7 August 2022

Opening public lecture

It was organized on the premises of the Confédération démocratique du Travail (CDT, Democratic Confederation of Labour) on Friday 29 July 2022. ATTAC CADTM Morocco has worked with this trade union for quite a few years and several of its members are active in it.

Some 70 people attended. The first talk examined the crisis of capitalism, and the second organizations involved in struggle.

Multi-dimensional crisis of capitalism in its neo-liberal stage

The systemic crisis of capitalism is getting deeper. The financial sector is shrinking and risks of a financial bubble bursting are more and more likely with a very thin margin for its regulation. In the context of the health crisis and of the war on Ukraine, inflation has considerably increased. Central banks (ECB and the Fed) have raised key interest rates. Debt will be more expensive for the most indebted countries and many of them are at risk of collapse.

The environmental crisis is more and more irreversible. Maps of high temperatures and wild forest fires are evidence that our planet is burning.

The flames of inflation and of wildfire mostly affect the most deprived people, who also suffer hunger and malnutrition in the context of the acute global food crisis.

There are now climate refugees as well as those fleeing wars and geostrategic conflict. Social and economic injustice combine with ecological injustice.

Organizations involved in struggle

Major international struggles such as Black Lives Matter, Indian peasants, mobilizations against climate change, feminist strikes, etc. lack a global political perspective. Far-right political movements are thriving. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the wave of popular uprisings since 2011 has steadily receded. Counter-revolution and political despotism are moving forward. In Morocco, the cycle of struggle that started with the 20 February 2011 movement was all but closed off with the repression of the Hirak on the Rif. Social struggles are still extant, but few and far between. Trade unions are very weak. Curtailed freedoms make it more difficult to struggle.

Yet hope is not lost. We are determined to continue resisting capitalism and political despotism.

A dozen interventions from the audience contributed to our understanding of the crisis of capitalism and the damage it does to the environment and people and suggested ways out of the crisis.

Contributions of relatives of political prisoners

La mère d’Omar Radi

Le père d’Omar Radi.

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This was one of the most moving moments of the conference. Omar Radi’s father and mother expressed their appreciation of ATTAC CADTM Morocco’s initiative to give their son’s name to our summer university. They again denounced Omar’s detention (he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment). Their commitment to his liberation is part of the larger struggle for the freedom of all political prisoners in Morocco, and for social justice.

The words spoken by the two sisters of Nureddin Aouaj, sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, were very moving. They said how happy they were to be able to participate in an event which strengthens their confidence and their hope.

La sœur de Noureddine Aouaj

The conference ended with slogans chanted by enthusiastic young activists in a mood of solidarity and optimism.

The workshops

Two workshops were organized on Saturday 30 July :

What kind of development?

Held in the morning, the first workshop brought out the limits of the ‘development model’ as officially set out in Morocco in May 2021. It rests on an acceleration of neo-liberal reforms to improve big business and open up more investment opportunities to multinational corporations. Its economic, social and environmental costs will be mostly paid by wage-owners, small producers and the poorer sections of the population. A large part of its funding relies on debt.

The debate with the audience mainly concerned what is really meant by ‘development’ within capitalism and discussed alternatives at regional and international levels. They can only be carried out if there is a break with capitalism, with its logic based on profit and commodification of nature and of all human activities. Through its work of popular education and its commitment towards the lower classes, ATTAC CADTM Morocco brings an anti-capitalist bias to social mobilizations. Its main demands for the cancellation of public debt and of the private debt of poorer households, of free trade agreements, its denunciation of political despotism, etc. are only stepping stones towards a radical programme of more global struggle founded ona clear break from the diktats of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO, socialization of banks and setting up a democracy based on the sovereignty of the people.

Strategic priorities in a post-Covid context

In the afternoon, the second workshop examined what ATTAC CADTM Morocco added as ‘activist value’ in the current context.

ATTAC CADTM Morocco’s identity, that has been shaped over two decades, is visible in its strategic priorities manifested in the topics on which it works: debt, free trade agreements, ecology, food sovereignty, feminism, regional and international dimensions in the CADTM network, and political despotism.

Its priorities are more topical than ever in the context of the global crisis of capitalism, and more specifically of Covid and the invasion of Ukraine. However, it meets great difficulties in reaching a wider audience: the absence of anti-capitalist commitment for most left-wing organizations, the neo-liberal consensus around the current political regime, and harsher repression of mobilizations and critical voices, the limitations of the association’s own capacities, the non-renewal of its legal authorization and the limits that places on our activities (opening a bank account, access to public rooms, etc.). Possibilities of overcoming those obstacles are to be found in the perspective of a new rise of social mobilizations that can push popular uprising on to the next level, not only in Morocco but in the whole MENA/Arab region.

Workshop on Sunday 31 July :
The need to be anti-capitalist today

This need results from the analysis of the multi-dimensional of globalized capitalism and its social and ecological consequences. Capitalism is not a fatality. An alternative is possible. Another Morocco is possible and necessary, as we keep repeating at ATTAC CADTM Morocco. It will be achieved through mobilization of all exploited and oppressed people. The role of ATTAC CADTM Morocco is to accompany their struggles and to contribute to collective reflection on new forms of organization that will make it possible for new generations to take hold of their destiny.

This university provided space for reflection, education, sharing and self-criticism. We are convinced that fighting capitalism is the only way to build another world of social and environmental justice and freedom.

The university ended on a small cheerful musical gathering.

Participants

52 people participated in this University, among whom 17 women; participants represented 9 local groups of ATTAC CADTM Morocco.

The University was a success. It had a wide echo on social networks. It also prompted some people to be become members.

More photos and videos on the Facebook page of ATTAC Moroccohttps://web.facebook.com/attac.maroc/