Bulgarians protest high fuel prices and poverty
Thousands of people took to Bulgaria's streets on Sunday to protest against the rise in fuel prices, high living costs and low wages. They blocked the two main motorways between the capital Sofia and the Black Sea and demonstrated in several cities, calling for the government's resignation. Bulgaria's media sympathise with the people's anger.
Citizens are being fleeced
In view of the pitiful wages no one should be surprised that people are taking to the streets, writes e-vestnik:
“Four out of every five Bulgarians earn less than 500 euros a month, and over half of them less than 250. At the same time the price of staple products are just as high as in the rest of Europe, where the average wages are five to ten times higher. This is why Bulgaria is bleeding to death and those who still live here are no longer willing to put up with these low incomes and top of it all being milked by lobbyist laws. Anyone who is surprised about these protests must earn a good income and that's why they don't understand. And those in power also live in a bubble.”
People doing the work of media and opposition
The protests have clearly taken the Bulgarian government by surprise, Kapital explains:
“Normally the media explain to the people what the government is doing, and at the same time they show the government what the people think about its work. In that way politicians know what's going on in the country and feel the people's dissatisfaction long before the latter express it on the street. Competition between parties, in turn, should allow various ideas and moods to be expressed. In Bulgaria this mechanism has broken down. When the opposition has been crushed and the media oppressed, the people take on their tasks.”