International
Mohamed VI of Morocco celebrates 25 years on the throne: reforms and challenges
The reign of King Mohamed VI of Morocco, which celebrates 25 years this Tuesday, has been characterized by political reforms such as the promulgation of a new Constitution and economic reforms with the construction of large infrastructures, but also by development imbalances in the different regions of the country and criticism of the lack of freedom of the press.
The Allawi king came to the throne on July 23, 1999, after the death of Hassan II, with the intention of breaking with his father’s repressive and traditionalist era in terms of human rights, the modernization of the economy and the democratization of the political scene.
From the beginning, the young monarch, who is now 60 years old, paid special attention to women’s rights and in 2003 announced the need for reforms in the area of divorce and polygamy.
A year later, a new Family Code was approved, which granted more rights to women and is now subject to a new review.
In a spirit of breaking with his father’s repressive legacy and shedding light on those known as ‘years of lead’, Mohamed VI created in 2004 the Equity and Reconciliation Instance, which treated more than 17,000 cases of serious human rights violations and compensated the victims.
Seven years later, in 2011, the monarchy faced democratic demands of the ‘Arab Spring’ protests, after a historical abstention rate in the 2007 legislative elections that exceeded 60%. Mohamed VI announced a revision of the Constitution.
The new Magna Carta, which stipulates parity as a governing principle of public policies, consolidated the position of the Parliament and the Presidency of the Government, although it did not essentially modify the powers of the monarch, who continues to set the country’s guidelines.
During his reign, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has multiplied by more than three to 129.6 billion euros in 2023, but without reaching the speed of other emerging countries in the region, such as Senegal, whose GDP is almost five times higher.
In the last 25 years, the Human Development Index (HDI), which reflects economic development and analyzes health, education and income, has shown a continuous improvement, but not at the same pace as other countries and Morocco has decreased in the international ranking from 112th place in 1999 to 120th in 2022.
Morocco has undertaken plans to modernize agriculture, until it becomes an export reference to Europe, has consolidated a textile and automotive industry and foresees an energy transformation.
Infrastructures such as the Tanger Med megaport, the largest in the Mediterranean and Africa, have also been inaugurated, the highway network has been expanded from 400 to 1,400 kilometers and the first high-speed train has been established.
Despite state efforts, Morocco continues to suffer an imbalance between the most developed industrial Atlantic axis, which connects the northern city of Tangier with the southern city of Agadir, and the most impoverished regions of the east and southeast of the country.
The earthquake of 2023 that shook the mountains of southern Marrakech and left almost 3,000 dead revealed a Morocco where there are still isolated villages that live in precariousness.
One of the critical moments of the era of Mohamed VI was the outst of social protests in the northern region of the Rif, which began in October 2016 in the city of Al-Ocemas and lasted until mid-2017.
During the protests, half a thousand people were arrested. Almost all of them have been serving their sentences or have benefited from royal pardons, except for six, including the leader of the revolt Naser Zafzafi, who is serving a 20-year sentence.
Morocco receives criticism in terms of press freedom. Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, as well as the European Parliament, denounce the imprisonment of journalists.
Some convictions that, according to the Moroccan Government, are for crimes of common crime, such as rape, unrelated to his profession as journalists.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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