Stadiums vs. Hospitals: Morocco’s New Uprising

Yacout Benmansour is a first-year Politics and International Relations student. (Connect: LinkedIn: Yacout Benmansour)

Introduction

The 'Gen Z 212' protests represent a significant fracture in Morocco’s social contract. In September 2025, youth-led demonstrations erupted following the death of eight pregnant women, exposing a crumbling public health sector. It is estimated that at least 3 people have been killed and over 400 arrested as a result of the initial crackdown[1]. While Morocco hosts the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and prepares for the 2030 World Cup, this movement highlights a "two-speed Morocco", a kingdom investing billions in "pharaonic" sporting spectacles while its essential services decay. Not only do these young people face severe repression and potential prison sentences of up to 15 years, but more than 4.3 million are currently neither in school nor employment, fuelling a mass disillusionment that threatens to fracture the nation's social contract [2].

The breaking point : the hospital of death

In late September 2025, news broke that eight women had died in the maternity ward within a single month following C-section complications [2].Eyewitness reports from the facility described a descent into horror, with fifteen women sharing a single toilet and cockroaches infesting recovery rooms [3].The outrage reached a fever pitch when images circulated of an infant with a massive spinal tumour being refused care because the hospital lacked basic equipment. This was not viewed as an isolated medical error, but as the "fruit of years of accumulation" of state neglect in the periphery. The timing of the Agadir crisis created a devastating visual irony for the Moroccan public. As the state finalized the €900 million renovation of stadiums to welcome the world for AFCON 2025, its own citizens were dying for lack of "first aid kits" and functioning X-ray machines. This contrast fuelled the movement's most biting slogan: "The stadiums will have first aid kits; our hospitals will not.

For the youth of "Gen Z 212," the €470 million spent on the Grand Stade of Casablanca represents a prestige-over-people policy that prioritizes international branding over the fundamental right to health [4] Digital anthropologist Miryam Aouragh argues that these 'mega-projects' often require 'mega-destructions' of local communities and traditional livelihoods [5] .

For the state, hosting the 2030 World Cup is a tool of international branding and a way to secure foreign investment from the Gulf and France. However, this creates a reputational risk. If the state cannot reconcile its global ambitions with the human rights standards required by international bodies like FIFA, the 'prestige' it seeks may turn into a diplomatic liability, exposing the kingdom’s internal 'security-first' approach to the very world it is trying to impress . These deaths crystallized a profound sense of “hagra”(a specific Moroccan term for the humiliation felt by citizens when they are treated as invisible by their own government) [5].By the time the protests reached Casablanca and Rabat, the demand was no longer just for the firing of local hospital directors; it was for a total reimagining of a social contract that had left half the country in the shadows. While Morocco ranks 120th on the 2025 Human Development Index( the highest inequality rate in North Africa) the visibility of wealth has surged. The number of millionaires in the kingdom has increased by a third over the past decade.

Mobilizing the “invisible Morocco”

While the Moroccan state utilizes traditional media to promote its "grand sporting ambitions," Gen Z 212 has built its own community using platforms typically reserved for gaming. The movement’s Discord server ballooned to over 200,000 members, serving as a 'strikingly organized, decentralized machine’ [2]. Within this digital space, participants utilize transparent polls to vote on demands and coordinate rallies, while dedicated channels are used to share demonstration times and locations just hours in advance to bypass the kingdom’s extensive surveillance apparatus. By operating as an anonymous collective without a formal legal entity, the movement protects its organizers from immediate state decapitation.

The name "Gen Z 212" is a strategic act of branding, pairing a global generation with Morocco’s international telephone country code. This generation (composed largely of educated, middle-class graduates who previously felt like "outsiders" in their own country) seeks to stay and improve the kingdom rather than join the "clandestine migration" to Europe [6]. Their mobilization is rooted in a "patriotism of reform," where they pointedly their protestations toward the government of Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, viewed as the incarnation of "predatory capitalism," while maintaining a strategic allegiance to the Monarchy as the ultimate arbiter of reform. They are the voices of the 4.3 million young Moroccans currently not in school, training, or employment, demanding that their country's progress be measured by social dignity rather than "white elephant" cultural projects [2].

The movement successfully translated its digital momentum into physical defiance, occupying major urban landmarks such as Place Maréchal and the Aïn Diab promenade in Casablanca. These gatherings represent an "indispensable union of struggles," bringing together young graduates and working-class families who share a common sense of “hagra” [3]. Even as the state attempts to erase [WH1] the protests through the spectacle logic of AFCON 2025, the persistence of small-scale rallies in Rabat and the public support of national team players like Yassine Bounou and Hakim Ziyech demonstrate that the movement’s core demands for "health, education, and the fight against corruption" remain deeply embedded in the public consciousness [2,7].

The state security-first answer

The Moroccan state’s initial reaction to the Gen Z 212 movement followed a classic "carrot and stick" pattern, defined by what rights groups call a "purely security-based approach". From the earliest gatherings in late September, authorities deployed plainclothes officers who engaged in what the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) described as "kidnappings"(snatching protesters from the streets, often in the middle of media interviews, without leaving official police reports or traces of custody) [3,7]. By late October, the scale of the crackdown was staggering; over 2,000 people had been arrested , with nearly 2,400 facing prosecution across the kingdom. The repression turned lethal on October 1st as unrest spread to regional centers [4]. In the town of Lqliâa, near Agadir, and in the northern city of Oujda, security forces utilized live ammunition and deliberately drove vehicles into crowds to disperse protesters. Amnesty International condemned this "unlawful force," noting that victims included children as young as 12 who suffered firearm wounds [1].

While the government offered "symbolic" early concessions such as the dismissal of local hospital officials in Agadir, the judicial response was designed to send a "strong message" of zero tolerance [1,2]. In a single trial following the Aït Amira disturbances, courts handed down sentences totalling 162 years in prison for just 17 individuals. Some protesters received penalties as high as 15 years for charges including "damage to public property" and "arson of a vehicle". Rights groups highlighted numerous procedural violations, including the lack of presumption of innocence and reports of "horrific" abuse and harassment of female detainees while in custody [3]. Despite the heavy hand of security, the Moroccan state remains qualitatively different from other North African regimes in its ability to deploy "soft power and tactical concessions.

A fractured peace

This crackdown has created an atmosphere of paranoia, particularly among the artistic community and the youth who now fear returning to the streets [1,3]. Despite the state’s attempt to "erase" these images through the festive climate of AFCON 2025, the persistence of over 1,000 young people in pre-trial detention ensures that the grievances remain unresolved [4].The government’s pivot from pure repression to its massive $15 billion budgetary promise marks the next phase of this struggle for the nation's future.. During a decisive Council of Ministers meeting, King Mohammed VI announced a landmark allocation of 15 billion USD for public education and health for the 2026 budget (an 18 percent increase over the previous year). The plan aims to recruit 27,000 new staff, presenting it as proof that global sporting events do not compromise basic services [2] .While many celebrated this as a victory of "peaceful pressure," a sceptical majority argued that these announcements remain "ink on paper" until the "institutional corruption" they originally protested is eradicated.

Conclusion

As the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations reaches its climax, Morocco remains a nation caught between two realities. The "climate of great celebration" surrounding the Atlas Lions is being utilized by the state as a "magical solution" to erase the memory of the September protests. However, the recent flash floods in Safi, which claimed 37 lives just weeks ago, have served as a grim reminder that "prestige projects" cannot safeguard a population against the consequences of neglected infrastructure [8].

The Gen Z 212 movement has exposed a deep rift in the Moroccan social contract, one that traditional political parties and unions can no longer bridge . By rejecting hierarchy and utilizing decentralized digital headquarters, this leaderless generation has forced the Makhzen (the internal power structure) to negotiate with an "invisible Morocco" it previously ignored [2]. Whether the $15 billion pivot and the new youth-centric laws will successfully integrate these dissenters into the system remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that "thought cannot be repressed". The stability of the kingdom now depends on whether it can transform its global diplomatic ambitions into local social realities before the next inevitable wave of unrest.

Works Cited

[1] Amnesty International (2025) ‘Morocco: Halt use of excessive force following crackdown on youth protests’, Amnesty International, 3 October. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/10/morocco-halt-use-of-excessive-forc e-following-crackdown-on-youth-protests/ (Accessed: 28 December 2025).

[2] Kabbadj, O. (2025) ‘Hospitals versus stadiums’, Africa Is a Country, 23 October. Available at : Hospitalsversus stadiums (Accessed: 28 December 2025).

[3] ARTE (2025) Maroc : la révolte de la Gen Z | ARTE Reportage. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph60mZ-dbME (Accessed: 28 December 2025).

[4] Courrier International (2025) ‘Sport. La CAN 2025 au Maroc : après les manifestations Gen Z, une victoire et tout est oublié ?’, Courrier International, 20 December.Available at: La CAN 2025 au Maroc aprèsles manifestations Gen Z, une victoire et tout est oublié ? (Accessed: 28 December 2025).

[5 ] Daadaoui, M. (2025). Youth Protests and the Future of Reform in Morocco. Panel discussion held at the London School of Economics (LSE) Middle East Centre. Video conference 17 November 2025 Available at: Youth Protests and the Future of Reform in Morocco

[6] Boskaljon, R. (2025) ‘Morocco accused of "horrific" abuse of detained gen Z protesters’, The Guardian, 18 December. Available at: Morocco accused of ‘horrific’ abuse of detained gen Z protesters (Accessed: 28 December 2025).

[7] Middle East Eye (2025) ‘Moroccan GenZ 212 protesters want to "defend their right to a dignified life"’, Middle East Eye, 6 October. Available at:

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/moroccan-genz-protesters-want-defend-their-rig ht-dignified-life(Accessed: 28 December 2025).

[8] NewsX Live (2025) 37 Dead as Torrential Rains Trigger Flash Floods in Morocco’s Coastal Safi Province. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-rLVo8yMDQ (Accessed: 28 December 2025).