The Legacy of Hosni Mubarak (1928-2020)

The longtime Egyptian leader died last month in Cairo at the age of 91 (Source)

“We are all Khaled Said” may well have been the words that sparked the 2011 Egyptian revolution. 

Referring to the 28-year-old man who was beaten to death in June 2010 by two plainclothes police officers because he had evidence of their corruption, the Facebook page made in his memory five days after his death ignited mass outrage and protests against Hosni Mubarak, then the dictatorial ruler of Egypt. Khaled Said’s death at the hands of the police was one of the first catalysts for the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, one of the series of anti-corruption protests in the Middle East now known as the Arab Spring. After 18 days of sustained protests, Mubarak was forced to resign and arrested on murder and corruption charges.

Mubarak died last week at the age of 91, leaving behind an Egypt that is not vastly dissimilar to the one he ruled.

The short-term results of the Arab Spring seemed promising. Four autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen were ousted in just one year. The protests appeared to be a win for democracy worldwide, with the removal of Mubarak as well as Ali Abdullah Saleh and Zine al-Abadine Ben Ali, of Yemen and Tunisia, respectively.

Tunisia is now a multiparty democracy. The other countries involved in the Arab Spring have not been so successful. The protests in Libya devolved into a full-scale revolt, and the war that followed the protests in Syria is one of the deadliest of the twenty-first century.

Because there was no attempt made to change any of the underlying structures that facilitated Mubarak’s corruption and political repression, merely ousting the leader changed nothing, especially because Mubarak was never truly held accountable for his actions as dictator. Mubarak was never formally charged for corruption and was acquitted of complicity in killing protesters. Mass protests removed Mubarak’s immediate successor, Mohamed Morsi, and abuses under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are even worse than they were under Mubarak. 

In September 2019, hundreds of protesters took to the streets despite a ban on protests and the threat of violence to call for el-Sisi’s removal. Dissenters cited corruption as the reason for their unrest.

During his time as dictator, Mubarak allowed some dissent, which is what permitted the protests surrounding the treatment of Khaled Said and, more broadly, his regime, to grow so quickly. But el-Sisi has brutally cracked down on any hint of criticism. With at least 60,000 political prisoners taken since 2013 and hundreds more “forcibly disappeared,” nearly everyone in Egypt right now really is Khaled Said. A new revolution may be imminent.