Morocco witnessed some of its most significant anti-government protests in years over the weekend, as youth-led demonstrators clashed with police, decrying what they termed the government’s misaligned priorities.
Hundreds of young Moroccans took to the streets across at least 11 cities in the North African nation, condemning corruption and criticising authorities for channelling funds into international sporting events while health and education services languish.
Protesters drew a direct correlation between the countryâs struggling healthcare system and substantial investments ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Chants of “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?” echoed through the demonstrations.
Morocco is currently constructing at least three new stadiums and upgrading several others in preparation to co-host the global football tournament, alongside hosting the Africa Cup of Nations later this year. Police, both in plainclothes and riot gear, intervened to disperse protests in cities including Rabat and Marrakech, with arrests made in Casablanca, as witnessed by an Associated Press reporter.
Since at least a decade ago, protests in Morocco have often centered on regional inequities and the governmentâs priorities in Rabat. This weekendâs nationwide rallies coalesced around popular anger seen earlier this year in isolated incidents throughout Morocco, including in areas still reeling from the deadly 2023 earthquake. Unrest swelled most recently after eight women died giving birth in a public hospital in Agadir, a large coastal city 300 miles (483 kilometers) south of Rabat.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights said dozens were arrested on Saturday, including some who were physically assaulted. Some were freed overnight, it said, adding that the arrests âconfirm the crackdown on free voices and restriction of the right to freedom of expression.â
Unlike past protests driven by unions or political parties, the leaderless movement organizing the weekend protests publicized them largely on social media platforms such as TikTok and Discord, popular among gamers and teenagers.
Two groups â âGen Z 212â and âMorocco Youth Voicesâ â urged âpeaceful and civilized protestsâ and responsible debate, even as many of their supporters voiced more militant demands.
âThere is no hope,â Youssef, a 27-year-old engineer protesting in Casablanca, said. âI not only want health and education reforms, I want a whole system reform.â
âI want better salaries, better jobs, low prices and a better life,â he added, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of facing arrest for attending an unauthorized protest.
In Morocco, people born between 1995 and 2010 make up the largest share of the population, and the weekend demonstrations were referred to as the Gen Z protests. Moroccoâs youth have drawn inspiration from Nepal, where youth-led protests have channeled widespread anger over the lack of opportunities, corruption and nepotism.
Moroccans have been demonstrating outside hospitals in cities and rural towns to denounce the decline of public services, local outlets reported.
Officials have denied prioritizing World Cup spending over public infrastructure, saying problems facing the health sector were inherited.
Earlier this month, Moroccoâs billionaire Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch defended what he called the governmentâs âmajor accomplishmentsâ in the health sector.
âWe managed reforms, upgraded the spendings, and we are in the process of building hospitals in all the countryâs regions,â Akhannouch, who is also Agadir’s mayor, said. âThe Agadir hospital has been facing problems since 1962 … and we are trying to resolve them.â
After protests, Moroccan Health Minister Amine Tahraoui fired the hospital director as well as health officials from the region.
World Health Organization data from 2023 showed Morocco having only 7.7 medical professionals per 10,000 inhabitants and far fewer in certain regions, including Agadir, with 4.4 per 10,000. The WHO recommends 25 per 10,000.
