1981 Moroccan riots

The 1981 Moroccan riots (Arabic: احتجاجات 1981 بالمغرب‎, also known as the Casablanca bread riots[1]) were riots that broke out on May 29, 1981 in Casablanca, Morocco—a major event in the Years of Lead under Hassan II of Morocco.[2][3] The revolt was driven by price increases in basic food supplies.[2][3] This intifada was the first of two IMF riots in Morocco—dubbed the "Hunger Revolts" by the international press—the second taking place in 1984 primarily in northern cities such as Nador, Husseima, Tetuan, and al-Qasr al-Kebir.[3][4]

Context

Morocco was strained from six years in the Western Sahara War.[2] The cost of basic foods increased prohibitively: flour up 40 %, sugar up 40 to 50 %, oil up 28 %, milk up 14 %, and butter up 76 %.[3] A general strike was organized in response.[2]

Events

Thousands of young people from the bidonvilles surrounding Casablanca formed mobs and stoned symbols of wealth in the city, including buses, banks, pharmacies, grocery stores, and expensive cars.[2] Police and military units fired into the crowds.[2] The government's official death toll was 66, while the opposition reported it was 637, most of whom were youths from the slums shot to death.[2]

References
  1. Sater, James N. (9 June 2016). Morocco: Challenges to tradition and modernity. ISBN 9781317573975.
  2. "AS MOROCCO STARTS TO GAIN IN WAR, NATION ERUPTS". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  3. Clément, Jean-François (2013-09-18), Santucci, Jean-Claude (ed.), "Les révoltes urbaines", Le Maroc actuel : Une modernisation au miroir de la tradition ?, Connaissance du monde arabe, Institut de recherches et d’études sur les mondes arabes et musulmans, pp. 393–406, ISBN 978-2-271-08130-8, retrieved 2020-06-01
  4. Yabiladi.com. "Maroc : Les émeutes de 1984, quand Hassan II qualifait les manifestants de "Awbach"". www.yabiladi.com (in French). Retrieved 2020-06-01.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.