New Book Documents Morocco's "Federal Memory"

A newly published book delves into Morocco's political history, preserving the memory of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces during the latter half of the 20th century. Titled "Federal Memory," the nearly 400-page volume meticulously records the minutes of the party's political bureau meetings from 1979 to 2000.

The book, part of the "Documents for History" series, was compiled and introduced by Abdel Samad Belkbir. It serves as a repository of political shifts, both internal and external, chronicling the party's journey from opposition to its "consensual alternation" entry into government. The minutes capture the political bureau's discussions on these developments, even as the party did not see the entire process through to its conclusion.

This publication is significant for its inclusion of previously unpublished records from the leadership meetings of a prominent post-independence Moroccan opposition party. The minutes were entrusted to Belkbir, who was an advisor to Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi, with no initial intention of public release.

The book highlights key issues that dominated the political bureau's agenda during the period. These included discussions on the "Sahara," often following direct talks with the palace or during national security council meetings, and issues related to the "Democratic Bloc," a coalition of parties. Party organization within regions and branches was a consistently recurring item, frequently taking precedence over other matters. Many of these organizational issues were personal or superficial, stemming from the party's engagement with local administrations through participation in city and municipal councils, rather than ideological or political debates.

Further discussions covered internal party conflicts, such as the split that led to the formation of the "Avant-Garde Party," and the party's situation abroad, particularly in France and Algeria. The status of the prominent figure Mohamed El-Fekih El-Baysri was also a significant topic. The book also details debates on the Socialist Union's relationships with the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, the Socialist International, and the former Soviet Union. Additionally, it addresses party press and editorial lines, especially after El-Baysri's return, and the "sudden death of the prominent journalist Mohamed Bahy," which was linked to pressures he faced in his role at the newspaper.

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The Socialist Union of Popular Forces will transform immediately after this fraudulent conference into a party subordinate to the government and administration as intended, losing its militant line, national value, and popular base, and its intimate relationship with the people's aspirations and masses, and with the tasks of liberation and building the Arab-Islamic national identity, and will turn into a party of administrative and cultural elites, and will be folded and dissolved into the pursuit of creeping interests and aspirations.