Speaker 1: On this Day and Working Cross History the nineteenth of January.
Speaker 1: On the nineteenth of January nineteen eighty four, protests began
Speaker 1: in the Riff area of northern Morocco against the introduction
Speaker 1: of baccalaureate subscription fees in public schools, which was mandated
Speaker 1: by a structural adjustment program imposed by the International Monetary Fund.
Speaker 1: Protesters were also motivated by a sixty seven percent increase
Speaker 1: in the cost of staple food items like oil, butter,
Speaker 1: and sugar. Students in the predominantly Amazig also known as
Speaker 1: Berber region were joined by workers and the unemployed in
Speaker 1: days of protests, which were met by violent repression from
Speaker 1: the regime of Hassan the Second, who described the poor
Speaker 1: people of the Riff as or bashed, meaning savages or scum.
Speaker 1: Troops killed and jailed hundreds for repressing the movement, which
Speaker 1: the government blamed on Communists, Zionists and Iran. But on
Speaker 1: twenty second of January, Hassan was forced to reverse the
Speaker 1: price increases. The sources maps and all of our anniversaries
Speaker 1: each day check out the on This Day section of
Speaker 1: our stories at at stories stopworkingclasshistory.
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Speaker 2: the show notes. The music by See You Tomorrow,