Rabat – The Moroccan Social Front is calling on people to join its protests on Saturday, April 8 across the country against soaring commodity prices and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Organized under the theme: “A continuous struggle against high prices and social oppression,” the nationwide protests reflect the demands of the majority of Moroccan citizens who have been heavily impacted by soaring inflation and expensive living costs.
These demands include reducing the prices of basic goods, including vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat, to their previous costs, the front indicated in a statement.
The soaring prices of essential food commodities have heavily weighed down on citizens’ purchasing power, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, a time when the consumption of certain products increases. This includes tomatoes, whose prices have exceeded MAD 15 in certain cities.
The Social Front is calling on the government to look into the case of oil refining company Samir and “save it from loss and destruction.” In addition, it called for reducing fuel prices, in line with the drop in oil costs in the international market.
“The unprecedented high prices are not a fact but rather the result of policies hostile to the interests of the people and the country,” stressed the statement.
Read also: Moroccans Overwhelmed by Rising Inflation, Outraged by Unresponsive Government
It argued that the current economic crisis is the result of the “domination of a fragile economy dependent on fluctuations occurring abroad and on weather conditions.” The statement also argued that the Moroccan economy is based on “monopoly, corruption, bribery, clientelism, and nepotism.”
The Social Front also demanded an increase in workers’ and employees’ wages across Morocco, as well as for the country to “lift the marginalization” of rural areas by providing them with drinking water and fertilizers at reasonable costs, among other demands.
The Social Front concluded by calling on Moroccans to “strongly participate in these demonstrations and express [their demands] loudly and collectively” in order for the government to address their concerns and take the necessary measures.
