Youth Protests Shake Nepal and Morocco Over Economic Crises and Digital Censorship
Jesus de Salvador y Cerdan 
I’m not going to talk to you about zombies, rest assured, even though the title is very similar to many movies in that genre; but you already know that the Anglo-Saxons love to classify and label everything, I don’t know if with academic intent or to corral them, and they talk about a Generation Z, and it’s about this one and its revolts that the article is about.
To start, let me tell you that those born between the years 97 of the last century and 12 of the current one would be the members of that social group called Z, which is also known by the name of centennials, corresponding, as I told you, to the (extended) decade of the turn of the century, and that, this is a distinctive sign of the Z’s, they are digital natives, that is, they have grown up equally in a physical-real environment and cyberspace, that is, glued to the screens of mobile-smart phones, tablets, and the rest of electronic devices, and establishing and maintaining all kinds of relationships, of friendship or professional or even romantic in the environment of the virtual space.
On the other hand, there are all the latest revolts that young people have starred in and that have as a starting point (although later others from before have been included) those that occurred in Nepal, at the beginning of September, also including those in Peru, Madagascar, Serbia, Paraguay, or those in our southern neighbor (the one with the unshared threats) Morocco.
Of all of them, I don’t know if you’ve seen any news, because the media noise from others, which act as true and perfect smoke screens or curtains, prevents having a global photograph of the current geopolitical reality, and that’s why I wanted to talk to you about it.
First of all, let me convey to you that no, I don’t believe there’s a dark hand that weaves all these movements and revolutions together, that there’s a worldwide conspiracy to destabilize the international order-disorder in which we live, although foreign agents can always exist that might instrumentalize them.
What in my opinion is happening is a spatiotemporal coincidence of similar circumstances, such as; the existence of a very significant proportion of youth population with a lack of future prospects, a socioeconomic crisis, unethical behavior by politicians, and a spark that ignites the revolt, that is, practically nothing new under the sun, that said, all of it seasoned with a lot of noise on the internet and the use of social networks as one of the cohesive/coordinating elements of all of them.
Because look at Nepal, the most well-known at the start of these revolts, in which we have a country economically impoverished, quite poor to begin with, and that has suffered major earthquakes in recent years, like those in 2023 or 2015, leaving its economy increasingly battered.
Also in 2008 it underwent a regime change, after a civil war started by Maoist communists, supported by foreign interests, and which led in 2008 to the proclamation of the federal republic, largely led by those Marxists, and moreover with a large youth population, since in 2023 young people between 15 and 29 years old were 28% of the population of that faraway country, in the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range, in the middle of two great powers like China and India with multiple conflicting interests, called Nepal.
In this 2025, in that mountainous country, various incidents have occurred that have been heating up the atmosphere, such as the spring demonstrations in favor of the Monarchy; but above all, moreover, and here the escalation begins, if to the aforementioned economic crisis and episodes of corruption we add, as the sons of the regime, communists they are, boasted through social networks of a life of ostentation and luxury (what here is called piji-progres), you can imagine the anger or exaltation, not to say harsher words, of that youth without a future, which as is normal expressed and spread through digital media and their platforms (the explosive was already armed).
And then the spark arrived that detonated the social bomb, what did the authorities do?, well what communists do, prohibit, prohibit and prohibit; the government of the prime minister of the “Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)”, that’s what it’s called, Khadga Prasad Oli, banned social networks and digital platforms, under the saying “dead dog ends the rabies”.
But the dog had already infected, had bitten the conscience of many young people, and the revolt exploded as was logical, starting the regrettable fire of government buildings and attacks on people related to the administration, causing the forced replacement of the prime minister, and bringing to power, interimly, Sushila Karki, who plans to hold elections next year, we’ll see.
Another of the cases is that of Morocco, in the year 2023 young people between 15 and 29 years old in this country were 25% of the population, and although the macroeconomic situation is relatively good and improving, the microeconomic situation is not so good, because in fact more than half of that youth, 52% of them according to some statistics, thinks about emigrating, especially in rural Morocco, and moreover regarding public ethics in that country, it is very evident what it is just by looking at the hashish fields of Ketama, so the bomb was already primed.
The spark that has detonated it, seems to be, is the death in Agadir of eight pregnant women in two weeks from undergoing cesareans, and then the digital movement of GENZ212 exploded (for Generation X and the 212 is Morocco’s prefix).
The street protests, among other messages, demanded, “We want hospitals, not stadiums!” and “We don’t want the World Cup; we want healthcare”, referring to the 2030 soccer World Cup to be held with Portugal and Spain, and evidencing the disparity of purposes or needs between the country’s elite and part of its youth.
The intensity of these demonstrations has been of such magnitude that they have even caused deaths, and of course hundreds of detainees. Although the truth, there’s no need to worry much about its stability (very necessary for us), since the Alawite regime is expert at navigating crises, and in fact it is the only survivor of the Arab Springs in North Africa.
You see that these revolutions are a true déjà vu in the history of humanity, a nihil novum sub sole (there is nothing new under the sun) as King Solomon apparently said; and what are revolts in less developed countries, are parties called populist in more advanced democracies, and that whole process is for the same causes, socioeconomic crisis, corruption, and a spark that makes everything blow up, and above all the lack of capacity of the public officials, that political class, which at times does not know, cannot or even does not want (for their own interests) to respond to those needs of society.
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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of Gateway Hispanic.
