2. October 6, 1981

3. The New President of Egypt

4. Economic Performance
Egypt enjoyed a period of unprecedented economic growth in the second half of the 2000s.
Between 2004 and 2009, 191 companies were privatized, netting the government about 7 billion dollars.
In the late Mubarak period, private sector accounted for more than 70 percent of all economic activity.
In 2008, 12.8 million tourists visited Egypt, the country’s best year ever.

5. Economic Problems
The Egyptian economy did not grow fast enough to absorb new job seekers.
According to the government, Egypt’s unemployment hovered around 10 percent. The reality was believed to be as much as double that figure.
16 million Egyptians live on about 2 dollars a day.
The neoliberal economic policies (especially privatization) sparked labor protests.

6. Labor Protests
In 2004, the number and frequency of labor protests picked up considerably.
In 2006, employees in the state-owned sector staged 222 strikes and demonstrations.
The center of gravity for worker activism between 2006 and 2008 was Mahalla al Kubra, Egypt’s textile center.
In December 2006, 27,000 workers in Mahalla went on strike demanding higher wages and their past bonuses.

7. Mahalla al Kubra, April 6, 2008

8. Problems in Urban Areas
There are 156 unofficial or informal neighborhoods in Cairo.
Since these areas are deemed unofficial, the government need not extend services- water, electricity, paved roads- to them.
On September 6, 2008 the hills under which the slum neighborhood of Duweiqa was founded crumbled.
Dozens of homes were destroyed and in the rockslide and more than 100 people were killed.

9. Rockslide in Duweiqa

10. Authoritarian Political System
The official discourse is that Mubarak would serve as the bridge from authoritarianism to a more democratic and liberal future.
Egypt has been under a state of emergency since October 1981.
Opponents of the regime were under increasing state pressure.
In the early 2000s, blogging exploded as a source both political protest and a way to bear witness to the predatory nature of the Egyptian state.
In 2006, over 100 bloggers and internet activists were arrested.