‘We’ve tried everybody else’: What’s next for Sri Lanka’s turn to the left?

Can the new leftist president repay debt without forcing austerity on Sri Lankans?

Sri Lankan President and National People's Power (NPP) party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake gives a speech during a public rally as part of the campaign ahead of the 17th parliamentary election, in Homagama, Colombo, on October 20, 2024 [Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters]

Sri Lanka has seen it all: from the 2022 economic collapse, the mass protests that followed and the legacy of a 26-year civil war. As the newly-elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledges to steer the island back on track, can he repay the country’s debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without jeopardising citizens’ livelihoods?

In this episode:

  • Minelle Fernandez, Al Jazeera correspondent

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé with Chloe K Li, Duha Mosaad, Cole van Miltenburg and our host, Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.
Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Source: Al Jazeera

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