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NEWS & LETTERS, June -July 2007Changes in BulgariaSofia, Bulgaria--On Jan. 1, 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union (EU). This is the manifestation of the pledge the two former communist states have made to the rest of Europe to continue to develop as capitalistic countries. Despite the fact that Bulgaria and Romania have the lowest standard of living from all of the EU members there is an optimistic view that only good will follow. This hope has cast a shadow on the true problems that are slowly rising in the two young democracies. Europe has always been the target for Bulgaria since the fall of communism. For most people here the question has been East vs. West. East towards Russia, i.e., communism, or West towards Europe, i.e., capitalism. Since the collapse of communism and thus the omission of one of the options people have conceded and given up the idea of an alternative to capitalism. Now that the march west has begun Bulgarians are anticipating change. What type of change is a good question. The myth is that the EU will bring an end to the years of political instability, greed and corruption that have plagued the country for the last 15 years. The truth is that it will be difficult for the EU to bring about those changes when it is suffering from the same symptoms itself. Change is coming, although not the one anticipated. In the last decade Bulgaria has experienced, and is continuing to experience, a population shift. The citizenry of the countryside and smaller provincial towns are massively relocating to the bigger, more economically developed urban centers. The capital, Sofia, has grown from a city of 1,000,000 to 2,500,000 in the last 10 years. In a country of roughly 7,400,000 people this means that one third of the population now lives in the capital. The most disappointing change has been the development of a nationalist movement fronted by the nationalist political party ATAKA. The lack of economic prosperity along with the accelerated transformation of the country from communism to capitalism has alienated the public. The friction between the three largest ethnic groups--Bulgarians, Turks, and Roma--is constantly growing. Few believe that ATAKA will create a meaningful political base. At the moment they are insignificant to the political process but if they continue to grow at the rate they are today, ATAKA may become a significant political player. --Anton |
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