“GenZ21Who?”: What Morocco’s New Protest Culture Borrows (And Doesn’t) From the Nation’s Past

by Aurèle Tobelem, Historian and Director of Research, Forum for Foreign Relations

Since the youth-led antigovernment protests erupted in Morocco on 27 September, a swirl of outside commentary—some insightful, most misguided—has emerged around the movement. The demonstrations erupted shortly after the inauguration of the new Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat in mid-September, coinciding with reports of multiple patient deaths attributed to medical negligence in Agadir. Together, these incidents sparked a wave of nationwide protests and international criticism.