Muslim countries in Africa are heading for another Arab Spring!

 
Ten years after the onset of the February 20 Movement, its variant of the “Arab Spring”, Morocco is still perceived as a bedrock of stability in the region. However, while the king successfully contained the 2011 uprising, under the surface the rift between state and society is still widening, according to news coverage. 

Youth-led demonstrators clashed with police over the weekend in some of Morocco’s largest anti-government protests in years, denouncing what they called the government’s misplaced priorities.

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.

They drew a direct link between the country’s struggling health care system and its investments in the lead-up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, shouting slogans including, “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”

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. Police in plainclothes and riot gear disrupted protests in several cities, including Rabat and Marrakech, and arrested demonstrators, including in Casablanca.

Since at least a decade ago, protests in Morocco have often centered on regional inequities and the government’s priorities in Rabat. This weekend’s 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 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 “confirm the crackdown on free voices and restriction of the right to freedom of expression.”

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. 58% of Moroccans appear to consider either the economy, the quality of public services, or corruption the most important challenges for the country. 

While Moroccans increasingly question political institutions and elites, local grassroots movements continue to spring up across the country, illustrating the limits of cooperation. As these movements mobilize local communities, transform local identities, shape new forms of activism and open up new windows for cooperation, a new national reckoning with the social and political status quo may be closer than we think.