Moroccans March to Demand Political Reforms
[The North Africa Journal] Morocco has witnessing today its first demonstrations calling for change, which culminated following weeks of organizing by many in the pro-democracy and reform movement. In the capital Rabat and elsewhere, thousands of people marched to demand constitutional reforms and requiring improvements in the economic conditions, including containing the cost of living and more equitable social-economic programs. As in other countries, the Internet helped organize the march with thousands of Moroccans joining several protest pages on Facebook in particular.
The march in Rabat, unlike in other countries, has been largely peaceful with no direct police intervention. It is also clearly a continuation of the Arab revolt that started in the end of December judging by the presence of Tunisian and Egyptian flags.
As expected, the organizers focused their message on two critical stes of demands. The first is calling for a constitution that actually materializes the concept of constitutional monarchy. This means while there was no direct challenge to the King or to oust him as we saw in Bahrein, the organizers are seeking less power for him, taking away some of his prerogatives and move them into the parliament system. But the second was a direct challenge to the government of Prime Minister Abbas Al Fassi and what is largely considered a corrupt and poorly managed government. Criticizing the cabinet government is more tolerated than attacking directly the monarchy.
The march, called by its organizers “Manifestation du 30 Fevrier,” faced a tremendous amount to negative reaction with efforts to undermine it growing over time. Even among organizers, some turned out to be possibly involved just to create a block against it. In a press interview a couple of days before the event, Rachid Antid, one of the founders of “Mouvement Liberté & Démocratie” announced that the march was simply canceled. He said that the organization was infiltrated by undesirable political parties, Islamists in particular, who did not focus on legitimate demands but calling on sweeping political change. Antid confirmed that his movement had nothing against the monarchy. In our assessment, Mr. Antid certainly represents a portion of the Moroccan population that is in favor of the monarchy in its current role, but we met many Moroccans in Morocco and outside who do not agree with that. They continue to see the concentration of power as an issue that needs to be tackled, and warn the King that he needs to take initiatives quickly and before popular discontent expands further. The dividing line between these two groups is difficult to identify, but the more traditional elements tend to see the monarchy as a positive factor in their lives, while on the other side is a loose coalition of educated pro-democracy youth, the unemployed, the Islamists, the left wing movement, etc.
Morocco also deployed efforts outside of the country to contain Western governments’ fear of a potential escalation as the domino theory started to be tested with Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, Algeria, etc. Lobbyists reached out to the international press and even rating agencies to highlight the “exceptional” nature of the Moroccan political system. In our views, we have been highlighting that the social-economic fundamentals of Morocco are no different than in many other Arab countries. The political system simply does not favor fair representation, voters are handed over cash to buy their support for a candidate or another for example, and the population continues to suffer from the same ills that we see in Algeria, Jordan, Bahrain, etc in terms of housing crisis, unemployment, illiteracy, poverty, bad school systems, and the grievances go on and on. But with these demonstrations, the Moroccan people are showing they too are capable of independent thinking and are able to make their own choices. Now the Monarchy will have to adjust.
As we approached February 20, 2011, anti demonstrators’ rhetoric also expanded in the government of Al Fassi, with senior ministers attacking verbally and in writing the organizers, calling them homosexuals and agitators working for foreign governments. Facebook, Twitter and other social networks were also the scene of an anti demonstration battle ground.
Looking ahead, the King may be forced to give some concessions to the Moroccan people. The concessions may not be in form of lesser power to the Palace yet, but we expect he will focus on the Al Fassi government. This is, in our best assessment, the low-hanging fruit that would calm the streets and buy time. Beyond a government reshuffle and some added reforms, it is difficult to see the Monarchy willing so easily to reduce its power. It will take much more than a march for that to happen.