The National Union of Popular Forces ( ar, الاتحاد الوطني للقوات الشعبية; , UNFP) was founded in 1959 in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Mehdi Ben Barka use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

and his entourage, because they found that the

Istiqlal Party The Istiqlal Party ( ar, حزب الإستقلال, translit=Ḥizb Al-Istiqlāl, lit=Independence Party; french: Parti Istiqlal; zgh, ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and ...

was not radical enough. Espousing

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

policies, the party took a strongly critical line towards the ruling

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

, and consequently faced severe police repression, led by interior minister general Mohamed Oufkir. The UNFP had a diverse leadership: while

Abderrahim Bouabid Abderrahim Bouabid (in Arabic: عبد الرحيم بوعبيد –23; b. March 1922 in Salé – d. 8 January 1992 in Rabat) was a Moroccan politician, and head of the left-wing Socialist Union of Popular Forces (SUPF) between 1975 and 1992. ...

, and

Abderrahmane Youssoufi Abderrahmane Youssoufi ( ; ar, عبد الرحمن اليوسفي; 8 March 1924 – 29 May 2020) was a Moroccan politician and human rights lawyer who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002, serving under kings Hassan I ...

were considered moderates,

Fqih Basri Mohamed Basri () widely known as Fqih Basri (; 1927 in Demnate, MoroccoOctober 14, 2003 in Chefchaouen, Morocco) was a lifelong political activist and Moroccan regime opponent. Mohamed Basri was nicknamed 'Fqih Basri', since he had begun his stud ...

was promoting armed struggle, and Ben Barka chose to oppose the rule from exile. When the

Sand War The Sand War or the Sands War () was a border conflict between Algeria and Morocco in October 1963. It resulted largely from the Moroccan government's claim to portions of Algeria's Tindouf and Béchar provinces. The Sand War led to heighten ...

broke out between Morocco and Algeria in 1963, Ben Barka, then in Algeria, officially sided with

Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella ( ar, أحمد بن بلّة '; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 an ...

's FLN government. This was seen as high treason by the Moroccan government, and he was sentenced to death ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

''. He later "

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...

" in

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, possibly on Oufkir's orders, in a case that remains a powerful if hotly debated symbol of the democratic struggle in Morocco. Congres UNFP

The UNFP later broke apart again, with one wing restyling itself the

Socialist Union of Popular Forces The Socialist Union of Popular Forces ( ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية, translit=Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtirakiy Lilqawat Al-Sha'abiyah; zgh, ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵉⵖⴰⵍⵍⵏ ⵉⴳ� ...

(''Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires'', USFP), which survives still today as a centre-left party. In the elections of 1993 USFP and Istiqlal worked together and were both

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

parties. Since 1998, the USFP is the main coalition party of the "Alternance government".

, one of the founders of the UNFP, and later the chairman of the USFP, who was once a political prisoner and condemned to death, in 1998 became head of government through elections. This — one of the first cases in modern Arab history of a head of government being selected from among the opposition — was viewed as a major breakthrough for Morocco's reform process. A small group led by

Abdallah Ibrahim Abdallah Ibrahim (; 24 August 1918, in Tameslouht– 11 September 2005, in Casablanca) was a Moroccan politician and a figure of the national movement and was the left-wing Prime Minister of Morocco between December 16, 1958, and May 20, 1960. H ...

maintained the UNFP denomination until his death in 2005; it boycotted all elections since 1972.

Offshoots

Tanzim was a radical branch of the National Union of Popular Forces party, with a revolutionary tendency. Tanzim was created in 1969-1970, with an influence from the Palestinian resistance and a support from many Panarabist republican regimes (Syria, Algeria, Libya).Héros sans gloire/Echec d’une révolution (1963-1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Union Of Popular Forces 1959 establishments in Morocco 2005 disestablishments in Morocco Defunct political parties in Morocco Moroccan nationalism Political parties disestablished in 2005 Political parties established in 1959 Republican parties Republicanism in Morocco Socialist parties in Morocco