What’s next for Sri Lanka as angry protesters occupy their leaders’ luxury houses?

However, the protesters say they won’t leave the luxury houses until both leaders have vacated their roles. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to step down on Wednesday, while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe tweeted his resignation Saturday but didn’t confirm his date of departure.The resignations mark a major win for protesters, but the future of the country’s 22 million people is uncertain as they struggle to buy basic goods, fuel and medicine.Here’s the latest.Where is the protest movement at now?Over the weekend tens of thousands of protesters massed outside the President’s office and residence before breaking through security cordons.Striking images shared on social media show them singing protest songs and chanting slogans calling for Rajapaksa to resign. Images showed groups of protesters setting up barbecue pits to grill and cook food. But the most dramatic footage showed protesters swimming in the President’s private pool. What’s happening to the government?Rajapaksa will officially step down on July 13, officials said, following an emergency meeting called by parliament speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. Wickremesinghe posted on Twitter that he was stepping down “to ensure the continuation of the government including the safety of all citizens” but didn’t name a date.Four other ministers also stepped down on the weekend — the latest in an exodus of senior officials. On April 3, the Sri Lankan government’s entire cabinet was effectively dissolved due to mass resignations by top ministers. Some 26 cabinet ministers stepped down that weekend, including the central bank governor as well as the President’s nephew, who criticized an apparent social media blackout as something he would “never condone.” Analysts and observers now say that parliament speaker Abeywardena will likely assume temporary charge of the country until the next president is elected by lawmakers to replace Rajapaksa and complete the rest of his term, due to end in 2024. ‘);$vidEndSlate.removeClass(‘video__end-slate–inactive’).addClass(‘video__end-slate–active’);}};CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === true) ? true : false;var configObj = {thumb: ‘none’,video: ‘world/2022/07/09/sri-lanka-prime-minister-ranil-wickremesinghe-house-fire-protest-vpx.cnn’,width: ‘100%’,height: ‘100%’,section: ‘international’,profile: ‘expansion’,network: ‘cnn’,markupId: ‘body-text_30’,theoplayer: {allowNativeFullscreen: true},adsection: ‘const-article-inpage’,frameWidth: ‘100%’,frameHeight: ‘100%’,posterImageOverride: {“mini”:{“width”:220,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220709161711-sri-lankan-pm-fire-protest-vpx-small-169.jpeg”,”height”:124},”xsmall”:{“width”:307,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220709161711-sri-lankan-pm-fire-protest-vpx-medium-plus-169.jpeg”,”height”:173},”small”:{“width”:460,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220709161711-sri-lankan-pm-fire-protest-vpx-large-169.jpeg”,”height”:259},”medium”:{“width”:780,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220709161711-sri-lankan-pm-fire-protest-vpx-exlarge-169.jpeg”,”height”:438},”large”:{“width”:1100,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220709161711-sri-lankan-pm-fire-protest-vpx-super-169.jpeg”,”height”:619},”full16x9″:{“width”:1600,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220709161711-sri-lankan-pm-fire-protest-vpx-full-169.jpeg”,”height”:900},”mini1x1″:{“width”:120,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220709161711-sri-lankan-pm-fire-protest-vpx-small-11.jpeg”,”height”:120}}},autoStartVideo = false,isVideoReplayClicked = false,callbackObj,containerEl,currentVideoCollection = [],currentVideoCollectionId = ”,isLivePlayer = false,mediaMetadataCallbacks,mobilePinnedView = null,moveToNextTimeout,mutePlayerEnabled = false,nextVideoId = ”,nextVideoUrl = ”,turnOnFlashMessaging = false,videoPinner,videoEndSlateImpl;if (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === false) {autoStartVideo = false;autoStartVideo = typeof CNN.isLoggedInVideoCheck === ‘function’ ? 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IMF-supported programme while we plan to continue technical discussions with our counterparts in the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Sri Lanka,” said IMF mission chiefs Peter Breuer and Masahiro Nozaki in a joint statement on Sunday.What is life like now in Sri Lanka?Despite earlier efforts by the government to ease the crisis, like the introduction of a four-day work week, Wickremesinghe declared the country “bankrupt” last Tuesday. In several major cities including the capital, Colombo, desperate residents continue to queue for food and medicine, with reports of civilians clashing with police and the military as they wait in line. In early July, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the country had less than a day’s worth of fuel left. The crisis has been years in the making, said experts, who point to a series of government decisions that compounded external shocks. 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fertilizers that decimated farmers’ harvests.Facing a massive deficit, President Rajapaksa slashed taxes in a doomed attempt to stimulate the economy.But the move backfired, instead hitting government revenue. That prompted rating agencies to downgrade Sri Lanka to near default levels, meaning the country lost access to overseas markets.Sri Lanka then had to fall back on its foreign exchange reserves to pay off government debt, shrinking its reserves. This impacted imports of fuel and other essentials, which sent prices soaring.Topping all that, the government in March floated the Sri Lankan rupee — meaning its price was determined based on the demand and supply of foreign exchange markets.However, the plunging of the rupee against the US dollar only made things worse for ordinary Sri Lankans.