Letters to the President

Petr Lom was allowed to follow Iranian President Ahmadinejad on his trips around rural Iran where he preaches his domestic populism and anti-US foreign policy. As part of his strategy, Ahmadinejad has set up a Presidential letter-writing center that purports to solve the personal problems of ordinary Iranians.

The center has received more than 10 million letters, usually requests for economic help. The administrators from the center tell us they are largely successful in answering the letters and solving their problems. Soon, however, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. Bureaucratic incompetence and empty promises are the real results of most letters to the President. We begin to feel the economic desperation faced by many Iranians today. Some of the letter writers are skeptical, others remain hopeful.