Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CASABLANCA36
2009-03-03 09:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Casablanca
Cable title:  

MOROCCO,S MIDDLE CLASS PART I: A STATE OF MIND

Tags:  ECON MO PGOV PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0036/01 0620947
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030947Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8313
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 3844
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0690
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 8539
UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000036 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG
STATE PLS PASS TO COMMERCE FOR NATHANIEL MASON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON MO PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: MOROCCO,S MIDDLE CLASS PART I: A STATE OF MIND

------------------------
Summary and Introduction
------------------------

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000036

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG
STATE PLS PASS TO COMMERCE FOR NATHANIEL MASON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON MO PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: MOROCCO,S MIDDLE CLASS PART I: A STATE OF MIND

--------------
Summary and Introduction
--------------


1. (SBU) King Mohammed VI's August 2008 directive that all
public policies should seek to develop Morocco's middle class
has prompted a spirited debate and discussion on the makeup
of that middle class in Morocco today. For now, there is no
consensus on the definition, even within the government. What
constitutes the middle class is relative, not easily defined,
and in Morocco today mostly a state of mind. The
government,s inability to reach a common definition has
impaired and will likely continue to impair the country's
efforts to strengthen this sector of the population.


2. (SBU) This cable, the first in a three-part series, looks
at what, exactly, constitutes the middle class in Morocco
today. The second cable will examine the factors contributing
to the stagnation of Morocco's middle class, and the third
cable will look at public and private initiatives to develop
that middle class. This series is based on observations drawn
from our discussions with government interlocutors, civic
society, academia, and the business community. End Summary
and Introduction.

--------------
The Royal Decree
--------------


3. (SBU) Late last summer, King Mohammed VI expressed his
"firm wish to ensure that all public policies are
strategically devoted to developing the middle class, so that
it can be the foundation of the social structure, the basis
of stability, and a powerful catalyst for production and
creativity." With the King's mandate in hand, a plethora of
government agencies ranging from the Ministry of Finance, to
the Ministry of Education, to the Ministry of Economic
Affairs scrambled to formulate a unified action plan to
strengthen the middle class. This effort has run up against a
lack of agreement about who, exactly, is the middle class in
Morocco today. To address this impasse, Prime Minister Abbas
El Fassi last fall created a special committee charged with
developing policies to bolster the middle class, beginning
first and foremost with defining this segment of the
population. Five months since its inception, the committee
has yet to reach a consensus on that definition.

-------------- --------------

What constitutes the Middle Class in Morocco Today?
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) The lack of a universally accepted definition is
largely due to the fact that the middle class is relative and
not easily defined. Our discussions with government
officials, the private sector, and civic society highlight
the wide range of criteria used to define this group: income
level, purchasing power, access to world culture,
aspirations, and education. "The definition of Morocco's
middle class has been stretched to the point of irrelevancy,"
says Professor Bekouchi of Hassan II University.


5. (SBU) According to sociologist Michel Peraldi, the middle
class may constitute anywhere from 5 percent to 25 percent of
the population depending on the definition used. Economists
in Morocco generally divide the middle class into two
sub-categories, according to Bekouchi. About one-third are
the upper professional middle class families consisting of
highly educated and salaried professionals. The remaining
two-thirds are lower middle class families compromising
mostly of semi-professionals and skilled craftsmen.


6. (SBU) In its effort to grapple with the concept of middle
class, the Moroccan government has put forward a range of
definitions. In December 2008, Finance Minister Mezouar
defined the middle class as a household (defined as a family
of four) generating between USD 1100 to 1700 per month.
Others, including the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of
Health, however, argue the middle class falls below this
level, questioning how a family earning USD 20,000 per year
can be considered "middle class" in a country where per
capita income is just over USD 2500 per year. This inability
to reach a common government definition has serious
consequences, according to a senior official of Attijariwafa
Bank, who believes it will hinder any progress on GOM plans
to bolster the middle class.

7. (SBU) Outside of the government, the private sector has
been equally unsuccessful in formulating a single definition
that is narrow enough to be meaningful. A recent market study
by Procter and Gamble very loosely indentifies the middle
class as a household earning between USD 350 to 2100 per
month. According to Procter and Gamble, the middle class

represents about 23 percent of Morocco,s population. In a
similarly broad fashion, a senior official at one of
Morocco,s largest banks defines the middle class as a
household earning between USD 625 to 2125 a month, noting
that this group represents 70 percent of his bank,s customer
base. Civil society, however, provides a more specific
concept. The Center for Social, Economic, and Managerial
Studies (CESEM) recently conducted an extensive nationwide
survey and more narrowly defined the middle class as earning
between USD 1350 to 1700 per month per household.

--------------
Middle Class is a State of Mind
--------------


8. (SBU) Data aside, being "middle class" in Morocco today
appears to be less a question of income and more a social
label with cultural connotations. "Everyone wants to believe
they are middle class", says Professor Bekouchi. Surveys have
shown that, while Moroccans consider USD 1,100 per month to
be at the low end of what it takes to live the middle class
life, some families who make as much as USD 2,5000 per month
still consider themselves middle class, says Michel Peraldi.
For Peraldi, this demonstrates that "income tells only part
of the story. Middle class is all relative".


9. (SBU) Our contacts in business and academia do agree on
one thing: those who define themselves as members of
Morocco,s middle class share a certain set of values -
values that emphasize independence, modernity, innovation,
non-conformity, and disaffection for the political process.
Their self-perception is one of an emerging yet influential
part of society. Another agreed upon characteristic is that
women are seen as the key enabler to middle class status. One
financial analyst jokingly told Econoff, "The one sure way to
obtain middle class status is to marry a professional
Moroccan woman."
MILLARD