Moroccan youth join global protests against inequality

BarcelonaMorocco and Madagascar have joined the list of countries where mass protests led by young people against social inequality and lack of opportunities have been taking place in recent weeks. Over the weekend, thousands of demonstrators gathered in several cities across the country, including Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakech, in one of the most significant protests in recent years in the North African nation. In Madagascar, the country's president dissolved the government on Monday night after three days of protests against power and water outages.

In Morocco, the calls to take to the streets are led by a group calling itself GenZ 212, which organizes primarily through platforms such as Facebook and Discord. The initiators present themselves as young people who do not belong to any political party or union organization and whose demands focus on reforming public education and healthcare and combating youth unemployment. During the weekend protests, clashes with police broke out, and more than 100 people were arrested in the capital and "dozens more" in other cities, according to the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH).

The Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (OMDH) has defended the peaceful demonstration as a constitutionally legitimate practice and called on the government to "adopt an approach based on dialogue and listening." Morocco's opposition parties have also urged the government to open a dialogue with young protesters to reduce tensions.

Despite the arrests and violent clashes, GenZ 212 has called for new "peaceful demonstrations" this Monday in several Moroccan cities to "express popular demands related to health, education, and social justice," and has said it will continue to encourage young people to take to the streets.

One of the sparks that has ignited the protests has been the fact that Morocco is spending a huge amount of money in preparations to host the 2030 World Cup. Two years ago, FIFA awarded the tournament's organization to the candidacy formed by Spain, Portugal and Morocco"The stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?" was one of the protesters' cries, according to local media. Another cause of outrage was the recent deaths of eight pregnant women in a public hospital in Agadir. Furthermore, youth unemployment reached 47% in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest data from the Moroccan central bank.

Violent clashes in Madagascar

In Madagascar, President Andry Rajoelina announced the dissolution of the government after protests on Monday, for the third consecutive day, ended with police firing tear gas at demonstrators who had blocked roads in the capital. Authorities declared a nighttime curfew on Thursday after protests in the capital, Antananarivo, turned violent. Among the cheers from the crowd were repeated calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and Andry Rajoelina, who has been in power since 2023.

The protests in both African countries follow similar youth-led demonstrations in Nepal, Indonesia, Kenya, and the Philippines to criticize social inequality and the lack of opportunities for younger generations.