Throughout the past two decades, Morocco has faced several external and domestic shocks, including large swings in international oil prices, regional geopolitical tensions, severe droughts, and most recently the impact of the pandemic and the economic fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Despite rough waters, the government stayed the course and remained focused not only on immediate stability, but also on the long-term needs of the Moroccan economy. This involved the adoption of a series of difficult measures, like the elimination of energy subsidies, and a strategy aimed at improving the country’s infrastructure, diversifying the production and export bases by attracting foreign investment, and modernizing the governance structure of the public administration.
The
road to higher and more inclusive growth, however, remains steep. Despite gains
in poverty reduction, literacy and lifespans, Morocco economy continues to face
a high share of inactive youth, large gaps in economic opportunities for women,
a fragmented social protection system, and remaining barriers to private sector
development. An ambitious reform agenda is needed to better meet the
aspirations of Moroccans, by making economic growth stronger, more resilient
and more inclusive, particularly to provide greater opportunities for young,
women, and entrepreneurs. Morocco appears well positioned to address these
challenges, and indeed, the country has recently sought to define and pursue a
new “model of development”, through national debates and a more inclusive
approach to reform. Significant reforms have been announced recently that
revamp both the social protection system and the SOEs business model. This book
draws lessons from the reforms Morocco has implemented in the past few decades
and charts a course for Morocco by addressing key areas for reform.
The 2020–2024 Western Saharan clashes, also
called the Guerguerat crisis, Moroccan military intervention in
Guerguerat or Second Western Sahara War, is an armed conflict between
the Kingdom of Morocco and
the self-proclaimed Sahrawi
Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), represented at the United
Nations by the Polisario Front,
in the disputed region of Western
Sahara. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved
conflict over the region, which is largely occupied
by Morocco, but 20–25% is administered
by the SADR. The violence ended a ceasefire
between the opposing sides that had held for 29 years in anticipation of a
referendum of self-determination that would have settled the dispute. Despite
the establishment of the United Nations Mission for the
Referendum in Western Sahara in 1991, the referendum was never
held.
Tensions between Morocco and the Polisario Front
deepened in mid-October 2020 when Sahrawi peaceful
protesters blocked a controversial road connecting Moroccan-occupied
Western Sahara to sub-Saharan
Africa. The protesters camped on the road near the small
village of Guerguerat, where it passes through a 5-kilometre-wide
buffer strip monitored by the UN.
Despite the controversy, the route had grown in economic importance,[9] such
that the protest stranded about 200 Moroccan truck drivers on the Mauritanian
side of the border.[10] According
to the MINURSO, both Morocco and Polisario deployed forces near the area in
late October,[11] with
Mauritanian forces reinforcing their positions along its border with Morocco,
which is controlled by the Polisario Front.
On 13 November, Morocco launched a military operation
from the Berm into
the demilitarized buffer strip of Western Sahara to clear the protesters near
Guerguerat and restore the free movement of goods and people. The Polisario
Front urged the United Nations to intervene, noting that the Moroccan military
operation violated the ceasefire agreements of the 1990s, and furthermore
accused the Moroccan security forces of shooting at unarmed civilians in the
buffer strip. Morocco denied there had been any armed clashes between the
sides and said the truce remained in place, while SADR authorities
declared the ceasefire over. Clashes spread that same day along the Moroccan
Berm, with Morocco claiming that it had repelled a
Sahrawi incursion near Al Mahbes. The
SADR declared war on Morocco the next day. Since the beginning of the
conflict, both countries have begun mass mobilization and the SADR Ministry of
Defense claims to be carrying out daily bombardments on military objectives
along the Moroccan Berm. It is the first major clash in the region since
1991.
Comments
The first article by the IMF describes the political stability of Morocco. The second article by Wikipedia reports a threat by political factions to seize part of Morocco. As a Constitutional Monarchy, Morocco has managed to remain stable and is more able to withstand the typical internal factions that destabilize other African countries. They will need to deal with their Western Sahara War.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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