1981 Moroccan riots


The 1981 Moroccan riots 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. The revolt was driven by price increases in basic food supplies. This intifada was the first of two IMF riots in Morocco—dubbed the "Hunger Revolts" by the international press—the primarily in northern cities such as Nador, Husseima, Tetuan, and al-Qasr al-Kebir.

Context

Morocco was strained from six years in the Western Sahara War. 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 %. A general strike was organized in response.

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. Police and military units fired into the crowds. 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.