The Nature of the Fallen Regime in Egypt

Ashraf Hassan Mansour

Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy
University of Alexandria, Egypt
Mubarak fell in only 1 days and that is extremely fast and unprecedented in the history of
Egypt! "t #as like a bullet shot in the history of nations and a knock $out that killed the regime
instantly!
" shall call this fallen regime the %adat$Mubarak regime since it #as not only Mubarak&s regime
that fell but also %adat&s!
%adat #as actually the one that founded this suppressive regime that Mubarak ran! Mubarak only
inherited this regime since after all he #as a pilot #ho fle# the plane but did not invent it! 'e
fle# it (ran the regime efficiently! 'e had previous ) years of experience ever since he #as vice
president to %adat *1+,-$1+1. and that is #hy he #as #ell prepared and did a good /ob!
0he regime that fell or #as toppled #as that of 1+,-$1211, kno#n as %adatism! 1+,- #as the
start date of a suppressive police state and the beginning of the uprooting of #hat #as kno#n
before as 3asser&s 3ational Economic Pro/ect! A submission to #orld capitalism #hich #as
t#ofold4 0he U%A and the 5orld 6ank *and "nternational Monetary fund.! 0his #ent in hand
#ith open door policies, privati7ation and #hat is kno#n in the capitalist #orld as free market!
%adat created the 3a7i 8ascist$style police state that ruled Egypt since 1+,, till 1211 since he
#as a great admirer of 'itler and the 3a7is during #orld #ar "" and supported them against the
6ritish rule in Egypt! 5hen he became president he even changed the uniform of the Egyptian
officers to resemble the 9erman one! 3o #onder then that the Egyptian state security becomes a
replica of the 9estapo and the central security forces becomes a replica of the 9erman storm
troupes *%%. turning Egypt into a terrori7ing and criminal state since :anuary 1,1+ #hich #as
called the bread revolution!
%adat #as the one that founded the 3ational Democratic Party , the only ruling party controlling
all aspects of life in Egypt and monopoli7ing political life as in the case of the 3a7i party!
6ut #hat are the historical and social reasons behind this regime; And ho# did this regime
manage to last for <= years;
>et&s start the story from the beginning!
0his started #ith the 6ritish coloni7ation of Egypt! Egypt #as under 6ritish rule since 11 and
the 1+<) agreement did not succeed in giving Egypt any real independence! 0here #as mounting
anger and popular uprisings taking place #hile the 6ritish military #ere present at the %ue7
?anal! 0his anger reached its peak #hen university students /oined #orkers in protest@this #as
a uniAue bond and the beginning of socialist trends in Egypt before the 1+-1 socialist revolution!
Egyptians had reali7ed that they cannot have complete independence #ithout economic
independence and that is #hy the 1+-1 revolution Egyptiani7ed foreign investments , and
nationali7ed all aristocratic pro/ects! 0he revolution made sure to get rid of aristocracy because
the goal #as political autonomy #hich is linked to economic autonomy!
And since the 1+-1 coup #as a direct confrontation against foreign coloni7ation and its allies
from the inside and outside #hich included the landed aristocracy and #orld capitalism, it #as
only normal that all these po#ers come together and become reality manifested in the aggression
of 1+-) and 1+), and U%A&s blatant support to "srael ever since!
0he ne# 3asserite regime #as able to accomplish many national and economic dreams such as
the 3ationali7ation of factories and pro/ects #hich resulted in an economic boom or even miracle
at the time! 6oth the 5ord 6ank and the #est took arms against Egypt since Egypt had gone
against #orld capitalism, and Egypt paid the price dearly during the 1+), trilateral #ar against
"srael! "t #as clear #hose side the #est #as on!
0he 1+), #ar #as not only for the purpose of expansion of "srael, because it is after all /ust an
imperialist appendage in the Mid$EastB it #as mainly for the defeat of the economic and political
pro/ect of independence that Egypt carried out since 1+-1, and for #hat Egypt represented as a
#ould$be successful %tate that made a delinking #ith the 5est and its model of a non$?apitalist
#ay of development and moderni7ation!
0he U% tried successfully to isolate Egypt from the "sraeli$Arab conflict by pushing to#ard a
single peace treaty #ith "srael after the 1+,< #ar! And since 1+,= Egypt has been forced to
implement a ne# economic policy by the U%, the "M8 and the 5orld 6ank, as conditions for
economic aid and huge amounts of loans that Egypt needed badly at the time! 0his economic
policy consisted in the liberali7ation of the economy, the privati7ation of the public sector, the
implementation of the free market, especially in the monetary system and financeB together #ith
the read/ustment of the state to become a limited neo$liberal state, and that is as /ust a #atch$dog
for capitalism!
Egypt #as one of the very first non$#estern countries to experiment #ith 3eo$>iberalism,
shortly after ?hile and surely before 6ra7il and Argentina! And so Egypt became /ust a satellite
state in the 5orld ?apitalist %ystem and a client state to the U%, and this #as the final defeat of
the previous pro/ect of independence! All this #as a part of the #orld#ide counter$revolution that
?apitalism carried out against the previous socialist economies!
%adat didn&t succeed in introducing all those counter$revolutionary measures #ithout an inside
support from some reactionary classes that benefited from the dependence on foreign capital and
profiting from the ne# parasite economy! "t #as those comprador classes that #as the social
basis of %adatism in Egypt, together #ith those #ho benefited from the Petrodollar and its
Economies in the 9ulf!
0his #as the regime that Mubarak inherited, a regime that encouraged privati7ation and selling
of the public sector! 0his #as this best environment for breeding corruption that #as not /ust
about ethics but is considered institutional corruption #hich depends on the regime itself since it
is a regime that is subservient to foreign, gulf and "sraeli capital! 0his regime abandons any kind
of national sovereignty in #hich Egypt is an American satellite!
5hat is so ironic is that this regime #hich #as absolutely against nationalism and democracy,
#as controlled by the ruling party so called the 3ational Democratic PartyC Dne of its fake
mottos #as EstabilityF but in fact it #as stability and continuity of being an American satellite
and submission to the #ill of "srael and #orld capitalism!
0his regime had to use suppressive and oppressive bodies to enable it to survive since it #as so
unpopular! 0his #as #hy the central security forces started to function in 1+,, and state security
turned into undercover police that resembled the 9estapo! 0he ruling party became a 3a7i fascist
party in the #ay it manipulated its po#ers and in the #ays it deceived Egyptian citi7ens! 5hen a
back#ard regime is in charge, it usually has no choice but to resort to suppressing and torturing
its opponents!
"t is true that #ith the fall of this regime, only the political regime fell and not the economic one!
5hat fell #as the regime that turned Egypt into an American satellite and an advocate of #orld
capitalism! "t is true that the economic infrastructure remains subservient to capitalism and many
of its symbols are still present, ho#ever " have great hope that this revolution #ill enable us to
build an economic autonomy that is not dependant on capitalism! 0his revolution #as able to do
miracles@falling a #hole political regime, bringing all its symbols to court and ridding Egypt of
an invincible political po#er!
" have belief that Egyptians #ill also be able to able to build a ne# economic infrastructure that
secures social /ustice since one of the ma/or slogans of this revolution since day one, #as
EDignity, 8reedom and %ocial :usticeF$this can only come #ith drifting a#ay from neo liberalism
and capitalism! 0his ne# infra$structure #ill be in favor of the poor and needy! 5hen this is
achieved, our revolution #ill have toppled an economic regime and not /ust the political crust of
the fallen regime!