Generation Z protests: Why are young people rising up?
Young people have led a wave of protests in countries such as Nepal, Indonesia and Morocco, channeling frustration over inequality and government corruption.


BarcelonaA pirate flag with a straw hat was flying at the gates of Nepal's Parliament as the building burned. The same flag was raised above the Malagasy protesters who this weekendDemanding an end to the constant water and electricity outages, the protesters flooded the streets of Peru, where President Dina Boluarte was ousted on Friday. This is the insignia that presides over the ship of Captain Luffy, a rubber-bodied pirate who in the manga One Piece He is confronting the so-called "World Government." For several months now, he has also become the symbol of the wave of protests led by the so-called Generation Z—a label that encompasses those born after 1996—that has spread across South Asia and, more recently, to some countries in Africa and Latin America.
"Generational frustrations with the current political system are common," says Nepali Sarthak Bathattarai in the ARA. The 26-year-old, who has participated in organizing the protests in Nepal, maintains that "theold regime, Made up of people older than the country's demographic majority, it has been governing without knowing how to adapt to the changing times." "They do not represent our concerns and, above all, they do not maintain any dialogue with our generation," she criticizes. country, but underneath there is a shared disenchantment: the lack of prospects for young people, growing inequality and a critique of the privileges of the political elites. "There is, without a doubt, a common structural cause. These are countries with high levels of corruption among the elites, strong economic inequalities and there has been violent repression in the initial phases of the protests, often with deaths," notes CIDOB researcher Inés Arco.
In Nepal, the spark for youth protests was the ban on social media.Frustration over this law, combined with latent anger over elite corruption, catalyzed a sustained mobilization that brought down the government of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli. In Morocco, the death of pregnant women in a hospital in the city of Agadir sparked a wave of indignation that unleashed an uprising. In Indonesia, it all began with the denunciation of excessive allowances for parliamentarians. Countries like the Philippines, East Timor, and Paraguay followed suit. Regardless of whether they achieved a result or not, the protests have been articulated around clear demands, something that differentiates them from the wave of the Arab Spring in 2011. "Although the causes of the protests may seem different, young people are demanding essential conditions for a dignified life in the Mar Aro Human Rights Khadija Ryadi.
An anonymous and horizontal movement
The protesters also share a rejection of more traditional forms of politics: "It's not true that Generation Z is disconnected from politics, although perhaps there is a certain disconnect from traditional forms of politics. The problem isn't so much that we don't participate as that we aren't included in political processes: the regime doesn't have the language to listen to us," Bat claims. Ryadi agrees: "They're not depoliticized, but rather that they're not interested in politics as it is now, as others do. But they do pursue their politics when they have the means and conditions to do so."
All of this, in societies with a key demographic characteristic: young people are the majority, often exceeding 25% of the population. The discontent, therefore, doesn't come from a minority group, but from a core segment that is practically devoid of political representation and doesn't benefit from the current economic system. However, it connects with a shared sense of injustice that has been able to unite other generations.
Generation Z is the first fully digital generation. It should come as no surprise, then, that social media has played a key role in the organization and dissemination of protests. Bathattarai acknowledges that "Discord was a good way to avoid government control." In addition to being a quick and secure tool for discussion, social media has encouraged the movement to remain anonymous and horizontal. In his opinion, this "has allowed many people who would not have been immediately interested in the protests to take to the streets" without any political party or social actor trying to capitalize on them. Ryadi also highlights that for this generation, social media is another "vital space to take, work, and—as we've seen—to organize."
While there is no direct kinship between movements, Arco detects a learning curve between the various local movements and a transnational community that is being created through a common symbolism. "Young people find in other movements sources of inspiration and a sense of shared belonging, even if their struggle is local," he says. The case of the One Piece movement is revealing: it uses global references of cultural consumption to build bonds of belonging. "The message is simple and powerful—'we will end oppression wherever it exists'—and that resonates with a globalized generation that shares its visions, even if they aren't specific to their context," he adds.
And Europe?
The economic outlook supports youth unrest around the world. But why then have these kinds of demands not been made in Europe? On the one hand, the aptly named Old Continent has an average age of 42 (in Asia and South America, it's around 32, and in Africa, it's barely 19). The younger generation weighs less and, therefore, has more difficulty changing power structures. This doesn't mean there isn't unrest: it exists and is articulated around material needs such as housing and job insecurity, says Arco. But instead of leading to progressive demonstrations, the unrest is often co-opted by the far right, which offers a language and structures that evade traditional politics. "The problem is that, in the Global North, there is a lack of positive examples: recent movements have not achieved their objectives, while in the South, some have opened avenues for dialogue or institutional change," the analyst concludes.