In 2005, at the ruling Baath party congress, Syria committed itself to a process of economic liberalisation through a market economy system aimed at "attracting investments, relaunching growth and creating jobs."

Two years later and the changes are tangible, from chic new streetwear to luxury cars, computers and satellite television -- Syrian consumers have never had it so good or so liberal.

Take a drive around Damascus and roadside billboards offering the latest deals and gizmos are slowly replacing the portraits of political leaders that once dominated the landscape.

In the chic Abu Rummaneh district, crowds window-shop under the gaze of coffee-aficionados apparently captivated by the low-slung hipsters, bare bellies and tight T-shirts currently in vogue.

"The liberalisation of the economy has allowed a real clothing revolution. Even if the standard of living leaves much to be desired, and 'designer label' clothes are still the privilege of the rich, the label 'made in Syria' is producing fashionable clothes at affordable prices," says Salem Seif, a specialist in ready-to-wear gear.

The old cars of the 1960s and 1970s, patched-up and welded together by skilled metalworkers, are ceding place to new luxury models, preferably German.

And the information technology revolution is in full swing, with an explosion of satellite dishes and Internet cafes where only last decade communications were once tightly monitored by paranoid officialdom.

"Only 12 years ago, telecommunications were just a pious vow. Everything that resembled a telephone link was under tight surveillance," recalled Mazen, a mobile phone distributor.

Ownership of a fax was punishable by a spell in prison, the Internet didn't exist and local television was limited to two boring stations.

Now, according to official figures, nearly 65 percent of Syrian homes have a satellite dish compared with 18 percent in 2000.

Nearly 1.1 million out of Syria's 19-million people are now connected to the Internet, according to figures from the Syrian Telecommunication Establishment. At the end of 2006 some 4.2 million Syrians were mobile phone subscribers.

Officially, Syria is cautiously carrying out its economic reforms based on the progressive disengagement of the state to the benefit of the private sector without neglecting the social balance.

Analysts however question the "anti-social" results of a transition they say accentuates inequality.

"Economic power is moving towards an influential class close to the authorities," writer Yassin Hajj Saleh said in a recent article in the pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper.

This "politico-mercantile class is formed of a new alliance between the authorities and capital," said the analyst, questioning its impact on the "social chapter."

"Liberalism is being reflected on the social level by a worsening of basic services, notably health, education, housing and transport, while a private sector -- very expensive and reserved for the rich stratum -- is developing in parallel," said Hajj Saleh.

He sees as evidence of this double track evolution "the development of poverty belts (slums) around the main towns," the result of a rural exodus, in parallel with the appearance of "luxury suburbs dotted with huge villas and leisure centres."

"Corruption, lack of profitability and bad management have transformed the public sector into a field plundered by an (influential) class," said the private weekly newspaper, Bourses and Markets, which reckons the sector has lost 1.7 billion dollars.

"Privatisation is now unavoidable," said the paper which criticises the "social disengagement of the state."

"Nearly 800,000 officials in the public sector are unionised compared with 1.5 million 10 years ago, while Syria now has 3.5 million employees in the private sector... left by the wayside," it added.

It denounced the "new law on work which eliminates the social gains which have benefited workers since 1959."

(AFP)