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1952 Nasser to power
During World War II, Egypt was re-used as a British
military base. After the war, the country was hit by an
acute economic crisis. At the same time, there were strong
anti-critical sentiments among the people, the royal house
was unational, the governments corrupt and in 1948 England
contributed to the establishment of the State of Israel in
Palestine. Egypt and other Arab countries immediately
attacked the new state but were beaten. The defeat triggered
popular demonstrations against the monarchy. In this tense
social situation, a military group was created in the
military under the name of the Free Officers. It was led by
General Mohamed Naguib and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser. On
July 23, 1952, the group overthrew King Faruk and proclaimed
in June 53 the formation of a republic. Three years later,
Nasser became the country's president.
Class conditions up to the coup
According to
Countryaah data,
the transition from a system where the family produced for
their own consumption to a specialized production of raw
materials for export, drove large amounts of landless
farmers from the land they cultivated into wage labor ifbm.
cotton production. Some of them got jobs in the modest
industry or in the urban service industries - the industrial
working class numbered only 400,000 in 1952 - but a large
part of them were without work or income. They came to live
on a subsistence basis as a city-based proletariat.
The great landowners had strengthened their position
during the British occupation. In the early 1900s, some of
them began investing in short-term urban projects, and a
smaller, bourgeois layer formed. It originated and was often
identical to the large landowners. The "foreign" citizenship
of the cities consisted of Turks, Greeks, Europeanized Jews
and Armenians. They were linked to the foreign banks and
monopolies that dominated the economy. Together with the
landowners, this citizenry formed the local class on which
the British relied - a "comrade citizenship" subordinate to
the interests of Western capital, with European culture and
way of life. It was this class that was hit by the Egyptian
National Revolution of 1952.
Alongside the "Comrade Citizenship" there was a layer of
prosperous peasants who either rented out their land or
obtained their income from the exploitation of wage laborers
on their land. These, too, invested an increasing share of
their profits in urban businesses, but were struck by the
speculation and fluctuations that would pave the way for an
Egyptian, capitalist development; Egyptization of
cultural, political and economic institutions. At the same
time, it was crucial for their position to keep control of
the abundant and cheap labor. It was essential for Nasser's
takeover of power that during the first stages of the
revolution he could rely on this part of the bourgeoisie.
The post-World War II economic crisis led to a growing
proletarianization of small farmers. They couldn't handle
the rising charges. In a number of places they joined with
the country workers in open rebellion. In the cities, the
more dynamic climate provided opportunities for educated
people: officials in the state administration, teachers,
craftsmen and retailers. Another option was the army. Since
1936, recruitment had been open to people from the middle
and petty bourgeoisie - ie. for the one who could afford to
pay the cost of the Military Academy. The petty-bourgeois
layer within the army was excluded from senior positions. It
was also unhappy with the British military presence and the
conservative state power that hindered the building of a
powerful national army. The "free officers" behind the coup
in 1952 came precisely from this environment.
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