Iran: It's the Economy Stupid

FN: At great risk to their safety millions of ordinary Iranians are trying to peacefully protest a stolen election. While the catalyst for these demonstrations was an election, the election issues were the economy and unemployment.

Iran May Recount Some Votes After Protesters Killed (Update1): "Iran’s Guardian Council, which supervises elections, may order a recount of some votes in the disputed presidential ballot after the biggest anti-government demonstrations since the Shah was deposed in 1979.

The council, made up of 12 clerics and lawyers, may authorize a second count in areas where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory was questioned, state television quoted Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the body’s spokesman, as saying in Tehran today. He said all three challengers in the June 12 election had made “vague” complaints and were asked to elaborate. Kadkhodaei didn’t say what proportion of the 39 million votes cast may be reviewed.

Supporters of former premier Mir Hossein Mousavi, who accuse the authorities of vote-rigging, plan a fourth day of demonstrations with a gathering in Tehran’s Valiasr Square, where Ahmadinejad’s supporters also plan to gather. As many as eight people were killed and 25 injured yesterday when security forces fired on protesters, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing state radio."

FN: Iran has a very interesting demographic profile. With nearly 25% of the population under 15 years of age, the country has a median age of 26.4 years. Translation; the population is young AND unemployed. This is a volatile mix.

"The protests are pitting young Iranians and more educated voters who want social freedoms and better ties with the West against the Islamic republic’s clerical rulers. Ahmadinejad is accused by his opponents of wrecking the economy, which suffers from high unemployment and inflation, and driving Iran into international isolation through his confrontation over the nuclear program."

FN: Before the fall of the Shah the country was secular. It was a zealous minority that forced a brutal theocracy upon the masses. Expect more Protests, Riots, Violence as Economies Unravel.

As Bill Clintion would say, "Its the economy stupid." Well, the economy is not good and the people are angry.