Iran’s state-run Eghtesad-e Pouya newspaper has spent the past few days warning officials that a social collapse may be on the horizon as the economic crisis caused by the regime worsens.

Housing

In an article on Sunday, the paper quoted Vahid Shaghaghi Shahri, who is the head of the Kharazmi  School of Economics, as saying that there are “15 million marginalized people” in the country and that this has caused mass migration to metropolitan areas, intensifying the housing crisis, but what is the reason for this?

Well, unemployment has risen disproportionately in rural areas, which means that people looking for work will travel to cities where there are not enough affordable properties to meet the need.

Shaghagi said that this is the result of the regime not having a “clear [and] coherent housing plan” over the past decade, building 350,000 houses per year when 1 million were needed annually”.

Inflation, Income, and Iranian crude

Also on Sunday, Eghtesad-e Pouya quoted political sociologist Hamid Asefi as saying that Iran is experiencing “45% inflation” and 200% “point-to-point inflation”. Assefi explained that no matter if the poverty line is 12 million Tomans or 8 million Tomans, workers’ wages are still far below that at just 4 million, which means that the working class can’t cover their monthly expenses and the regime has been stopping workers from protesting this.

Assefi said: “People’s livelihoods are getting worse daily. [Because] Iran is governed by the sale of crude, mostly crude oil. The country’s oil revenue has generated embezzlements. As a result, it shows that governments are seeking to distribute embezzlements and rents. Accordingly, the people’s livelihood will deteriorate daily and year by year.”

Poverty Line

Last Wednesday, Eghtesad-e Pouya spoke to sociologist Mostafa Eghlima, who said that over 50% of the country lived below the absolute poverty line, but that the number below the relative poverty line, based on areas of the country rather than the country as a whole, is much higher.

Another sociologist Ahmad Bokharaie said: “80% of people are below the poverty line. Currently, our country has become bipolar, and these dipoles will lead to social collapse.”

Election

In fact, all of the issues in Iran can be traced back to the policies pursued by the mullahs and internal corruption, but still, the regime makes hollow promises with the hopes of getting people to vote in the presidential election.

Eghtesad-e Pouya admits that the boycott, organised by the Iranian Resistance, is likely to work because when people can’t put food on the table, why would they care about “election games”?

On wendsday May 5, the state-run daily Arman about the critical situation of the regime’s presidential election said:

“Encouraging people to go to the polls requires something like a miracle. In fact, this presidential election of Iran is more than just an election, and is considered as a referendum from another perspective.

“Therefore, participation or non-participation in it must be with the understanding and acceptance of this presupposition.

“We must be vigilant and think that today the sharp decline and poverty of public trust in the government has raised the alarm even more than the economic poverty.”