Spanish Journalist Exposes Moroccan Regime as “Autocratic Dictatorship,” Echoing Yolanda Diaz’s Concerns
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- In a courageous act of investigative journalism, Spanish reporter Francisco Carrion has peeled back the layers of the Moroccan Makhzen regime, aligning his analysis with the recent characterization made by Yolanda Diaz, a vice-president of the Spanish government and leader of the Sumar party, who boldly labeled it an “autocratic dictatorship.”
Carrion’s comprehensive exposé, released on Monday through the reputable Spanish news outlet El Independiente, delves deep into the nature of the Moroccan regime. He states, “The autocratic grip exerted by the regime governing Morocco has ignited a passionate discourse within Spain’s public sphere. It is Yolanda Diaz who, with unreserved candor, first pronounced this term, categorizing our neighboring nation as nothing less than a dictatorship.”
This characterization, Carrion asserts, has emerged as both a provocative truth for some Spanish policymakers and a contentious assertion for others.
Within his incisive analysis, Carrion highlights that a critical barometer for evaluating a country’s authoritarian tendencies lies in the domains of freedom of expression and media pluralism. Evidently, the Moroccan Alaouite monarchy has ventured into murky territory, utilizing invasive tools like the controversial Pegasus software, not only to surveil foreign dignitaries but also to suppress and persecute its own populace.
Aboubakr Jamai, the director of the international relations program at the American University of Aix-en-Provence, emphasizes the regime’s calculated deployment of privacy breaches and defamatory campaigns through controlled media outlets, impacting both the regime’s critics and its loyalists.
In an exclusive interview with El Independiente, Maati Monjib, a Moroccan academic and journalist, candidly echoes these sentiments, leaving no room for ambiguity about the true essence of the Moroccan regime. Monjib states, “The Moroccan regime exists as an autocracy, concealing behind a veneer of a constitutionally pluralistic monarchy.” He underscores that true electoral legitimacy is conspicuously absent among the influential decision-makers at the core of the regime, both at central and regional tiers.
The extensive network of institutions, from diplomatic endeavors to media entities and civil society organizations, operates under the regime’s iron-clad command. Monjib exposes a veiled campaign aimed at masking the regime’s fundamental character, unveiling that Morocco allocates substantial financial resources to public relations entities which strategically engage foreign figures, parliamentarians, journalists, and occasionally even media outlets, both domestic and foreign.
As Carrion’s investigation uncovers, with avenues for political opposition hermetically sealed, the realm that remains open – albeit not devoid of risk – is the public sphere and labor unions. Carrion underscores the historic display of resilience in April, as a coalition of activists, labor unions, and left-leaning groups orchestrated nationwide demonstrations against soaring food prices, unveiling the persistent determination of Moroccan citizens to demand change.
Through meticulous research and meticulous documentation, Francisco Carrion’s article offers an enlightening insight into the multifaceted reality of the Moroccan regime, echoing the concerns articulated by Yolanda Diaz. As the international community watches and questions, the revelations within this article underscore the significance of examining the human rights conditions and governance structures that persist in our neighboring nation.
