Why Gen Z-led protests are spreading globally: ‘Fighting the identical battle’ – National

From the Andes to the Himalayas, a brand new wave of protests is unfolding the world over, driven by generational discontent against governments and anger amongst young people.

This week, Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina was forced out of power and in a foreign country after a military mutiny, the culmination of weeks of demonstrations led by young protesters referring to themselves as “Gen Z Madagascar.”

The craze against the political establishment within the Indian Ocean island country mirrors other recent protests the world over, in countries like Nepal, the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, Peru and Morocco. These protests have been sparked by specific grievances but are driven by long-simmering issues like widening inequality, economic uncertainty, corruption, and nepotism of leaders.

But they’ve one thing in common: Mostly leaderless, they’re made up primarily of young individuals who brand themselves as “Gen Z,” defined as those born roughly between 1996 and 2010 — the primary generation to grow up entirely in the web age.

“What connects these youth-led protests is a shared sense that traditional political systems aren’t aware of their generation’s concerns, whether that’s corruption, climate change, or economic inequality. Protest then becomes the logical outlet when institutional channels feel blocked,” said Sam Nadel, director of Social Change Lab, a U.K.-based nonprofit that researches protests and social movements.

Though their specific demands differ, most of those protests have been sparked by government overreach or neglect. Some have also confronted harsh treatment by security forces and brutal repression.

In Morocco, a leaderless collective called Gen Z 212 — named after Morocco’s dialing code — has taken to the streets to demand higher public services and increased spending on health and education. In Peru, protests over a pension law exploded into broader demands, including motion to tackle rising insecurity and widespread corruption in the federal government. In Indonesia, deadly protests have erupted over lawmakers’ perks and the price of living, forcing the president to interchange key economic and security ministers.

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Essentially the most well known movement to be dubbed as a “Gen Z” protest was a deadly rebellion in Nepal that culminated with the resignation of the prime minister in September. Protesters drew inspiration from successful anti-government movements elsewhere in South Asia — Sri Lanka in 2022 and Bangladesh in 2024 — which led to the ouster of incumbent regimes.

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In Madagascar in turn, protesters say they were particularly inspired by the movements in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The protests began against regular water and electricity cuts but quickly morphed into wider discontent, as demonstrators called for the president and other ministers to step down. On Wednesday, Madagascar’s military coup leader said he’s “taking the position of president.”

Across multiple countries, a singular popular culture symbol has emerged: a black flag showing a grinning skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat. The flag comes from a cult Japanese manga and anime series called “One Piece,” which follows a crew of pirates as they tackle corrupt governments.

In Nepal, protesters hung the identical flag on the gates of the Singha Durbar, the seat of the Nepalese government, and on ministries, a lot of which were torched in protests. It was also hoisted by crowds in Indonesia, the Philippines, Morocco and Madagascar.

Last week within the Peruvian capital, Lima, 27-year-old electrician David Tafur stood with the identical flag in San Martín Square, now the stage for weekly protests.

“We’re fighting the identical battle — against corrupt officials who, in our case, are also killers,” he said, recalling that President Dina Boluarte’s government held on to power since December 2022 despite greater than 500 protests and the deaths of fifty civilians.

“In my case, it’s outrage over abuse of power, corruption, the deaths,” Tafur said, referring to the sharp rise in murders and extortion plaguing the South American country since 2017, amid recent laws which have weakened efforts to fight crime.

Boluarte had been under investigation for months over various allegations including bribery and involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters in 2022. She was replaced last week by interim President José Jerí.

Tafur said that wasn’t enough.

“The president is an ally of Congress and has to go,” he said.

Many significant protests previously, like Occupy Wall Street in 2011, the Arab Spring between 2010 and 2012, and the 2014 Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, have been led by younger people. While additionally they used the web and social media for mass mobilization, the “Gen Z” protesters are taking it to a different level.

“Digital platforms are powerful tools for information sharing and constructing connections, but essentially the most effective movements often mix digital mobilization with traditional in-person organizing, as we’ve seen in these recent protests,” said Nadel from Social Change Lab.

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Days before the deadly protests began in Nepal, the federal government announced a ban on most social media platforms for not complying with a registration deadline. Many young Nepalese viewed it as an try to silence them and started accessing social media sites through virtual private networks to evade detection.

Over the subsequent few days, they used TikTok, Instagram and X to highlight the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children, highlighting disparities between Nepal’s wealthy and poor, and announce planned rallies and venues. Later, a few of them also used the gaming chat platform Discord to suggest who to nominate as an interim leader for the country.

“Whatever movement happens, whether against corruption or injustice, it spreads through digital media. The identical happened in Nepal. The changes that took place after the Gen Z protests in Nepal spread globally through digital platforms, influencing other countries as well,” said protester Yujan Rajbhandari.

He said the protests in Nepal woke up not only the youth but additionally other generations.

“We realized that we’re global residents and the digital space connects us all and plays a strong role the world over,” Rajbhandari said.

Associated Press journalists Franklin Briceño in Lima, Peru, and Niranjan Shrestha in Kathmandu, Nepal, contributed to this report.