Social protests have surged worldwide to their highest levels since the start of the pandemic. People are returning to the streets, and there is a risk of further unrest as lockdowns ease and the impact of rising food and energy prices grows, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The organization acknowledges that there is an increase in demonstrations of popular discontent, even in countries where they are not common. There are large, long-lasting anti-government demonstrations in advanced economies where unrest is relatively rare, such as Canada and New Zealand
, it exemplifies.Social discontent over high prices threatens the global economy: IMF
The financial institution compiles an indicator based on mentions of citizen discontent in 130 countries and is at its highest level since the beginning of the COVID-19 health crisis, but below 2019 , when a wave of protests began in Chile and spread to other parts of Latin America in October and November, and were simultaneous with some demonstrations in Algeria, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.
Demands from the streets diminished with the arrival of the pandemic, but some were recorded, related to the cry for racial justice in the United States, interethnic conflicts in Ethiopia, and anti-government protests in Brazil, Lebanon, and Belarus. They also occurred in Canada, New Zealand, Austria, and the Netherlands, as well as in Kazakhstan and Chad.
