Activists are preparing to hold organize a national march in Casablanca to protest against price hikes that have been on the rise due to the Ukraine war.
The Moroccan Social Front, which includes a number of human rights associations, called for a popular march on Sunday, May 29, under the slogan: “against high prices, oppression, and normalization.”
In April,fruit costs increase by 12.3%, fish and seafood by 9.8%, oils and fats by 5.0%, Vegetables by 2.9%, meat by 1.8%, bread and cereals by 1.4%, HCP reported.
Last weekend fuel prices soared again in Morocco, starting this weekend, with both gasoline and diesel exceeding MAD 14.5 a liter.
Gasoline prices in Rabat reached MAD 15.40 a liter, an increase of MAD 1.05, while diesel prices also rose, costing MAD 14.55 a liter, representing an increase of about 25 cents.
In a recent note, Oxford Economics wrote that higher food and fuel prices will lead to “unemployment rises and more people become dependent on fewer salaries, rising prices & diminishing purchasing power are a recipe for social unrest if governments do not step in.”
The firm said that while the Moroccan government has reinstated wheat subsidies, provided cash subsidies to transport operators, lifted the minimum wage, and increased the family grant, cost-of-living protests are expected to emerge nonetheless.
This coupled with an overlapping resentment over rights restrictions could turn into a destabilizing national movement.
“Morocco remains one of the most stable countries on the continent, but even if the government can keep a lid on dissent, Moroccan households are taking financial strain and we are likely to see further protests to make this clear”, wrote the group.
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