat supply, State control over the sector and commodity subsidies intensifies.
Community-based enterprises in Tunisia: Mapping and overview
The majority of community-based enterprises created over the past year intend to operate in agriculture. But this project, driven from start to finish by the president, has yet to live up to expectations.
Report: Black and Protestant in Tunisia
The religious tendencies of immigrants in Tunisia have become an object of politicization. President Kais Saied accuses Christian immigrants of threatening the country’s Muslim identity. Protestants have taken to worshiping in rented hotel conference rooms, where they can practice their religion–though not without fear for their safety. And the government stands by.
Judges under Saied: The Reign of Fear and Submission
One year after Kais Saied’s dismissal of 57 judges, Tunisia’s judiciary has never been less independent. Working under pressure and fearing retaliation from the executive power, Tunisian judges have never fared worse. Not even under the Ben Ali regime, according to a representative of the profession.
Organic products in Tunisia: Why aren’t consumers biting?
Organic has yet to become commonplace in the day-to-day of Tunisian consumers. Even though the surface area of organically-grown crops has increased by 1,000 over the past 25 years, local consumption of organic goods remains minimal. Some point a finger at consumers themselves, while others blame the government. What exactly has prevented organic from taking off in Tunisia?
Homrane Community: Another Possibility in the Mountains of Ain Drahem
Who has not heard a friend or family member express the desire to drop everything, move to the mountains and grow everything one needs in one’s own garden? A community in Homrane, tucked away in the forest of Ain Drahem, has turned this dream into a reality. And the work that this small group has accomplished in three years is tremendous.
Rule of Law in Tunisia: Saiedism’s number one victim
Since 2021, Tunisia has been living a paradox. Never has the rule of law been so abused as it is today, under the regime of a university professor of constitutional law. Most concerning about the situation are its potentially long-lasting consequences, and the series of dangerous precedents now engraved in the country’s collective memory.
It’s not you, it’s them: the populist appeal of Kais Saied
President Kais Saied’s time in power has been anything but uneventful. However, his claims of speaking for ‘the people,’ his hatred of any institution that stands in his way and his endless conspiracies, which dominate the public conversation while the economy sinks, all have parallels. They’re there in Donald Trump, Hugo Chavez and even Silvio Berlusconi.
Saied’s economic policy: IMF, BRICS and magical thinking
President Saied’s hostile remarks about IMF injunctions have stirred public debate around economic alternatives to pull Tunisia out of crisis. The struggle is bitter between adepts of the classic « structural adjustments » prescribed to save flailing economies, and adherents of the president’s magical thinking-based approach.
