Greece Debt Crisis: Greek Parliament Approves Strict Austerity Bailout Package, Votes To Stay In Eurozone Amid Protests

The Greek Parliament voted to approve a $96 billion bailout plan early Thursday morning that will impose strict austerity measures on the debt-ridden country, about a week and a half after a national referendum was defeated on a less-severe bailout package. The votes show that a sizable number of the members of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s party, Syriza, had abandoned him after he accepted hardline demands from foreign creditors over the weekend. The final vote came down to 229 "yes" votes, and 64 "no" votes, according to a updating story on the Guardian.

The deal gives European creditors backing the bailout significant financial oversight over Greece and places the country’s most valuable assets in a 50 billion euro privatization fund that also will be overseen by European Union officials, according to the Financial Times. In addition to accepting the reforms, the vote was a gesture indicating that Greece wants to stay in the eurozone.

The bailout agreement signals a major defeat for Tsipras, who had come into office as an anti-austerity politician. He urged the country to vote no on the less-strict bailout on July 5, believing that the threats to drop the country from the eurozone were a bluff and that by rejecting the deal, Greece would be able to negotiate a better deal.

This is the country’s third bailout in five years, according to the Los Angeles Times. Banks have been closed in Greece for weeks, and a ration on ATM withdrawals was implemented to avoid a run on the banks as the country veered toward economic destruction. Lines reportedly ran long to get to ATMs each day.

Earlier on Wednesday, protests in Greece’s capital city, Athens, turned violent and photos of police in riot gear were posted on Twitter with flames erupting from what some referred to as Molotov cocktails. Other photos showed a media van that had been set on fire. Others reported the use of tear gas and pepper spray on the anti-austerity protesters.