{"id":177587,"date":"2025-09-29T13:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/177587\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:12:09","slug":"young-moroccans-clash-with-police-while-protesting-stadium-spending-and-health-system-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/177587\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Moroccans clash with police while protesting stadium spending and health system decline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Youth-led demonstrators clashed with police and blocked the highway over the weekend in some of Morocco\u2019s<\/a> largest anti-government protests in years, denouncing what they called the government\u2019s misplaced priorities.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of young Moroccans took to the streets of at least 11 cities across the North African nation, denouncing corruption and blasting the government for pouring money into international sporting events while neglecting health and education.<\/p>\n

They drew a direct link between the country\u2019s struggling health care system and its investments in the lead-up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, shouting slogans including, \u201cStadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MOROCCO-POLITICS-PROTEST-HEALTH\"Moroccan security forces detain a protester during a youth-led demonstration in front of the parliament building in Rabat, on Sunday.Abdel Majid Bziouat \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Morocco is building at least three new stadiums and renovating or expanding at least half a dozen others, preparing to co-host the event. It will also host the Africa Cup of Nations later this year.<\/p>\n

Police in plainclothes and riot gear disrupted protests in several cities, including Rabat and Marrakech, and arrested demonstrators, including in Casablanca, an Associated Press reporter witnessed.<\/p>\n

Plainclothes police officers were seen arresting protesters as they gave interviews to the press, videos published by local outlets show. Police on the ground and the Justice Ministry did not respond to AP\u2019s questions about the arrests or the number of demonstrators.<\/p>\n

Since at least a decade ago, protests in Morocco have often centered on regional inequities and the government\u2019s priorities in Rabat. This weekend\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Unrest swelled most recently after eight women died giving birth in a public hospital in Agadir, a large coastal city 300 miles south of Rabat.<\/p>\n

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights said that more than 120 people were arrested over the weekend and transferred to police stations, adding that the arrests \u201cconfirm the crackdown on free voices and restriction of the right to freedom of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike past protests driven by unions or political parties, these protests were publicized largely on social media platforms such as TikTok and Discord, popular among gamers and teenagers, by a leaderless movement.<\/p>\n

Two groups \u2014 \u201cGen Z 212\u201d and \u201cMorocco Youth Voices\u201d \u2014 urged \u201cpeaceful and civilized protests\u201d and responsible debate, even as many of their supporters voiced more militant demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no hope,\u201d Youssef, a 27-year-old engineer protesting in Casablanca, said. \u201cI not only want health and education reforms, I want a whole system reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want better salaries, better jobs, low prices and a better life,\u201d he added, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of facing arrest for attending an unauthorized protest.<\/p>\n

\"APTOPIXSecurity forces arrest protesters in Rabat on Sunday.STR \/ AP<\/p>\n

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. Morocco\u2019s youth have drawn inspiration from Nepal, where youth-led protests have channeled widespread anger over the lack of opportunities, corruption and nepotism.<\/p>\n

Moroccans this month have been demonstrating outside hospitals in several cities and rural towns to denounce the decline of public services.<\/p>\n

Officials have denied prioritizing World Cup spending over public infrastructure, saying problems facing the health sector were inherited.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Morocco\u2019s billionaire Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch defended what he called the government\u2019s \u201cmajor accomplishments\u201d in the health sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe managed reforms, upgraded the spendings and we are in the process of building hospitals in all the country\u2019s regions,\u201d Akhannouch, who is also Agadir\u2019s mayor, said. \u201cThe Agadir hospital has been facing problems since 1962 … and we are trying to resolve them.\u201d<\/p>\n

After protests, Moroccan Health Minister Amine Tahraoui fired the hospital director as well as health officials from the region.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

After the rallies, Gen Z 212 said in a Facebook post that it is planning future protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtesting is the only way to win our rights,\u201d one demonstrator told an elderly man who tried to dissuade him, warning he could be arrested.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Youth-led demonstrators clashed with police and blocked the highway over the weekend in some of Morocco\u2019s largest anti-government…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,137,500],"class_list":{"0":"post-177587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}