Moroccan Villagers Battle to End Local Prostitution

Here is an article from the New York Times about people in Ain Leuh taking a stand to end prostitution in their town.
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 Villagers in Morocco Drive Out Prostitutes

By SUZANNE DALEY   Published: October 29, 2012

AIN LEUH, Morocco — For years, this mountain village with its crumbling whitewashed walls was known locally as the place to go for sex. Women — some dressed in tight jogging suits, some in dressing gowns — dallied in the tiled doorways off the main square, offering a Moroccan version of Amsterdam’s red-light district. 

The village in the mountains east of Rabat was long known as a place to find prostitutes.

But no more. A band of men here, known as the Islamists, took matters into their own hands last fall. 

The men deny that they were on a religious campaign, or that they are fanatics. They were tired, they said, of living side by side with drunken, brawling clients, tired of having their daughters propositioned as they headed home from school, tired of being embarrassed about where they lived. 

“It reached a point after Ramadan,” said Mohammed Aberbach, 41, who helped organize the campaign to drive the prostitutes out of town, “that men were actually waiting in lines. It was crazy.” 

These days the side streets are quiet. The doors, painted green and yellow, are mostly shut, though a few prostitutes remain, now trying to sell candy instead of sex. In the square, the pace has slowed, fresh chickens and slabs of meat hang for sale on hooks, and villagers take their time over displays of vegetables. Nearby, women are bent over looms making traditional Berber rugs. 

The changes in Ain Leuh are being held up by some in Morocco as another triumph of the Arab Spring — testament to what can happen when ordinary citizens stand up for change and make life better for themselves. 

For others, however, the events of the past year show how the more fundamentalist Islamists, though continuing to be shut out of power in countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, nonetheless manage to promote their conservative agendas — often taking the law into their own hands, and in this case threatening the prostitutes and their customers and driving away the only industry in these parts. 

“The economy is in free fall here,” said Ali Adnane, who works for a rural development agency. “The girls rented. They had cash. They bought things. Some people here are really happy about the changes. But some people are not.” 

Morocco has avoided much of the violence that has gripped Arab countries in the last few years. In the face of mounting protests, Morocco’s king, Mohammed VI, offered to curb his own powers and in 2011 pledged a variety of reforms. Since then, the country has adopted a new Constitution and elected a new government, led by a moderate Islamist party. 

The new prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, who has refused many of the perks of his office, has a flair for mingling with the average man. But many remain frustrated over the pace of change in a country plagued by high unemployment and corruption. Ain Leuh is hardly the only village to have seen the emergence of a local committee, known as a comité, pushing for reforms of various sorts. 

Exactly what happened in this village of 5,000 in the Middle Atlas Mountains, about a two-hour drive from Rabat, the capital, is in dispute. Mr. Aberbach says the Islamists never did anything illegal. The campaign, he said, largely involved demonstrations in the main square. No one threatened anybody or used violence or stood at the entrances to the village demanding identification from men who wanted to enter. 

“That would be against the law,” said Mr. Aberbach, a friendly man who owns several shops here and has big plans for the future of Ain Leuh.

But others, including Haddou Zaydi, a member of the town council, say all those things, and more, took place. Sometimes, he said, the Islamists used padlocks to imprison the prostitutes in their houses after a customer had gone in. Then, they called the police. 

In the past, many here say, the prostitutes would pay off the police to look the other way. Now, though, the authorities, still getting the feel for a newly elected government led by a moderate Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party, let the Islamists have their way. 

Mourad Boufala, 32, who runs a cigarette and candy shop in the main square, said he was not in favor of prostitution. But he was offended by the Islamists’ methods. “The way they did it was really rough,” he said. “They hit girls and scared them. And the problem is that they offered them no alternatives.” 

Mr. Boufala worries that the country is adrift, easily prey to self-appointed militias like the Islamists.

“No one is governing,” Mr. Boufala said. “The militias exist like they are the authorities.”

Repeated phone calls to local police officials were not returned. 

Curiously, few people here see the campaign against the prostitutes as particularly religious. Mr. Aberbach and several other members of the Islamists frame the campaign in moral terms — and business ones. They say the name “Islamists” was attached to them because they are members of various Islamic parties, including the governing one. 

They say that they consider the prostitutes victims of criminal gangs that brought drugs and human trafficking to their village. And they are determined to end the corruption that allowed such crimes to flourish in their streets. 

“What we did is related to the Arab Spring because it brought the culture of speaking out,” Mr. Aberbach said. 

“We could have tourism,” he added. “But we have no good roads or hotels or restaurants here. There are beautiful things around here. Waterfalls, a lot of things. But who is going to come to a village known for prostitution? It got to the point where if you were a woman you could not say you were from here.” 

For the prostitutes who remain, the last year has brought hard times.

“I won’t even make 10 cents today,” said Khadija, 34, who has tried to earn a living selling cigarettes, candy bars and small toys displayed on a round table outside her door. “My neighbors are feeding me.”

“They are watching us all the time,” she added, referring to the Islamists. 

Up the street, Arbia Oulaaskri, 64, said her family has been living in terror since the Islamists’ campaign began. Her house is luxurious compared with others in the village. Her living room easily seats 30, and more than 50 tea glasses are arranged on various coffee tables. She says she was never involved in prostitution and obtained her money from her family and from her daughters who live abroad and send her checks. But, she said, the Islamists carrying chains arrived at her doorstep night after night, telling her to leave. 

Her son, wearing a gold lamé jacket, exhibits a room nearby that shows signs of a fire and says the Islamists did that, too. But, Mrs. Oulaaskri says, the authorities would not listen. She is facing charges related to running a house of prostitution.

“We filed a lot of complaints,” Mrs. Oulaaskri said, “but no one followed up.” 

Aida Alami contributed reporting.

My Makhzen and Me - The Film - أنا ومخزني

I attended a showing of the film My Makhzen and Me by Nadir Bouhmouch today. There hasn't been much written up on it in English. The film is a respectable attempt to start an honest discussion about political and social issues in Morocco; and its good that Bouhmouch is honest about his own privileged background.

Here is an earlier article about the film from Al-Akhbar English. There is also a recent article about the film in French from SlateAfrique "Nadir Bouhmouch, la bête noire des dirigeants :Réalisateur de My Makhzen & Me, Nadir Bouhmouch dénonce dans son œuvre, la "corruption des «élites»"
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February 20th Movement in Retrospect: The Treacherous Path of Reform

By: Samia Errazzouki

Published Thursday, January 5, 2012

Morocco, like its North African neighbors, has recently seen the rise of a leaderless pro-democracy movement. The February 20th Movement drew on inspirations from movements in Tunisia and Egypt, while adapting its message to the political context of Morocco.

But the path of change took on a more moderate tone. Unlike neighboring pro-democracy movements, the February 20th Movement called for political reforms, not the ousting of the regime. Every Sunday for about eleven months, members of the movement have marched on the streets to put pressure on the Moroccan regime, resulting in a new constitution and parliamentary elections in which the Islamist Party of Justice and Development came to power. The movement’s inclusive nature has drawn a wide array of activists who contribute in different ways to the growth and maturity of a campaign that initially began as a call for protests on Sunday, February 20.

As they look back at their experience, Moroccan activists are proud of their achievements despite the need for continued struggle. One of the most familiar faces of the February 20th Movement is Zineb Belmkaddem, a single mother based in Rabat who can often be seen as the face of the movement on international news networks or the figure holding the megaphone in a march leading chants. Her role in the movement, like many other activists, grew out of accumulated frustration over a combination of living conditions and the political system in Morocco.

“When I saw what happened in the other Arab countries, I wanted to express all these feelings, and after I watched the first call for protests on Youtube, I had tears in my eyes and decided the journey would start there, and it did,” explains Zineb.

When asked about her role in the movement, Zineb responds, “I can't think of something I haven’t done.” With her multi-lingual background, she found herself speaking on behalf of the movement on major media outlets, including France24, Al Jazeera, and PBS. Within the movement, she has worked with logistics in addition to coming up with slogans that have since been chanted throughout the country. Online, she also regularly provides coverage on the protests.

The movement has struggled in gaining popularity within Moroccan society, which remains predominately apolitical. Zineb counters the widespread criticism, “Our role is to steer this movement and our society, as individual citizens and groups, towards positive change and democracy.” Sure enough, within less than three weeks of the movement’s first protest, King Mohammad VI announced constitutional reforms on March 9.

But the biggest accomplishment was the movement’s ability to act on its dissent independently of the Moroccan government. Zineb emphasizes, “Moroccan people deserve to do positive things for Morocco without having to get blessings, guidance, and orders from the king.”

Without limiting themselves to the February 20th Movement, Zineb, along with other pro-democracy activists are working together to form a political party, the Moroccan Pirate Party, whose three goals are education, transparency, and rule of law. The party channels the spirit of the pro-democracy movement with the aim of working within existing political institutions. The Pirate Party hosts members throughout the world.

One of the members of the Pirate Party, a Moroccan blogger based in France, is also an active figure in Morocco’s pro-democracy movement. Hisham Almiraat, has been on the media front of the February 20th Movement through his role in co-founding Mamfakinch, a citizen media platform which provides consistent coverage on the movement. Hisham explains how the idea for Mamfakinch emerged out of frustration over the Moroccan government’s hold on mainstream media outlets and the need to provide an outlet for the movement to reach an audience.

“We found ourselves as an extension of what was going on on the ground,” reflects Hisham. Within just weeks of the movement’s start, Mamfakinch became a major source for footage, images, and accounts of the movement’s developments. Their weekly liveblog and mapping of protests in Morocco draws a regular online audience throughout the world. Mamfakinch maintains an international audience by publishing in Arabic, English, and French, powered by a volunteer based network of activists, writers, and professionals.

The project has not been without challenges. Hisham admits that one of the major obstacles has been competing against print media in a country where the internet is not a key source for information, an issue tied to a 56 percent literacy rate. However, what sets Mamfakinch apart is its uncensored material, which Hisham highlights as an advantage to its audience, given the tools to interpret the content on their own.

Nadir Bouhmouch is another Moroccan activist who is working on propelling the movement’s message to a greater audience, both within Morocco and throughout the world. Nadir is currently studying Film and International Security/Conflict Resolution at San Diego State University and is also the president of his local chapter of Amnesty International. He has spent the last several months in Morocco pairing his fields of study working on a film project titled, My Makhzen and Me, which chronicles the February 20th Movement and the tactics used against the movement by the regime.

After attending multiple protests and meetings with members of the movement, Nadir noted a general failure to use art to further the movement. “Art is a great way to expand the numbers beyond those protesters who have become regulars at every demonstration,” says Nadir. He mentions detained Moroccan rapper, L7a9ed, whose music has been critical of the Moroccan regime, while his detainment has been a major rallying point for the movement.

Nadir stresses the need for arts in addition to the weekly protests, “Going out to the street is the most direct and effective way to get a government to its knees, but the streets have to be complimented by the arts.” His film, My Makhzen and Me, is due for release on 20 February 2012, the one year anniversary of the movement.

Changes in Morocco Leave the Large Gap between Rich and Poor Unaddressed

Kudos to NPR once again for giving voice (literally) to the concerns of the poor and unemployed in Morocco. Here is a new piece about the situation in a country that has the widest gap between the rich and the poor in the "Arab world." You can hear the radio story by clicking on the link or read the transcript below.
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In Morocco, The Arab Spring's Mixed Bounty

by Deborah Amos

February 7, 2012

If you're looking for the reasons for unrest in Morocco, you can find some answers while zipping along in a golf cart at a resort in the historic town of Marrakech.

The rentals at this exclusive enclave are all five-star: large villas with extra rooms for a full-time butler and a chauffeur. There's a lake, a spa and an 18-hole golf course for the clientele — who are, it goes without saying, very rich.

"In Morocco," says Mustapha, a resort employee, as he takes a prospective client on a tour, "you have the money, you live good."
A Moroccan mother and child beg for money in Rabat, Morocco, last year. About 15 percent of the population lives on $2 a day, and the literacy rate is little more than 50 percent.


This place is called the Secret Garden. But it's no secret that the gap between rich and poor in Morocco is one of the widest in the Arab world. About 15 percent of the population lives on $2 a day. The literacy rate is little more than 50 percent and, political analysts in Morocco say, there's a lack of opportunity and lack of hope among the young.

Just a short drive from the golf course is another Morocco, one with no electricity or running water.

This neighborhood sits in the middle of an olive grove. The roads are unpaved, and the houses are made of concrete block and mud. A woman uses a branch to sweep outside her home. This is the poor Morocco.

Poverty is one of many issues that ignited protests in the region — and in Morocco. On Feb. 20, 2011, Moroccans took to the streets to demonstrate in a country considered one of the most stable in the region. King Mohammed VI moved quickly to placate the protesters by offering constitutional reforms and calling early elections.

But progress toward democracy has also revealed the limits of civil disobedience.

Desire For A Different Kind Of Monarchy

The spark came when a group of young Moroccans called for demonstrations on Feb. 20 with a YouTube video that stated their demands for freedom and equality — their motives for calling for the street march. For the first time, demonstrators were directly challenging the absolute powers of the king, says businessman Karim Tazi, who joined the protest.



"In a lot of Arab countries, the goal was a simple one — get rid of the dictator," Tazi says. "In Morocco, the situation was more complicated than that. No one wanted to get rid of the king, but they want a different monarchy, they don't want an authoritarian one."

Economist Fouad Abdelmoumni says they want a symbolic monarchy more like Britain or Spain and a parliament with powers. They want a democracy, he says, not through revolution, as in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, but through reform.

"We have a whole generation that is emerging to politics, that is beginning to think of politics and beginning to have faith that they can lead their life and change their situation," Abdelmoumni says.

A year after the first demonstrations, reforms offered by the king are being tested. The head of the new government is an Islamist. His Justice and Development Party, or PJD, won the most votes in November elections, but the king and his advisers still retain substantial power, says Abdelmoumni, and can stall the proposals of the PJD.

"Will they be able to change the mindset where corruption and nepotism [are] the basic behavior of the state?" he asks.

That is the election promise, says Abdelmoumni, and party officials have already pledged to disclose the list of Moroccans who have benefited from a system known as grima, a French word that in Morocco means favors bestowed by the monarch.

"They will pay the price if they decide to go strongly against corruption, and they will pay the price if they don't go far enough, because the population is expecting a lot," Abdelmoumni says.


A Limit To The Changes

This population expects jobs. Unemployed college graduates protest every week in the capital. They shocked the country a few weeks ago when five set themselves on fire. Three were hospitalized and one died.

The new government's strategy is to seek economic growth and curb corruption, but Ahmed Benchemsi says that could lead to a collision with entrenched interests — the elites connected to the king.

Benchemsi, the former publisher of a popular news magazine, is now a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. In a visit home to Rabat recently, he explained that the monarch controls much of the Moroccan economy.

"[The king] is the No. 1 businessman in the country," Benchemsi said. "He's the No. 1 grocer, he's the No. 1 farmer, he's the No. 1 landowner, he's the No. 1 steel producer, sugar producer. ... He's a huge businessman."

And despite the new constitution, the king can still block any law he dislikes, Benchemsi says, adding that there are limits to the changes won by the protest movement a year ago.

It's a critique heard across the region from the young protesters who brought so many to the streets.

"They should have worked like a political movement," says Benchemsi. "But the thing is, the protest movement in Morocco is not a political movement. It is just a bunch of kids who dream of democracy — which is a beautiful thing, but it's not enough to shake a deeply rooted system like the Moroccan monarchy."

The demand in Morocco was to shake up the system, not destroy it. But if the government and the king fail to deliver soon, analysts say, the next confrontation could be tougher — against the monarchy itself.

Stanford Professor and Prince of Morocco: Moulay Hicham ben Abdallah

Here is an article from the Stanford Daily about Moulay Hicham ben Abdallah, the outspoken Moroccan prince who now teaches at Stanford University in the United States.
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Professor, Prince
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
By Natasha Weaser


Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah Al Alaoui, third in line to the Moroccan throne and consulting professor at the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford. (Courtesy of Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah)

Wearing jeans and a plain black sweater, he blended into the crowd of Stanford students and visitors, none of whom knew they were in the presence of a prince.


Being a prince “can be more of a nuisance than anything else. People scrutinize you and have preconceived notions like…does he wear a turban?” he joked.


Ben Abdallah, whose full name is Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah El Alaoui, is third in line to the throne of the Kingdom of Morocco and first cousin to the current King, Mohammed VI. Nicknamed the “Red Prince,” he is well known for favoring democratic reforms in Morocco and the Arab world. He does not, however, appreciate the title, stating in an interview with the French journal Le Debat that it was given to him by the same “information handlers” who nicknamed King Mohammed VI “King of the Poor.”


His unorthodox views in the conservative kingdom led to his expulsion from palace grounds by his cousin, who ascended the throne in 1999 after the death of his father and Ben Abdallah’s uncle, Hassan II.


Morocco’s Al-Alaoui dynasty has been in power for four centuries and traces its lineage back to the Prophet Mohammed. The monarchy does not tolerate criticism.


“The authorities use the restrictive press law and an array of financial and other, more subtle mechanisms to punish critical journalists, particularly those who focus on the king, his family or Islam,” states the Freedom House 2011 Country Report on Morocco.


“The monarchy is a cultural and historical symbol,” Ben Abdallah said. “This is why Moroccans are aware of its crucial role in society and push for reform instead of overthrowing the regime…but there is a deep sense of frustration and impatience.”


His decision to publicly state his controversial views in 1995 was not taken lightly.


“I thought profoundly about who I was and what my country was,” he said. “It was not easy. There were high costs, and one of them was being ostracized and even vilified.”


Nevertheless, Ben Abdallah remains an outspoken political maverick, unwavering in his support for controversial publications and journalists as well as groups like the February 20th Youth Movement.


Raised in the Moroccan capital Rabat’s Royal Palace complex, Ben Abdallah attended the Rabat American School and graduated from Princeton with a bachelor’s degree in politics in 1985. After pursuing several entrepreneurial and humanitarian endeavors, he came to Stanford in 1995 to pursue a master’s degree in political science.


“Deepening my experience and my knowledge one way or another has never been interrupted in my life no matter where I go,” Ben Abdallah said.


In his witty, yet diplomatic, manner, Ben Abdallah compared Stanford and Princeton.


“Princeton is like an orchestra where you cannot play out of note but produce great music,” he said. “Stanford is like one big rock band where everyone is encouraged to make their own sound.”


After leaving the Farm, Ben Abdallah stayed in close contact with Larry Diamond, director of the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL).


In 2007, Ben Abdallah left his home in Princeton, where he had been living since 2002, and returned to Stanford as a CDDRL visiting scholar.


At CDDRL, he has been deeply involved in the Arab Reform and Democracy Program doing research, mentoring students, giving talks and developing the program.


“My goal is to enrich myself and my community as well as foster general understanding of the region,” he said.


Although Ben Abdallah originally intended to stay at CDDRL for two years, he eventually decided to remain longer and is now a consulting professor. This means he regularly commutes back to Princeton, where his wife, Malika, and their two daughters live.


One of Ben Abdallah’s initial research projects at CDDRL was investigating the idea that the Arab world is incompatible with democracy, which he swiftly rejected as a false concept.


“There was an underlying thesis that there was something about Arabs that makes them accept authoritarianism, and I wanted to unbundle it,” he said. “I wanted to say, look, authoritarianism is here, but this is why it’s here. The factors are not cultural.”


The Arab Spring may have surprised the Western world, but not Ben Abdallah.


“I always felt that something was around the corner,” he said. “I knew that the status quo was untenable, and that in a few of these places something would have to give way.”


What surprised him was the movement’s place of origin, Tunisia, which had a strong security apparatus. He also did not envision the movement’s diffusion and transformation into what he called an “awakening.”


Despite the optimism in the movement, he said that the future of the region is uncertain. Setbacks, reversals and failures are all likely to happen as each country faces its own particular demons, he said, but he believes the trend towards democracy is irreversible.


“This is a new generation with new values,” he said. “Fear has receded, and societies will not remain idle.”


He also downplayed fears over the rise of Islamist parties throughout the region and in his native Morocco, where the Justice and Development Party, a moderate Islamist party, recently won parliamentary elections.


“This does not mean we will see the rise of theocracies,” he said. “People are not going to resist secular authoritarianism to fall into religious despotism.”


Although Ben Abdallah has vigorously championed reform in Morocco for the last two decades, he attempts to keep his expectations realistic.


“It took hundreds of years for the West to get things on track,” he said. “It will be a messy and laborious process for Morocco, but we’ll eventually get it right.”


Ben Abdallah’s work at Stanford and in politics is not the end of his pursuits. He also runs his own foundation, the Moulay Hicham Foundation for Social Science Research on North Africa and the Middle East, founded Princeton’s Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia and owns Al-Tayyar Energy, a renewable energy company that processes agricultural waste in Thailand.


“I barely have free time; I am juggling,” he said. “Every time I think I cannot handle more, someone else throws me another ball to juggle.”


Although his professional and family lives are rooted in the United States now, Ben Abdallah still keeps close ties with Morocco and returns often.


“I miss the community feel,” he said. “I miss my nephews and my friends. I miss walking on the streets hearing the call to prayer and smelling the odors of spices, so now and then I need to go back home.”

Nothing Has Changed: Morocco & the "Arab Spring"

Here is a piece from the Levantine Culture Center website about what, if anything, has changed in Morocco during the past few months of hoopla.
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Morocco and the Arab Spring
posted September 2, 2011 - 5:51pm by Editor
An inside look at the mood west of Libya and Tunisia
By Youssef Ait Benasser

The other day, a big wig in the Moroccan blogosphere asked in one of his articles: what has changed in our lives? This question reflects the preoccupation of Moroccan society as a whole with the adoption of the new constitution, which passed on July 2nd, 2011 with a 98% approval rate. The referendum woke up the whole country from an era of political quietism, thus raising people's hopes and expectations for a better tomorrow. Two months have passed since then, and for many, it is now time for assessment, following the popular saying "a good dinner frees its scent as of the early afternoon."

An analysis of the current situation in the "Most Beautiful Country in the World" (according to an advertisement for tourism in Morocco) shows that the Kingdom is evolving at two distinct speeds: the pace of official discourse displaying promises of a new era on the one hand, and on the other, another pace that completely contradicts that speech. Since the 2nd of July, repression has not rested; public media outlets remain just as biased and closed to opponents as they were previously; corrupt and abusive officials haven't been ejected from the ruling circles (and some have even gained new prestigious titles); political prisoners have not been freed; and Rachid Nini—the nation's most popular columnist—has been sentenced to jail. Local and international newspapers are still seized and censored each time the King is concerned (most recently, the French weekly Courrier International has been censored because of a caricature of the King ). To partisans of the February 20 Movement, nothing seems to have changed. Some even argue things have worsened as the July referendum's legitimacy untied the Palace's hands.

What change do we want?
The change Moroccans expect consists of putting an end to the system's cronyism and corruption, thus creating an opening for equal opportunities. Tensions in Morocco are indeed mainly due to social, economic, and political "elevators" all being out of service. Parties have become hermetic corporatist groups, the economy is languishing under royalties-owned monopolies and domination, and the education system is no longer a ladder that leads to ascending social status. Getting out of this gridlock is necessary if the system wants to avoid an escalation of tension. Promises of democracy have obviously failed in cleansing the streets of protest. What Moroccans are yearning for are actions that can be felt, and up to now, there has been no political will to implement any.

What change are we getting?
The general elections date has been set for late November. The legislative election is expected to be the first under the rule of the new constitution. It is officially featured as a turning point in Moroccan politics and the start of a new democratic, free phase. However, the handling of the legal and logistical preparation of the event has not changed in comparison with the way things were done in our 2007 legislative elections. Back then, the participation rate was as low as 37%. The parliament that emerged from the results was the least representative of the people's will. As a result of regrouping and shifting alliances, the biggest party in the House is one that didn't even exist at election time. Many legitimately fear that things will not differ in November. The almighty Minister of Interior Affairs, appointed by the King himself, is using redistricting as a tool for imposing a pre-conceived political map. His ministry is indeed the only institution in charge of elections and it undergoes no real accountibility as it is completely dependent on the Royal Palace.Moroccans might not see much change in their lives as political beings, but they will witness changes on the socio-economic level. Government's generous social policy has more than exceeded the country's financial budget. Decrees related to integration of unemployed degree-holders into public service, or automatic and general raises in salaries, have been able to keep the middle class out of the streets for now. But it will not be long before it generates the opposite effects as sovereign debt drastically raises leading to a double-dip recession.

Either there is a change or there is not.

Aware of this complex situation that Morocco is facing today, the February 20th Movement has raised the cogent questions, and is therefore a legitimate counter movement. It is now up to the system to provide the appropriate answers. And with a social time bomb ready to explode, the system may not have that much time.