Rajapaksa quits. But is it too little too late?

When Mahinda Rajapaksa took over the reins as President of Sri Lanka in 2005, it was still in the throes of a brutal civil war. Forging a country or even a political dynasty in the face of such a challenge seemed impossible. Mahinda and his brother Gotabaya had managed, however. They crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resistance and drew a close to the civil war that had been undergoing for decades.

Cementing the Rajapaksa dynasty took longer but within the next few years, their renown in Sri Lankan society was unmatched. Mahinda Rajapaksa was the most popular face of the dynasty and once it seemed his legend would never die.

However, on Monday, all of that came crashing when Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted his resignation. A mismanagement of government finances that led the country to alarming shortages of food and fuel resulting in Asia's fastest inflation, had seen to the end of his reputation. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the rest of the family sought to stem the momentum of protesters calling for the entire family to step aside, leading to the dissolution of the cabinet.

The resignation came after a day of fast-moving events in Sri Lanka, which has faced months of street protests. On 6 May, the President declared a public emergency for the second time in two months, giving him sweeping powers to suspend laws, detain people and seize property. A nationwide curfew was imposed and local media reported the army was called out in Colombo as some protests turned violent.

Earlier on Monday government supporters clashed with Rajapaksa's opponents who have been camping out in downtown Colombo for weeks to demand President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government's resignation, prompting the government to impose a nationwide curfew and call in the army.

Dozens of people have been injured since. Police reported at least two people were killed, including a member of parliament from the ruling Sri Lanka People's Front party. More than 150 others have been hospitalised.

The Rajapaksa dynasty and their role in the economic crisis

Gotabaya, who won office in the November 2019 presidential elections, appointed his brother, Mahinda, as prime minister. Mahinda first came to power in 2004, initially as prime minister and then as president.

At the time, Gotabaya was defence secretary and was notorious for his role in the 2009 operation to end the civil war with Tamil rebels. Thousands died or disappeared amid allegations of torture, rape, extra-judicial killings and the abduction and assassination of Tamil separatists, journalists and opposition figures. Gotabaya, however, denies all these allegations.

The Rajapaksas were out of power briefly from 2015, when Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe led the country. Wickremesinghe was removed from his post in 2018, sparking a constitutional crisis. Rajapaksa's party won a landslide victory in the August 2020 general election and quickly restored sweeping executive powers to the presidency that had been previously curbed.

Another brother, Basil, was appointed finance minister in July 2021. He was already a controversial figure due to his American-Sri Lankan nationality — his entry into Parliament was only made possible when the government removed a constitutional provision barring dual citizens.

Basil Rajapaksa resigned a month ago amidst widespread allegations of corruption that laid the foundation for a people's uprising against the administration – but more so, against the family rule.

Their eldest brother, Chamal, is a Cabinet minister, while his son is a non-Cabinet minister. One of the prime minister's sons is also in the Cabinet, another is his chief of staff, and a nephew is a member of Parliament. According to some estimates, about 75% of the budget is under the control of Rajapaksa ministers in the government.

But all the Rajapaksas in power haven't been able to do what needed to be done to help Sri Lanka out of this mess.

The Rajapaksas have come under severe criticism for failing to take timely measures to control economic collapse and to keep the 22 million population supplied with essentials. In the past four months, the island had seen long queues for fuel and gas while there had been severe shortages in medical supplies and food. Mounting criticism against the government had intensified calls for the collective resignations of all Rajapaksas.

Soaring prices of everything from gasoline to essential medicines have kept protests on the boil in Sri Lanka, which is close to bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign debt of $51bn last month. The $81 billion economy is close to bankruptcy, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine raising global prices for oil and other commodities. Sri Lanka's growth is slow and inflation is at multi-year highs – consumer prices surged almost 30% in April from a year earlier, after a jump of almost 19% in March.

The authorities have raised interest rates, devalued the local currency and placed curbs on non-essential imports. But with a meagre $2 billion in foreign exchange reserves and $7 billion in debt payments due this year, restoring the country's economic health remains an uphill battle.

Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation as prime minister on 9 May left no government in place to lead talks with the International Monetary Fund for emergency funds to buy food and fuel. IMF officials were set to hold virtual talks with their Sri Lankan counterparts from Monday through 23 May on the country's request for support from the multilateral agency.

Mahinda's resignation is not enough to quell the protestors, however.

Shritharan Sivagnanam, an MP with the Tamil National Alliance which represents the Tamil minority, told DW that Rajapaksa's resignation "cannot be seen as a solution."

"The president should resign, and all the ministers should resign," he said. "Political stability can only be the long-term solution for this crisis. A new government which takes care of people's needs should be formed. People should start believing in the government again."

Compiled from DW, Bloomberg and Foreign Policy.