Egypt Raises Fuel Prices by up to 78 Per Cent · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A copy of the order to more than double the cost of fuel in Egypt. Photo source: @AhmedKheir on Twitter
Egyptian netizens are fuming over a price hike in fuel prices, which they say will lead to an increase in transportation, food and services costs.
According to Ahmed Kheir, a Twitter user from Cairo, who has 2,200 followers:
بنزين 92 زاد 40 % بنزين 80 بتاع نقل الغلابة زاد 78% سولار الميكروباص والنقل زاد 63% بنزين 95 بتاع الشريحة اﻷغنى زاد 7% #عدالة_اجتماعية
— Ahmed Kheir (@AhmedKheir) July 4, 2014
92 Octane gasoline, up by 40 per cent
80 Octane gasoline, up by 78pc
Diesel, used by microbuses and transportation, up by 63pc
95 Octane gasoline, used by the richest segment in society, up by 7pc #social_justice
Those figures are echoed in this Reuters report, which states that the prices have been increased as the Egyptian government “tries to cut energy subsidies to ease the burden on its swelling budget deficit.”
In another tweet, Kheir notes:
زيادة تقارب النص في سعر البنزين، في غياب البرلمان، واتخاذ القرار في السر يوم أجازة.. دي كلها تصرفات حرامية pic.twitter.com/56xGVTnQTW — Ahmed Kheir (@AhmedKheir) July 4, 2014
They have increased the price of fuel by more than half, in the absence of a Parliament. They took the decision in secret on a day off. All these actions are that of thieves.
Peter Ramez, who has 500 followers on Twitter, blames Egypt's new president Abdelfattah El Sisi, for the increase, saying:
زيادة ٤٠% مرة واحدة في سعر #البنزين مرة واحدة يا كفرة؟ منك لله يا #سيسي وتستاهل كل الدعاوي اللي ها تتعدي عليك
— Peter Ramez (@peter_ramez) July 4, 2014
A more than 40pc increase in gasoline prices you infidels?
May God's justice be met on you. You deserve all the curses you will get
And Ahmed Fathi El Badry adds:
هو انت فاكر ان حبك الناس ليك هتشفعلك بعد القرار ده؟؟ بجد ده انتحار سياسي واجتماعي #ارتفاع_اسعار_البنزين
— احمد فتحى البدرى (@ahmedelbadry555) July 4, 2014
Do you think that people's love for you will mean anything after this decision? This is truly a political and social suicide
Others have taken to humour to express their frustration. Shay Sokar Bara, a pseudonym with around 83,000 followers, says:
انا مقومتش بثورة ضد مرسي علشان الدعم يترفع ولا الكهربة تفضل تتقطع ولا علشان اتبرع وانا اصلا معاييش ولا علشان اتحبس لو قولت لا #ركز_ياسطى
— شاي سكر برا (@ShaySokarBara) July 3, 2014
I did not rebel against [former president Mohamed] Morsi for the subsidies to be lifted or for the electricity to be cut or to donate [my money to the government]. I don't have anything and I don't want to go to jail if I say no
In another tweet, he notes:
المصريين دلوقتي نزلوا عند البنزينة و كل واحد بيفول قبل الاسعار ما تغلى بكرةشعب ناصح بطبعه و كأن اللي هيحطه مش هيخلص
— شاي سكر برا (@ShaySokarBara) July 4, 2014
Egyptians are lined up at petrol stations and everyone is saying they will fill up their tanks before gasoline prices go up. We are a smart nation. It is as if the fuel in their tanks will never finish
And Hesham Mansour jokes:
زيادة سعر البنزين زيادة تكتيكية، بعد زيادة أسعار الغاز والكهرباء الحكومة عايزة تضمن إن المواطن مش هيلاقي فلوس يولع في نفسه
— Hesham Mansour (@Heshoz) July 4, 2014
The increase in gasoline prices is a tactical increase. After increasing the prices of fuel and electricity, the government wants to guarantee that citizens will not find any money to set themselves on fire
This tweet brings back to our memories the spark which ignited the Arab revolutions, in December 2010, when Tunisian fruit vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire.
Meanwhile, this video from Mansoura shows long queues of cars at a petrol station, which had run out of gasoline:
What does the future hold for Egyptians?