"The authorities lie, they present a fictitious picture to convince people that they have never been better off, and in fact the current protests show that people have realized that they are being lied to and that they know how they live," sociologist Slobodan Cvejić told Vreme.
Every fifth citizen of Serbia is at risk of of poverty, 45 percent of citizens with difficulties make ends meet, while more than 15 percent of citizens admit that they cannot afford meat or fish every other day, the A11 Initiative announced on the occasion of the World Day of Social Justice.
That initiative stated that it is average plata in Serbia is growing, but that this is a statistical data that in no way reflects the position of the average citizen, and assessed that the reality is much more gloomy.
It was stated that the minimum consumer basket is 54.565 dinars, which is "too high an expense even for those who really receive an average salary", with the assessment that the government initially tried to "disguise" inflation with the "Better Price" action.
What is the risk of poverty?
Sociologist Slobodan Cvejić explains to Vreme what these data indicate and what the term "poverty risk" means, the official term used in the European Union to describe the degree of poverty.
"Since it cannot be definitively claimed that someone who has no income is automatically poor, the term 'at risk of poverty' is used, but it is realistic that most of these people, almost all who fall into the group 'at risk of poverty', are certainly poor. That group also includes some who are above that line," says Cvejić.
At risk of poverty are all those people whose income per household member is less than 60 percent of the median income in the country.
"However, as soon as you increase the standard a little and that threshold increases to 70 percent, the number of people at risk of poverty almost doubles, which means that the state is playing with the amount of pensions, social benefits, in order to statistically keep everything at a decent size." At the same time, it shows how sensitive citizens are to any changes in income, because as soon as incomes are slightly disrupted, the risk of poverty suddenly jumps up," says Cvejić.
It's been the same situation for years.
He points out that it is very important to take into account the median income, which gives a more objective picture of the income in society than the average income, that is, the arithmetic mean, which is very sensitive to extremes, because very high and very low incomes can create a false picture of what the average is.
"In Serbia, talking about billionaires and millionaires contributes to raising average incomes, and that is why it is insisted that we talk about the average, and not the medial salary. The data on the number of people at risk of poverty shows more inequality in the country than absolute poverty. In Serbia, the percentage of people at risk of poverty has been around the aforementioned 20 percent for many years, which is a drop compared to the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, when the percentage of those at risk of poverty was 26 percent. That's good data, but it's not good compared to some European Union countries where that percentage is below 10 percent," says Cvejić.
He points out that the data of some other research shows that around nine percent of the absolute poor live in Serbia, while the term "at risk of poverty" means the relatively poor.
Speaking about the data that 45 percent of people believe that they are "making ends meet" with difficulties, Cvejić says that this is an issue that falls into the category of subjective perception of poverty.
"During the research, among other things, such questions are asked: 'Do you have problems making ends meet?', 'Do you have problems paying all the bills?', 'Are you over-indebted?' and the like. The answers to those questions speak more realistically and complement the picture of how people live," says Cvejić.
The government maintains statistics.
He warns that in Serbia, inflation and any "playing" with the amount of other budget payments easily provokes people to live worse.
"It is a kind of social and economic engineering aimed at how to make the majority of the population an income that will statistically keep them slightly above the poverty line. They themselves know how people really live. Sometimes, by means of other indicators, it is possible to monitor which products are bought more, how much turnover is in stores, especially when it comes to the time of baptism celebrations, when you can see how much households can afford to host others," says Srejić.
Asked to explain how Serbia is in a "golden age", as the government claims, if a fifth of the population has the feeling, however subjective, that they are barely making ends meet, Srejić answers:
"The authorities lie, they present a fictitious image to convince people that they have never been better off, and in fact the current protests show that people have realized that they are being lied to and that they know how they live."
A group of 135 regime journalists signed under the advertisement in "Informer" calling for the establishment of a new association - "Association of Journalists of Serbia" (ANS).
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, boasted that he would write the world bestseller "How I Defeated the Colored Revolution" by June 28. On this occasion, the students in the blockade invite all citizens to gather in Belgrade for Vidovdan and celebrate Vučić's victory over them.
Journalist associations condemned the dismissal of journalist Marija Šehić and accused the management of "Juronjuz" of collapsing professional standards, concealing information and ignoring the union's demands.
Although the opposition claims that a person who was not on the voter's list voted, the Kosjerić MEC did not see a reason to cancel the election.
In a public appeal, 25 members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts accuse the President of Serbia of collapsing institutions, the media, the judiciary and the basic pillars of society.
Aleksandar Vučić now has only the old, proven methods of classic dictatorships left, because these modern methods of insanity and poisoning the public are failing. And that, however, goes against his head
Vučić is not defending the state, but himself from the state. With a drum on his back and a guitar in his hands, this man-orchestra performs two or three of the same songs without hearing, with falsifications and falling out of rhythm. His government and politics are like that. In short - dangerous for the environment
Arrests of professors, punishment of people, firing of journalists... The regime of Aleksandar Vučić is shining and is yet to shine. It is the decadent phase of the regime, the one towards the end
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