Land Tenure in Morocco: Colonial Legacies, Contemporary Struggles

Recent changes (2019) in the legal framework governing collectively owned land in Morocco follow neoliberal economic policies that emphasize market-driven land reform. The new collective land tenure regime also responds to rural unrest and anti-government opposition resulting from state repression, lack of economic opportunity, and land ownership inequality. This chapter assesses these changes as a conjuncture of contemporary contestations over land and the legacy of colonial land governance. A historical overview of land tenure during the colonial era and after independence provides the context for three case studies that illustrate how land tenure policies play out differently depending on the agro-ecological, economic, and political circumstances. We argue that even though international development organizations recognize different ways of organizing rights in land, extractivist forms of capitalism prevalent in Morocco still work to prioritize commoditization, and other measures that dispossess historically marginalized land owners and managers in favor of capital interests.