“If you’re here to run one of us over, then you can start with me!” shouts a defiant young Moroccan protester perched on another youth's shoulders in front of a line of grim riot police.
The Kingdom of Morocco has been convulsed by a week of nationwide, mass protests that have seen hundreds arrested, police vehicles in flames, widespread destruction and deadly police violence.
Multiple protesters have also been recorded being run over by police vans. Two protesters were shot dead by security services on Wednesday, and hundreds have been wounded, according to the Interior Ministry.
The Gen Z-led protests have spread across the country like wildfire. Moroccan authorities have been caught off guard, and their initial response — arresting protesters en masse — only served to fan the flames.
Though the images of burning vehicles, the violence and the deaths over the last week have caught the world’s attention, the roots of the unrest, which stretch back years, even decades, have been less documented.
The Hassan II Mosque, situated at the edge of the coastal city of Casablanca, is a feat of architectural, engineering, and aesthetic magnificence. The mosque appears from certain angles to sit atop the ocean — a stunning testament to Morocco’s achievements and its rich heritage.
To get from this iconic structure in Casablanca to Morocco’s capital, Rabat, you can catch the Al Boraq high-speed train — the first of its kind in the whole of Africa and an impressive infrastructure achievement. When you arrive in Rabat, you can take a modern tram to the upscale neighbourhood of Agdal and wander around high-end fashion boutiques amidst the former French colonial colonnades, sipping a latte.
By many metrics, Morocco is a rapidly modernising developing country with some of the finest facilities and infrastructure in Africa.
But 500km south of Casablanca lies Agadir, another coastal city from which a different view of Morocco can be seen.
Dubbed “the hospital of death”, the Hassan II public hospital has for some weeks now been the focus of a simmering nationwide controversy.
A medical crisis exposed
Protests outside the hospital have been taking place for some weeks, after news of the deaths of eight pregnant women who were discharged from the hospital, all within a few weeks of each other. Each of the women had undergone the same caesarean section operation.
Local media reported that the anaesthetic used for their operations was not adequately refrigerated, making it less effective, and prompting staff to administer higher doses, to lethal effect.
The growing protests at the facility prompted the Minister of Health to visit the hospital in an attempt to calm the situation.
Although he acknowledged the protesters and subsequently fired the hospital’s director, the protesters remained unsatisfied, stating that the situation at Hassan II was not an isolated case but rather characteristic of the entire Moroccan healthcare system.
The floodgates opened: unexplained deaths and personal testimonies detailing corruption, malpractice, and neglect began circulating on social media. One video shows a man at Hassan II hospital who, with no wheelchair, can be seen pushing himself across the floor with his hands.
Others showed videos of cats on beds, rotting food, leaking pipes, and people sleeping on floors. One shows a woman holding photos and hospital paperwork claiming her son's limbs were “stolen while he was alive”. Another shows a distraught man holding up what seems to be a dead baby.
These testimonies and videos have only multiplied as the protests escalate; a woman with a neck brace claiming to have a rare illness says her son has joined the protests after witnessing her treatment by the public health system.
She explains how, when she went for an appointment at a hospital in the city of Fes, she was initially not allowed to enter, then, later, unable to lift herself, she was left on the floor covered in her own vomit by indifferent staff.
"We have begun to wish for death because of the public healthcare system,” she says, reflecting deep public frustrations.
Citizens overlooked
Popular chants taken up by protesters, including "No World Cup, Health First”, illustrate what protesters say are incorrect priorities.
Evidence of the country's expansive preparations to host the African Cup of Nations this year, followed by the World Cup in 2030, is everywhere.
Cranes are beginning to dominate the skyline as the skeletons of new football stadiums emerge from the ground. The government is spending billions on investment for the World Cup, including a $4.2 billion airport modernisation and infrastructure investment, as well as other major projects primarily aimed at tourists and visitors.
Even the most critical and urgent aid for citizens is lacking.
In 2023, a devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Morocco, killing thousands and leaving entire communities homeless.
Today, two years later, 200 families are still living in tents following the natural disaster. They have levelled allegations of corruption, mismanagement and unfulfilled aid promises at the government, according to the National Coordination of Al Haouz Earthquake Victims.
Another popular chant dominating the demonstrations is: “Phosphate and two seas, (yet) we live a life of misery,” referring to the fact that the country possesses 70% of the entire world’s phosphate reserves and its strategic position that straddles both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
Makhzen wealth vs. citizens’ woes
Beyond slogans, though, Morocco has enormous wealth. Three decades of trade liberalisation have redrawn the country's economic map. Thriving tourism, agriculture and automotive industry, vast mineral resources mean business is booming.
In 2024, Morocco welcomed over 17.5 million visitors, making it Africa’s most visited country, surpassing even Egypt.
Meanwhile, the Renault-Nissan factory in Tangier produces 400,000 vehicles annually, raising automotive exports from $300 million to $14.2 billion — no mean feat for a relative newcomer to the automotive industry.
But economic success, on one hand, serves only to highlight the stark realities of healthcare on the other.
Tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, and major international events, such as the World Cup, provide thousands of jobs; however, with low wages, these jobs are insufficient to support a sustainable livelihood without robust public services.
As the rich grow richer, hospitals fall into disrepair, driving a wedge between the rich and the poor; today, Morocco has the highest levels of inequality in North Africa.
A report by Oxfam from 2019 raised the alarm, calling inequality in Morocco “particularly extreme” and stating that the tax system “does not support the redistribution of wealth.”
And nothing embodies this inequality more than the ruling clique, known as the Makhzen, with King Mohamed VI at its head. With an estimated net worth ranging between $4 billion and $8 billion, he is the wealthiest monarch in Africa and the fourth richest monarch on earth.
He owns 12% of Morocco's arable land, as well as significant stakes in key strategic state and private industries, and dozens of palace complexes both within and outside the country. Some of his properties, like a palace resort in Zanzibar, he has never even bothered to visit.
Growing frustrations
Nevertheless, protesters have made no demands to overthrow the king or the state; instead, they have limited their demands to action on corruption, health, and education.
But the King and the Makhzen that surround him have become increasingly perceived as distant and scornful, indifferent to the opinions of everyday Moroccans and their needs. An attitude embodied by the kingdom's flourishing economic and military ties with Israel since a normalisation agreement was signed in 2020.
The agreement was a deeply unpopular position that has virtually zero support among the population, which has become even more unpopular as Israel's genocide in Gaza continues in earnest.
Ongoing mass protests have been calling for an end to normalisation for over two years now, and yet these demands have fallen on deaf, indifferent ears. So, it remains to be seen whether the King and the Makhzen will finally begin to heed the demands of today's protesters for improved public services.
Belal Awad is an independent Algerian-Iraqi filmmaker and journalist. He has directed and produced documentaries, reports and articles on migration, inequality and the global South
Follow him on X: @belalgiers