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Morocco’s elusive King Mohammed VI raised the stakes far higher than his annual speeches in his speech opening parliament on Friday, as anti-government protests have swept the country’s cities and raised questions about the government’s spending priorities.
He is the country’s highest official, but Mohammed VI rarely addresses the public and often leaves the job of representing Morocco internationally to ministers or members of the royal family. Decades ago he was dubbed Morocco’s “king of the poor”, now facing public disillusionment with slow progress and a growing economic divide.
Since September 27, protesters have filled the streets of more than a dozen Moroccan cities, denouncing the billions being spent in preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Angered by underfunded schools and hospitals,”Gen Z The 212” movement has drawn a direct line between new stadiums and neglected public services, mobilizing a nationwide movement unlike any seen since the Arab Spring in 2011.
The protesters chanted, “The people want the king to intervene.”
Mohammed VI’s address is expected to revisit themes he touched on during previous moments of turmoil and in an address earlier this year, when he said he would not accept a “two-speed country” full of inequality.
“Regardless of the level of infrastructure construction and economic development, I will be satisfied only if our achievements make a concrete contribution to improving the living conditions of citizens of all social classes and all regions,” he said in a July speech in the coastal city of Tetouan, where he spends much of the summer.
The speech will come more than a week after protesters sent a letter of demands directly to the palace, thrusting the king into the spotlight and heightening the careful distance he usually maintains from public debate. It called for the dismissal of Prime Minister Aziz Akhnouch and his government, the release of political prisoners, and the creation of a platform to hold corrupt politicians accountable.
“We, the youth of Morocco, are requesting His Majesty to intervene for a thorough and just reform that restores rights and punishes the corrupt,” the group wrote in the letter.
The letter underlines both the 62-year-old king’s apparent confidence in his ability to solve problems and the reality that criticizing him is illegal and taboo.
By appealing to him directly, the protesters showed respect but broke the established tradition of placing the king above politics – a move that raises questions about who will bear responsibility if their demands are not met.
,People They are saying ‘Long live the king’, but also showing that they know he is responsible and that power is in his hands,” said political scientist Abdeslam Magraoui. Duke University,
A letter put forward by a group of 60 elderly intellectuals, dissidents and activists supportive of the youth-led protesters. Departing from the demands of Gen Z 212, it called Mohammed VI “the true source of executive power in Morocco” and said that only addressing “the deep and structural causes of anger that shake our country” – not simply dismissing the prime minister – could ease tensions.
At the Gen Z 212 protest on Thursday evening, many said they were eagerly awaiting Mohammed VI’s address, hoping he would meet their demands and calm their anger toward politicians like Prime Minister Aziz Akhnouch. They have demanded his resignation.
“We hope this will be a good omen for us, for Moroccan youth and for all Moroccans,” Sufian, an 18-year-old college student, told The Associated Press at a protest. casablanca,