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Morocco: rise of protests against the terrible inflation affecting the country

Audio 01:19

Souk in a Moroccan town. In the country, food prices have increased by 20% in 2022 Flickr/Caff Williams

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

Morocco has suffered terrible inflation since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, to which is added the Covid-19 pandemic and drought. Protest marches, strikes, the social context is tense. Over the past year, food prices have risen by 20% and in the middle of Ramadan, protesters are demanding emergency measures from the government. Rallies were held in nearly fifty cities across the country.

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With our correspondent in Morocco, Victor Mauriat

In Ouarzazate, the 150 demonstrators responding to the call of the Social Front say they are hard hit by the inflation that is hitting the country. Over the past year, food prices have risen by an average of 20% and in the middle of Ramadan, this woman says she can't make ends meet: "We are living in a horrible situation really. We live poorly, we have nothing to eat and no one listens to us." The same goes for this man in his sixties: "There is the rise in prices for vegetables, for food. We don't have the capacity to go to the markets to buy what we need."

A policy that will bear fruit

Last week, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said his economic recovery policy would eventually bear fruit. But the organizer of the rally does not believe the ministerial promises: "It was just empty words. In the end, this government is only there to enrich the rich and impoverish the poor. Benefits are given to businesses, not citizens. We want a democratic state in which there is a fair distribution of wealth, respect for civil liberties and the release of prisoners of conscience." For fear of reprisals, after the rally, all our interlocutors preferred to remain anonymous.

While the High Commission for Planning said the country had returned to its 2014 poverty level, Moroccan economist Najib Akesbi is calling on the government to regulate two key sectors, petroleum products and food. For the researcher, the increase in subsidies for sugar, gas, and certain flours are insufficient. And the distribution system needs to be thoroughly reformed: "It's plastering that isn't even effective. Butane gas is important, and the subsidy is important. But the rest does not weigh much in the basket of the housewife. All other products are said to be free. So, you understand that the housewife who arrives on the market is "electrocuted", I can assure you.

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« A modicum of common sense simply imposes regulation »

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For petroleum products, says this economist, it is obvious that we must rethink a process of liberalization that has been truly anarchic. The only refinery was shut down. Putting it back into operation would earn 3 to 4 dirhams on the price. You can imagine! Prices must be capped. It is an absolute necessity, even if it is not destined to last. You have the other sector, food. It is clear that there must be a vision between exports and the domestic market. We are talking about food security. We cannot let exporters export what they want and dry up the market. A modicum of common sense simply imposes regulation. There is a need to reform the end-to-end distribution and marketing chain. It is a system that is completely above ground and out of time," concludes Najib Akesbi.

► Read also: Moroccans hit hard by rising food prices

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  • Morocco
  • Feeding
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