People are struggling with economic problems in Morocco, the flash country of the World Cup

Morocco’s great success at the World Cup in Qatar was overshadowed by the country’s economic problems.

Morocco advanced to the World Cup semifinals in Qatar, beating some of the best soccer teams in Europe. This event was the first for an African team and sparked great enthusiasm among fans in the Arab world.

However, while the North African country celebrates the success of its soccer teams, on the other hand, it deals with price increases caused by drought and the war between Russia and Ukraine.

While the success of the national team has been a welcome distraction for Moroccan consumers and businesses, which are grappling with annual inflation of more than 8%, the highest level of inflation in the past three decades, Moroccan fans celebrate the success in social networks. to complain about the high prices.

The country’s financial institutions expect Morocco’s central minister to raise the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent at its quarterly meeting on Tuesday. This will be the second tightening of monetary policy after the increase in September. Furthermore, interest rates are expected to rise to the highest level after 2008 at this rate.

STREET SHOWS

The reaction in society also spread to the streets during the world cup. Moroccan authorities have authorized demonstrations in Rabat and in the country’s largest city, Casablanca, denouncing high prices, allegations of corruption and restrictions on human rights.

These types of events are surprising for a country that has endured popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa over the past decade. The authorities are also aware of this situation. The state has nearly doubled its subsidy spending this year to contain public anger. But the country’s economic difficulties did not end.

On the other hand, many core economies, including Morocco’s main trading partner, the European Union, have entered a wave of monetary tightening. This is another event that pushes Morocco towards monetary tightening.

In its November assessment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Morocco would need to raise interest rates to meet its goal of reducing annual inflation to 2 percent by 2024.

The IMF predicts that the economy based on tourism and agriculture will grow 0.8 percent this year. In 2021, the Moroccan economy grew by 7.9 percent due to the post-pandemic base year.

THANKS TO AGRICULTURE, THE ECONOMY SUPPORTS

According to Bloomberg, Rachid Aourraz, co-founder of MIPA, a think tank based in the capital Rabat, said in his assessment on the subject that “the economy has shown some resilience thanks to high tax collections and the agricultural sector, which is still help. to keep prices relatively under control, but officials said the crisis He said he was not prepared for it to continue for so long.