1/9/26, 3:02 PM ‘We are always living in fear’: inside Myanmar’s ‘sham’ election | Myanmar | The Guardian She can no longer take overtime as it is too unsafe to travel back from work late at night, and her small business, selling cosmetics to colleagues, has stopped because so many people have left the city. At the same time, inflation has surged, driven by the collapse of Myanmar’s currency, the kyat, which has dropped 80% in value since the coup. Since 2020, Myanmar’s gross domestic product has contracted by 9%, according to the UN, reversing the huge economic progress the country made during its decade-long transition to democracy. Preparations at a voting station on 27 December. Photograph: Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images The signs of the rapid transformation Myanmar underwent during those 10 years are imprinted on Yangon. When the country opened up to the world, international investment flooded in: condos, luxury hotels and malls opened in the city. The poverty rate roughly halved from 48.2% in 2005 to 24.8% in 2017, according to the World Bank. Today, many foreign businesses have withdrawn from the country, and tourists have disappeared. At Bogyoke Aung San market, woven bags and traditional fabrics hang from stall fronts, jewellery and carved wooden souvenirs are displayed in rows. The aisles would once have been packed with travellers from around the world. Nowadays, business is slow, says a shop owner. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/02/inside-myanmar-sham-election 5/7