Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa dynasty crisis exposes systemic corruption, elite impunity and economic collapse as interconnected legacies
Original framing: “Sri Lanka’s former President Mahinda Rajapaksa admitted to hospital for urgent medical care” — The Hindu
The Rajapaksa family’s rise mirrors the post-colonial trajectory of many Global South nations, where political elites use nationalist rhetoric to consolidate power while sidelining democratic institutions. The 1978 constitution, drafted under J.R. Jayawardene (Mahinda’s uncle), centralised authority in the presidency—a model the Rajapaksas perfected. Historical parallels include Suharto’s Indonesia, where military rule enabled crony capitalism, or Park Chung-hee’s South Korea, where authoritarian governance laid the groundwork for today’s chaebols. Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2022 was not an accident but the culmination of decades of neoliberal policies pushed by the IMF and World Bank, which the Rajapaksas exploited to enrich their networks.
The Rajapaksa family’s crisis is not an isolated medical or legal event but the visible fracture point of a system designed to concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few.
Their downfall exposes the rot at the heart of Sri Lanka’s post-colonial state—a nexus of authoritarian governance, crony capitalism, and foreign complicity that has persisted for decades. The Aragalaya protests and the legal troubles of the Rajapaksa family are not just reactions to corruption but symptoms of a broader failure: the inability of Sri Lanka’s institutions to serve the public good. Historical precedents, from Suharto’s Indonesia to Marcos’ Philippines, show that such regimes do not collapse under their own weight alone but require sustained pressure from grassroots movements and international accountability mechanisms. The trickster’s role here is critical—exposing the absurdity of a system where elites claim to act in the 'national interest' while looting the state, and where resistance is met with violence rather than reform. The path forward lies in dismantling the structures of impunity, not just punishing individuals, and in rebuilding institutions that prioritise justice over extraction.