In a thought-provoking analysis, Moroccan writer Amin Bouchaib, currently residing in Italy, argues that the challenges facing Moroccans today extend far beyond a mere transient crisis of inflation or the impact of international market fluctuations, as the government attempts to portray through its official media and spokespersons by branding these as "illusory achievements." Bouchaib emphasizes that the situation is significantly more dire, highlighting that we are witnessing a systematic policy aimed at undermining the will of the Moroccan citizen, instilling a sense of helplessness and daily humiliation. This, he asserts, has transformed the quest for freedom, dignity, and social justice into a distant dream.
According to Bouchaib, the signs of this political and social vendetta emerged the moment Moroccans took to the streets to demand their rights to freedom, justice, and the fight against corruption and tyranny. He notes that once the people broke the barrier of fear and raised their voices against the rent economy, wealth, and power monopolization, certain influential circles began to perceive the citizen not as a partner in the nation but as an adversary to be subdued and returned to a state of obedience.
He recalls the popular boycott campaign initiated by Moroccans against companies associated with Aziz Akhannouch, stating that it laid bare the mentality governing the country. During this time, citizens were not treated as free consumers exercising their legitimate right to economic protest; rather, they were regarded as “rebels” deserving of punishment. Bouchaib points out the condescending rhetoric from Akhannouch, who spoke of the need for "re-education," as if the populace were merely a herd to be trained for obedience instead of listening to their rightful demands.
The Burden of Poverty and Psychological Pressure
Since then, Bouchaib continues, it appears that an unspoken decision has been made to drive Moroccans further into poverty and psychological and social pressure. Prices have soared uncontrollably for essential goods: oil, sugar, vegetables, meat, fuel, transportation, electricity, water, education, and healthcare. Even the most basic conditions for a dignified life have become a heavy burden for millions of Moroccan families, while wages have remained stagnant, seemingly expecting citizens to bear the consequences of political and economic failures alone.
He argues that the unprecedented surge in prices in Moroccan markets is not simply a passing economic glitch, but rather a natural outcome of the alliance between power and money, with market monopolies linked to centers of influence. The Akhannouch government, Bouchaib asserts, has not come to safeguard the purchasing power of Moroccans; instead, it serves the interests of major monopolizers, regardless of the cost to the middle class and the despair of the poor.
In the eyes of many Moroccans, the state has transformed into a massive tax-collecting machine: raising prices, imposing heavy taxes, reducing services, and leaving citizens to confront hunger, unemployment, illness, and hopelessness alone. Even more concerning is the attempt to convince the public that their suffering is a "natural fate" and that those who complain are either exaggerating or serving "suspect agendas."
A Nation No Longer Welcoming Its People
However, the undeniable truth is that Moroccans are no longer asking for luxury; they merely seek the right to live with dignity in their homeland. They desire a state that protects them rather than a power that punishes them, an economy that serves the people instead of monopolistic interests, and officials who empathize with the struggles of the populace instead of boasting about figures and empty rhetoric.
The most dangerous action any authority can undertake is to lead its citizens to feel that their homeland no longer accommodates them. While people may endure poverty for years, they cannot forgive humiliation, nor can they forget those who have transformed their daily lives into a hell of inflation, fear, and helplessness. Moroccans, who have long suffered and swallowed the bitterness of marginalization and contempt, now realize more than ever that the crisis is not merely one of prices but a crisis of governance, mentality, and authority that has chosen to align itself with wealth and influence against the people.
When paying the electricity bill becomes a battleground, and securing a meal turns into a nightmare for Moroccan families, it becomes evident that the issue transcends mere governmental failure; it signals a profound moral and political collapse. A state that fails to protect the dignity of its citizens or ignores their suffering opens itself to anger, loss of trust, and social upheaval. The pressing question that haunts Moroccans daily is: How long will this nation continue to demand patience from the poor while the country’s coffers are opened to rent-seeking monopolies? And how long will the people pay the price for policies they did not choose and governments that only heed the voices of the wealthy and powerful?
As reported by ech-chaab.com.
