Throughout 2011, Moroccans marched by the hundreds of thousands to claim democracy. Unlike other Arab rulers, King Mohammed VI met them with constitutional change rather than bullets. Yet, even though Western governments and media hail the kingdom's "example of peaceful transition", a closer look to the new Constitution reveals little genuine reform. Behind the elaborate democratic veneer lies the same absolute monarchy as before: a regime under which the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are subjected to the will of one man -— the King —- and where this man’s cronies act as puppetmasters of the political system and ransack the economy.