El Rif y el poder central: una perspectiva histórica

This article is focused in the definition of Rif from a historical, geographical and linguistic point of view, reviewing the different definitions given by several authors and analyzing the relationship between this region and the central power always in tension, justified from the outside because the Rif is a part of the Moroccan territory or for beeing a region in continuos rebellion against the Sultan. The internal point of view seems to be different and is exemplified by the figure of Abd-El Krim. He saw the Sultan as a hostage of the colonial power and carried out several efforts to achieve the Sultan support, but all these efforts were frustrated by France achieving the public condemn of the Rif movement by the Sultan and fuelling the separatism option of the Rif movement.Subsequent negotiations offered the Rif movement administrative autonomy, but the presence of colonial troops in the territory was an insurmountable obstacle despite the progress made in the recognizing of the Sultan by the Rif movement. This movement idealized by some sectors of the Arab and European left parties and compared to pro-independence movement as the Basque and Catalan separatist tendency has little in common and this is also observed in the Rif rebellion of 1958 and 1959.The decentralization of power in certain regions including the Rif territory is a solution to solve the problems that caused the tension between the Rif and the central power.