Lebanon’s economy is in a dire state. Years of poor economic management have left the country with a weak infrastructure and massive debt. Large-scale, popular civil protests got underway in October 2019, due to embedded mass political corruption and sectarian rule. The ruling class is considered “privileged elites” and as a result, no politician or party has any support among the masses and consequently, hasn’t been able to form a cabinet. Since the protests began, the currency has depreciated sharply against the U.S. dollar in unofficial exchanges while commercial banks are restricting the conversion of Lebanese pounds into foreign currency.