Mounting Public Anger in Morocco as Poverty Threatens Over 4 Million Citizens

BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Official Report Warns of Deepening Socioeconomic Crisis Amid Growing Discontent and Political Repression

Algiers, Algeria | February 19th, 2025 — A newly released report by Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) has sounded the alarm over an escalating poverty crisis, revealing that over 4 million Moroccans are at risk of falling into destitution. For the first time, urban and rural households alike are confronting an unprecedented level of economic fragility, raising fears of social unrest in the kingdom.

The report, published on Monday, details a stark deterioration in living standards across the country. According to official figures, the number of Moroccans facing economic vulnerability reached approximately 4.75 million in 2023. Even more alarming, the report underscores that previously overlooked social groups—those not targeted by government aid policies—have seen their precarity worsen, leading to a sharp rise in households teetering on the brink of poverty.

The total number of impoverished individuals across Morocco last year stood at 1.42 million, with 512,000 residing in urban areas and 906,000 in rural regions. Furthermore, the report reveals a troubling disparity, as nearly 72% of households subsist on an annual income below the national average, highlighting the growing wealth gap and the erosion of the middle class.

These findings emerge against the backdrop of mounting public and labor union discontent. The Moroccan Confederation of Labor (CDT) has issued a scathing denunciation of the government’s handling of the economic crisis, warning that the country is spiraling into deep social distress due to soaring inflation, rising unemployment, and rampant corruption. In a strongly worded statement, the CDT accused authorities of perpetuating a governance model that enriches a select elite while suffocating the working class and the unemployed.

The union’s statement further condemned what it described as the regime’s “relentless crackdown on social and political rights,” citing oppressive policies designed to neutralize dissent. It specifically pointed to the enactment of “draconian” legislation, including a controversial anti-strike law, as part of a broader attempt to stifle opposition and curtail union freedoms. Moreover, the government’s push to dismantle pension benefits has ignited further outrage, with critics decrying the move as an “assault on hard-won social gains.”

As economic grievances intensify, Moroccan journalist and political commentator, Aboubakr Jamai, has issued a stark warning about the country’s trajectory. In a recent interview with Spanish newspaper El Independiente, Jamai painted a grim picture of Morocco’s future, predicting an inevitable mass uprising against what he described as “an increasingly repressive and unsustainable regime.” He argued that the erosion of human rights and press freedoms has accelerated under King Mohammed VI’s rule, leaving little room for political expression or reform.

Referring to the heavy-handed suppression of protests in the Rif region, where authorities quelled demonstrations through mass arrests and harsh sentencing, Jamai questioned whether the regime could once again rely on brute force to stifle dissent. “They crushed the Hirak movement through sheer repression. Will they attempt the same with the next revolt? They are caught between a rock and a hard place,” he remarked.

Jamai, whose publication has been shut down multiple times, cited the repeated bans on independent newspapers and the use of counterterrorism laws to imprison journalists as evidence of a regime unwilling to embrace democratic transition. “What is certain,” he asserted, “is that this system is fundamentally resistant to democratization. The existence of political prisoners and documented cases of torture within the kingdom make this reality undeniable.”

As Morocco grapples with its worsening economic crisis and tightening authoritarian grip, the question looms: how long can the government suppress rising public discontent before the tide turns? With millions facing deepening hardship and civil liberties under siege, the specter of an explosive reckoning grows ever more imminent.

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