Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

In Morocco, the regime has used the pandemic to consolidate political despotism and neoliberal policies

The authorities of the Wilaya of Rabat prohibited us from using the public conference room Allal El Fassi to host the opening session. This confirms, once again, the obstinacy of the authorities to continue the restrictions against our organization for nearly twenty years. ATTAC CADTM Morocco did not give in to this ban. It held its opening session at headquarter of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights AMDH in Rabat on Friday, December 16 at 6 pm with the participation of a large number of representatives of organizations in Morocco and the press. It continued the work of the congress on Saturday and Sunday at the headquarters of the National Federation of Education-Democracy (FNE) in Rabat.

The congressmen discussed and approved the moral and financial reports that set out the assessment of ATTAC CADTM Morocco’s work over six years, since the sixth national congress held in May 2017, as well as the draft resolutions prepared by the preparatory committee, including: the ATTAC CADTM Morocco platform, ATTAC CADTM Morocco’s strategic themes, resolutions on women, debt, free trade agreements, food sovereignty, ecological justice, and amendments to the association’s statutes.

The discussions focused on the political, economic and social situation at the global, regional and national levels, and can be summarized in the following elements :

• The Covid pandemic has aggravated the already deep crisis of the capitalist mode of production. It is a multidimensional crisis: economic, financial, food, environmental, political and migratory with wars and terrorism. In this respect, the environmental crisis that is devastating the climate, nature and biodiversity constitutes a serious threat to the existence of humanity and the entire planet.

• The intervention strategy of imperialism in the regions of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe is leading to the expansion of wars and armaments, which portends the danger of a world war that will be disastrous for humanity and the planet. This is manifested, on the one hand, in the invasion of Ukraine by Russian imperialism, and on the other hand, in the enlargement of NATO under the hegemony of the USA to achieve the geopolitical objectives of Western imperialism with a massive increase in military budgets.

• In this context, the trade wars reinforce the power of the multinationals which impose the removal of all barriers to the circulation of goods and capital in order to plunder the wealth of the peoples, especially in the poor countries of the Global South. Debt is one of the main mechanisms of this plundering that accompanies the expansion of the domination of finance capital.

• In such a situation, the working class, the small producers and the popular strata of the countries of the South as well as of the North bear the burden of these different capitalist crises, which primarily affect women and young people, through the generalization of the logic of the market and of profit in all aspects of human activities, and through the destruction of economic, social, civil and political rights.

In North Africa and the Middle East/Arab region, the health crisis and the war against Ukraine have exacerbated the economic and social conditions against which the peoples of the region have revolted since 2011, in addition to their opposition to the Zionist entity occupying the lands of the Palestinian people.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are the main components of the counter-revolution in the region

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are the main components of the counter-revolution in the region, through drastic loan agreements, such as those imposed on the Lebanese people plunged into an acute food crisis, on Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and other countries in the region. The terms of these loans include guaranteeing conditions to stimulate private investment, giving tax breaks to large companies, abolishing the food and energy subsidy system, reducing salaries and raising the retirement age. This will lead to a further decline in the income of the working classes and a deterioration in purchasing power. This will lead to an increase in poverty, unemployment and a generalization of precariousness and instability of living conditions.

In Morocco, the regime has used the pandemic to consolidate political despotism and neoliberal policies. The country entered a new debt spiral by removing the fixed ceiling for foreign borrowing. The total public debt stock doubled from 2011 to 2020 and reached 96% of GDP.

The “new development model” is based on the expansion of opportunities for the concentration of wealth in the hands of a local capitalist minority that shares with multinationals in the grabbing of land, water, maritime and mineral resources, public services and other areas. The despotic character of the regime is a major pillar of this great capitalist accumulation, which is no longer absorbed by the local market, and has begun to penetrate the countries of the African continent.

The war against Ukraine has exacerbated the structural food and energy crisis in our country and the resulting exponential rise in prices. The “Green Morocco Plan” has drained a colossal budget for ten years to support the large exporters of the agricultural sector, while imports of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and sugar have increased. There is currently a shortage of milk and its derivatives, which will also be covered by imports.

The fisheries sector, in turn, is undergoing a major depletion, with a minority monopolizing the fisheries wealth for export.

The state has completely removed subsidies on energy materials (gasoline, diesel and fuel oil) in late 2015. This led to a doubling of the price of a liter of diesel, which currently hovers between 15 and 16 dirhams (about 1.45 euros and 1.55 euros). Petroleum distribution companies have accumulated profits of more than 45 billion dirhams (about 4.4 billion euros) since the liberalization of energy prices until the end of 2021. The bill for these profits is paid by consumers, either directly at the pump or indirectly through general price increases.

The deterioration in purchasing power has worsened in parallel with falling incomes and low wages. Popular households are heavily indebted and are being suffocated, especially by microfinance institutions, which are also accumulating large profits on the backs of the poor. The state wants to abolish what remains of the compensation fund, including subsidies for butane gas. It is also preparing to raise the retirement age to 65 and to reduce the retirement pension of workers in the private sector, by reforming the National Social Security Fund and by generalizing the contractual system in the public service.

The government is anxious to fulfill its obligations to international financial institutions to ensure payment of the debt and obtain further loans. It is currently awaiting IMF approval for the precautionary liquidity line or flexible credit line, which could allow it to obtain loans on the international financial market.

As a reminder, the share of private creditors in the external public debt has increased from 9% in 2011 to 28% in 2021. Total public debt payments (debt service) amounted to 172 billion dirhams at the end of 2021, equivalent to 9 times the health budget.

All these measures are fuelling the conditions for a likely social explosion in our country. The regime is conducting a preventive repression against all forms of protest and demonstration, restricting the right to strike, criminalizing all forms of expression and harassing all critical voices.

The ATTAC CADTM Morocco delegates, full of hope in the self-organized collective struggle from below, for a Morocco of democracy, freedom and social justice, reiterate their demands for :

• The cancellation of the debt, as one of the radical solutions to get out of dependence and cut with the international financial institutions and foreign decision centers. Hence the need for a popular mobilization that imposes a moratorium and an audit of Morocco’s debt that will identify the odious and illegitimate parts and repudiate them.
• Cancellation of the debts of popular households, setting up a public loan system, and stopping the abuses of microfinance institutions against the victims of microcredit, especially women.
• Impose a progressive tax on wealth and profits and provide free public services for all.
• The release of all political prisoners, including our comrade Omar Radi, the detainees of the Rif Hirak and all prisoners of conscience.
• Stopping free trade agreements, especially with the imperialist powers: the European Union and the United States of America.
• Broadening the popular mobilization to stop the normalization with the Zionist entity.
• Broadening solidarity at the national, regional and international levels with the struggles of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian prisoners.
• Putting an end to the role of policeman played by Morocco to ensure the closure of the borders of the European continent to immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, and the respect of the rights and dignity of immigrants.
• To stop the harassment against ATTAC CADTM Morocco and to allow it to renew its legal deposit receipt.
The seventh national congress of ATTAC CADTM Morocco, which closed its work in Rabat, greeting all the political, trade union and human rights organizations, associations and movements of popular struggle that participated in our congress and supported us, renews the commitment to contribute to build the next struggles and propose alternatives against the capitalist development model in crisis and make the greatest effort for another Morocco possible and necessary to live in dignity.

In conclusion, it should be recalled that Morocco is preparing to host the summit of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in October 2023 in Marrakech. In this regard, the association ATTAC CADTM Morocco announces its refusal to hold this summit in Morocco. These two institutions have committed crimes against our people and against the peoples of our region and the world. They are not welcome in our country, and we will continue to fight against them. We will mobilize for a counter-summit.

National Convention
December 18, 2022