eatbees blog

I told a friend that in the past, I used to ask the question, “Why hasn’t the state made an example of some of the old-guard officials and well-placed families who profited under the old regime? Why not expose the abuses and ill-gotten gains of a few generals or ministers, and bring them to justice? That would be the best way to inspire a new breed of young investigators and judges, and put officials on notice that corruption will no longer be tolerated in Morocco.” I used to imagine that perhaps the new king needed to wait until his power base was secure, so he would have people he trusted in the right positions who were capable of taking action. Now it seems that I have my answer. Despite a great yearning for change among the Moroccan people, nothing has changed, and there is no intention of bringing change. Indeed, as I told my friend, it seems that a new generation of profiteers is being groomed to replace the old ones. My friend agreed, naming a few names.

This same friend told me, “The genius of the Makhzen is to put laws on the books and then fail to enforce them.” In this way, people are never sure whether they are on the right side of the law or not. They do what everyone else is doing, and usually nothing happens. But if the authorities decide they don’t like someone, they can suddenly choose to enforce a law that was on the books all along.