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 
------------------------ 
 
¶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