The Profile
Elevated to the status of national hero after bringing the Tamil Tigers to heel, the former president succumbs to the tsunami of rising fuel prices, inflation and a galloping foreign debt
The thousands of citizens who chanted the slogan ‘Go home Gota’ through the streets of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, did not speak for the sake of it and who, fed up with feeling ignored, stormed the presidential residence ten days ago. The incursion had been preceded by street riots in which everything from food to fuel was demanded; with Buddhist monks draped in saffron cloth leading the tide of humanity and riot police using tear gas and water cannons conscientiously against an increasingly enraged crowd. With the wounded numbering in the dozens, including several policemen, the palace barriers could not withstand this uncontrollable flood; the crowd making its way through bedrooms and living rooms, bathing in the pool dressed, pedaling in the gym where only a few hours before the president did his morning exercises.
When the thunder box was uncovered, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had already put water in between aboard an Army Antonov 32 bound for Maldives, that paradise strung on atolls that emerge from the Indian Ocean like a pearl necklace, and then to Singapore, where you sent your letter of resignation via email. His departure was not without incident, starting with the airport authorities, who kept him in the VIP lounge knowing that the country had reached a boiling point and that any false step could cost them dearly. Finally, he fled at dawn, a humiliating epilogue for a dynasty that has held power for two decades.
While he and his wife packed their bags, his right-hand man, Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose residence was also destroyed by the mobs, remained in charge of the mess. In an attempt to temper tempers, the prime minister had no choice but to announce his resignation and offer guarantees of establishing “a government of national unity.” Wickremesinghe had lasted in office for two months, the time that had elapsed since Mahinda, Gotabaya’s brother and former president, threw in the towel when a tsunami of violence broke out that claimed a dozen lives.
But nothing is what it seems in Sri Lanka, where Gotabaya’s puppet, far from backing down, is demonstrating earthquake-proof cunning. In a week, he has risen first to the interim presidency – with the excuse of protecting the country for 30 days until the Chamber elects a successor – and to the Head of State later, backed by a large majority of Parliament. Gotabaya, meanwhile, strips the daisy of his future in the company of his wife and two bodyguards, while the Singaporean authorities, reluctant to grant asylum, refuse to say if his is a private trip or even if the former president is in transit to another country.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s fall into hell is all the more dramatic if one takes into account the background of the character, a true sacred cow in this country of 22 million inhabitants, divided between Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. For years he and his brother seemed anointed by the gods. Sons of a wealthy family from the south of the island, the now fled distinguished himself in the army during the civil war against the Tamil Tigers, even taking part in counter-insurgency operations. Honorably discharged, he went to study in the United States, from where he returned in 2005 to help his brother in her presidential campaign and as Secretary of Defense.
When the conflict ceased, after a quarter of a century of fighting, Gotabaya strengthened its positions. The jump to the presidency would not take place, however, until 2019, after the Islamist attacks against churches and hotels that left 250 dead. The promise of security from the one who had made the Tamils bow their heads, shot up his popularity and brought him to power in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. In the last twenty years, 40 members of the family have held positions of responsibility in the Government and the fortune amassed by the clan is incalculable.
From national hero to villain
The images of what happened last week bring to mind that old Hollywood hit set in Sri Lanka -then Ceylon- and with Elizabeth Taylor at her best. In ‘The path of the elephants’, dozens of pachyderms rebelled against the established power and destroyed a tea plantation to the ground to return to nature what was rightfully theirs. In the case of Gotabaya, the collapse had been brewing for months and is reflected in the economic collapse of a country with a GDP per capita that last year was 3,225 euros and where each of its citizens was already carrying a debt at that time. of 3,270. A very low standard of living that plunges this exotic destination into the depths of the world ranking of prosperity.
The war in Ukraine, the consequent rise in fuel prices and the interruption of the supply chain have only paid for the Sinhalese collapse, with an economy highly dependent on tourism that the rigors of the pandemic have pulverized and to which is added a terrible agricultural policy as a result of the ban on chemical fertilizers, which has plummeted production. The result is the greatest crisis facing this country since the departure of the British in 1948.
Since Gotabaya came to power in 2019, the country’s drift has worsened with the depletion of foreign exchange reserves and rampant indebtedness, while inflation climbs to 54.6%. The Government decreed in April the preventive non-payment of its foreign debt, which ended up destroying the confidence of creditors and forced them to go to the International Monetary Fund in search of a solution that the Government is far from having. A month earlier, power outages had become widespread, fueling discontent and turning timid initial criticism into forceful demands for resignation. Faced with such a panorama, Gotabaya, not used to paddling against the current, has spoken: the last one, close the door. Wickremesinghe has taken the witness and does not seem willing to let go.