Unified Socialist Party (Morocco)

The Unified Socialist Party, previously known as the Party of the Unified Socialist Left, is a democratic socialist political party in Morocco.

WWW psu.ma

History and profile

The Unified Socialist Party is a mixture of various movements that sprung up throughout the 1960s and 1970s. It first started with the spin-off "23 Mars", a radical, Maoist student fraction of the largest group in opposition to the Moroccan monarchy, the National Union of Popular Forces.
The Party of the Unified Socialist Left was founded by Mohamed Bensaid Ait Idder in 2002. The Unified Socialist Party was founded in 2005 as a merger of the Party of the Unified Socialist Left and the “Fidélité à la Démocratie” association.
The party boycotted the 2011 parliamentary election. In 2012, Nabila Mounib became the secretary-general of the party, and the first woman to head a political party in Morocco.

Ideology

The PSU is ideologically rooted in critical socialist framework as a major political current based on social practice. It advocates for an egalitarian distribution of wealth and opposes blatant disparities in wealth distribution. Promoting Freedom of speech, Democracy, transparency, and the rule of law, it criticizes blatant inequalities and Human rights violations.
The PSU defines itself as a modern and open socialist party, the opposite of any chauvinistic and closed nationalism. It promotes the modernization of the parliamentary institution as a strong, effective, and democratic legislative power, within the framework of true separation of powers.
In terms of foreign policy, the PSU takes a stand in favor of the struggle of the Palestinian people, and against the imperialism of the United States and Zionism.

Domestic Agenda

The PSU's domestic agenda advocates "a democratic, modern, united and forward-looking Morocco".
And to achieve it's goals, the PSU wants:
• To put an end to the system of privileges, special favors and the waste of public funds
• Establish a parliamentary monarchy by achieving separation of powers and linking political decision-making to election results.
• Placing public institutions and services, including security services, under the responsibility of the elected government.
• Promoting a parliament that fully assumes its role as the national legislator and controller of government activity.
• Establishing an independent judiciary as the cornerstone of development and the basis of the rule of law.
• Ensuring equal opportunities and universal access to basic services.
• Building upon the potential of youth and human resources through the modernization and improvement of vital sectors.
• Guaranteeing that social services like health, education, employment access culture and leisure are effective and available to all social strata across Morocco.
• Fighting against poverty, exclusion, marginalization and illiteracy to ensure dignity for all citizens.
• Working towards a unified Morocco that embraces it's Arab, Amazigh and Muslim component, defending the values of citizenship, freedom, solidarity and participation.
• Ensuring gender equality and preserving the environment for future generations.

Internal structure

The PSU was the first Moroccan party to establish the right to dissent, guaranteeing the right to create political movements and their representation in the party's decision-making bodies. It also developed a code of conduct binding all party members, as well as a charter of ethics for party candidates in elections. Internal party elections are monitored by civil society organizations to ensure their credibility and transparency. Another example of transparency is that meetings of the party's decision-making bodies are open to the press, and public debates are held on documents presented at party congresses.