Moroccan Greens: Recruitment in full swing!

Just a few weeks ago, a statement signed by the founder of the Moroccan Green Party (PVM), in which he handed over the keys to the party’s national operations to another member of its leadership, was made public.

It was in June 2025 that Mohamed Farès, elected in May 2024 as head of the Executive Council of the African Greens Federation (FEVA), decided to appoint Aziz Benazzouz as Secretary‑General of the Fibula Party.

The latter, who claims to have been part of the preparatory committee for the Greens’ first congress, thus returns to political action five years after being ousted from the ranks of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). A story that made a great deal of noise in 2019.

At the time, he was a member of the Political Bureau and also head of the parliamentary group in the Upper House, where he had been elected under the banner of the Democratic Labour Organisation. Since then, the founder of the PVM has hardly been heard from, although he has retained the title of president.

The reason is that the general practitioner intends to devote himself fully to his four‑year mandate at the head of FEVA.

Benazzouz at the operational helm

Yet, under the spotlight among Moroccan environmentalists, it is above all Benazzouz—known for his oratory skills—who has been most vocal. All the more so as he also serves as the party’s official spokesperson. And he was not the only one to have joined the Moroccan Green Party at that time.

Indeed, in February 2025, the Federal Council of the Fibula Party simultaneously endorsed the arrival of around twenty new members from, among others, political and trade‑union circles, including seven who joined the Political Bureau.

For some observers, the decision to appoint the former PAM member to the operational cockpit of the PVM was the result of lengthy negotiations between the party and Benazzouz, who arrived with “seasoned profiles” that he quickly placed in key positions within the Fibula Party.

The hope was that these new recruits would serve as engines paving the way for further enlistments.

Otherwise, with the ecological formation—which is an extension of the Green Left Party, itself born of a split from the Unified Socialist Party (PSU) following what were described as “fundamental disagreements with the former leadership of the PSU”—Farès, rather than constituting himself as a “faction lacking the consent of that same leadership”, chose to pursue the adventure far from the walls of the Maréchal Ameziane Residence, on Agadir Street in Casablanca.

A repositioning without saying its name

That said, despite announcements of an ongoing reconstruction under the leadership of the new Secretary‑General, the party remains rather discreet on the Moroccan political scene regarding the action plan it intends to roll out.

This is despite the fact that the Federal Council meeting held a little over a year ago had outlined the contours of a roadmap aimed at “better” reorganisation, particularly in terms of strengthening the party’s regional anchoring, boosting its two parallel organisations—women and youth—while also reflecting on other levers with the aim of “ensuring greater outreach across the various layers of Moroccan society”.

Moreover, among the other challenges facing this so‑called rebuilding party is the need to secure greater visibility, especially on social media.

This is an area where a number of activists remain relatively silent about the party’s political offering. It should also be noted that certain rumours mentioned the recruitment of some PAM members—claims that were quickly denied by both the leadership of the Tractor Party and that of the Fibula Party.

However, within the latter, it is indicated that “under the new dynamic in which the party has embarked”, new recruits are expected ahead of the elections and would be interested in standing in the next legislative elections under the Fibula banner.

Whether or not this scenario materialises remains, it is specified, in the hands of the designated regional officials, who are tasked with reviewing the files submitted to them for assessment.

Be that as it may, within the party there is talk of large‑scale arrivals on the horizon, and the party claims to be mobilised to secure a better position on the political landscape—whether during the 2026 deadlines or those of 2027.

Historically, the party considers itself under‑represented compared with the ambitions it held when it opted for a form of “ecological socialism” intended to break with the country’s mainstream political parties.

Indeed, throughout its trajectory—marked by participation in all electoral cycles of 2011, 2016 and 2021—the party, which currently holds no seats in parliament, has only succeeded in sending two members to the legislature.

Hence the PVM’s attempt, “without renouncing its fundamentals”, to reposition itself under the banner of “political ecology as a comprehensive societal project”. Yet the “ecological fibre”, which had heated up the international political scene since the late 1970s, does not appear to have resonated with Moroccan voters.

Nevertheless, on the eve of the upcoming September elections, the party “wants to break with what is seen as a long cycle of under‑representation”, both at the level of the legislative institution and within elected territorial councils.

The “new recruitments” form part of this ambition—without, according to the PVM, muting grassroots outreach and awareness‑raising efforts among citizens regarding the importance of environmental protection issues.

Whether this change of reference framework will work in favour of the Moroccan Greens remains to be seen. A tall order!

Reframing the message…

More than a narrow focus on purely environmental issues, political ecology in Morocco today presents itself as a “comprehensive societal project”.

A soft way of reframing the Greens’ commitment so as to cast the widest possible net across the country’s societal segments.

Especially since the initial attempts do not seem to have generated the expected resonance within Moroccan public opinion, particularly among voters.

Moreover, the ecological niche is no longer the preserve of a single political entity claiming a monopoly over it, but has become “everyone’s affair”.

It is no coincidence, in this respect, that ecological issues now feature in nearly all party literature and programme proposals.

And the maximalism once claimed by certain political movements internationally is no longer in vogue.