Public transport was paralyzed and offices were empty on Friday in Sri Lanka in a national strike called to demand the resignation of the government, which is facing a serious economic crisis.
“We can identify the political mistakes of the president that have led to the deplorable state of our economy,” explained union leader Ravi Kumudesh. “He must go,” he insisted.
The country announced on April 12 a moratorium on its foreign debt and for months the island has suffered from food and medicine shortages.
The economic crisis, the worst since the country’s independence in 1948, was installed after the pandemic that reduced income from tourism and transfers of funds from the Sri Lankan diaspora.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stated several times that he would not resign despite growing protests and a protest camp set up outside his residence for a month.