How Egypt's Economy Toppled a President

The small electronics store a few blocks from Cairo’s Tahrir Square radiates light—a beacon in the darkness. At night, other shops in the turbulent area shutter, but owner Sameh El Sahihi insists on keeping El Kady Trade open late during what was once the prime shopping time in the sweltering Egyptian summer. On a recent night the streets were silent, his shop was empty, and Sahihi was furious. He had supported Mohamed Mursi’s bid for the presidency because he was sure the Muslim Brotherhood candidate would fix Egypt’s economy. “I thought he is religious, he has a good education … and he will rule the country fairly,” he says. “I was so hopeful after the elections that things would begin to change and I would be able to run my business well, but nothing happened.”