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A youth-led movement known as GenZ 212 has urged nationwide peaceful sit-ins across Morocco to demand reforms in education, healthcare, anti-corruption measures, and relief from the rising cost of living.
The online collective, which has driven more than two weeks of nightly protests, called on citizens to gather on Saturday in cities nationwide, stressing that the movement would continue until its demands are met. The group’s founders remain anonymous.
The protests began in late September following the deaths of eight pregnant women during Caesarean sections at a hospital in Agadir, sparking outrage over poor conditions in public health institutions. Demonstrators have also voiced frustration with the country’s education system, corruption, and worsening economic hardships.
Ahead of King Mohammed VI’s annual parliamentary address on Friday, the group temporarily paused its demonstrations. While the monarch identified youth employment and reforms in health and education as government priorities, he did not mention the protest movement.
Morocco faces a youth unemployment rate of about 36 percent, and many workers struggle to afford basic needs. One protester, Fadil, told RFI that a private hospital consultation costs around €40, roughly 10 percent of his monthly wage, while public hospitals often lack basic services.
Economist Najib Akesbi criticised the government’s spending priorities, arguing that investments in prestige projects—such as sports infrastructure for the Africa Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup, costing nearly €2 billion—fail to create sustainable growth or jobs.
Although the Health Ministry’s budget rose by over 30 percent between 2022 and 2024, Akesbi noted that hospitals still suffer from shortages of medicines, equipment, and basic materials, with “no credible reform” in sight.
The demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, though sporadic violence and vandalism have occurred. Three people have reportedly died in clashes with security forces, and dozens of arrests have been made.
GenZ 212 has also launched a boycott campaign, which some protesters in Casablanca have directed against Afriquia, a fuel-distribution firm owned by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch’s family. Akhannouch, Morocco’s third-richest person, has an estimated fortune of $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.
