Across the globe, Generation Z is making its presence felt in the political arena, and nowhere is this more striking than in Nepal, Mexico, and beyond. In recent months, young people have taken to the streets in droves, their voices echoing from Kathmandu to Mexico City, united by a shared frustration over corruption, joblessness, and political stagnation. The week of November 17, 2025, marked a particularly significant moment, as protests erupted across more than 50 cities in Mexico, with demonstrators demanding sweeping political change. According to The Indian Express, these protests are part of a much broader global phenomenon that governments have been slow to grasp: Generation Z is not just speaking up—it is roaring.
In Mexico, one young protester captured the mood perfectly, shouting, "It is about letting the government know that we are willing to go that far. Because when those at the bottom move, those at the top fall." That sentiment, while spoken in Spanish, could just as easily have been heard in the streets of Kathmandu, Jakarta, or Antananarivo. The language may shift, the slang may change, but the core message remains consistent: Gen Z has discovered its political power, and it is determined to use it.
But what exactly has been happening on the ground in Nepal? The country has seen a dramatic wave of youth-led activism, culminating in the ousting of the government in early September 2025. Young people, angered by mounting corruption and a lack of meaningful reform, organized mass protests that ultimately toppled the ruling administration. The movement was not without cost—The Indian Express reports that 76 people lost their lives during the nationwide anti-corruption protests in September, with fatalities occurring over several days as demonstrations intensified.
Digital connectivity has played a pivotal role in shaping these movements. TikTok clips, Discord chats, and viral memes have created a shared political vocabulary among young activists who may never meet in person but instantly recognize the same injustices in their own cities. In Nepal, protesters carried signs with slogans like, "corruption is sus, stop ghosting democracy"—a phrase that could have just as easily appeared in Jakarta or Mexico City. Reports from Nepal indicate that demonstrators frequently referenced tactics and slogans borrowed from recent movements in Indonesia, highlighting the cross-border solidarity that defines this new era of activism.
Yet, for all their energy and digital savvy, today's youth-led movements face daunting challenges. As The Indian Express notes, there is a painful historical pattern: protests erupt, governments fall or make temporary concessions, and then the old order reasserts itself. The Arab Spring offers a sobering example. Despite massive, social-media-driven uprisings that once seemed poised to reshape the Middle East, nearly every country that ousted its leader has since reverted to authoritarianism or worse. Even Tunisia, long hailed as a relative success, now finds itself under increasingly autocratic rule.
In Nepal, the aftermath of the Gen Z uprising has been fraught with disappointment. The youth group Hami Nepal, which organized much of the protest activity, initially worked with the new interim prime minister. However, members now say they have been sidelined, fearing that the sacrifices made during the protests may ultimately be for naught. "What if everything goes back to the way it was, even after the bloodshed, the marches, and the sacrifices?" one activist wondered aloud, as reported by The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the political landscape in Nepal remains volatile. On November 19, 2025, tensions flared once again in the Bara district bordering India. According to local news reports, a curfew was imposed from 12:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. within a 500-metre radius of Simara Airport after Gen Z youths clashed with cadres of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), or CPN-UML—the party of ousted Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. The confrontation erupted when CPN-UML leaders Shankar Pokharel and Mahesh Basnet were scheduled to arrive by flight to address an anti-government rally. As news of their impending arrival spread, hundreds of Gen Z protesters gathered at the airport to oppose them, triggering a clash with local party supporters.
Authorities responded by imposing a strict curfew around the airport area in a bid to restore order. Buddha Airlines, the carrier scheduled to transport the two CPN-UML leaders, cancelled all its domestic flights from Kathmandu to Simara for the day, including the flight carrying Pokharel and Basnet, who ultimately returned home after the disruption. The CPN-UML has been organizing protest programs across Nepal, demanding the reinstatement of the House of Representatives, which was dissolved on September 12, 2025, following the Gen Z movement that toppled the Oli-led government.
Gen Z activists, meanwhile, have continued to press for accountability over the alleged mass killing of protesters on September 9, 2025, during demonstrations against corruption and a proposed social media ban under the former government. Their demands for justice and reform have kept the pressure on the new administration, even as the specter of renewed violence and political instability looms.
The situation in Nepal is hardly unique. Across South and Southeast Asia, the past few years have witnessed a succession of youth-led uprisings. In Bangladesh, a massive student-led movement in 2024 succeeded in toppling the government of Sheikh Hasina. Yet, as The Indian Express points out, many of those same student protesters now believe the interim government has failed to deliver on promised anti-corruption and economic reforms. A recently announced political roadmap has sparked further protests, with students denouncing it as weak and insufficient. The military, which remains the most powerful actor in the country, is reportedly losing patience with the ongoing unrest.
Indonesia, too, has experienced waves of youth demonstrations since August 2025, driven by anger over legal reforms, economic stagnation, and a leadership perceived as out of touch. While young protesters there have forced modest concessions, President Prabowo Subianto has since stonewalled further reforms and endorsed a broader crackdown on dissent.
Still, there are glimmers of hope. Sri Lanka offers a notable exception, where the 2022 protests toppled the Rajapaksa dynasty and sparked a genuine political transformation. The election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the rise of the National People’s Power party show that youth-driven discontent can, under the right circumstances, translate into lasting institutional change—especially when young activists build alliances with established civil society networks and political actors.
Ultimately, what the world is witnessing is a generation with the courage to shake political structures but not yet the tools to rebuild them. Gen Z knows how to mobilize thousands in minutes and topple leaders with digital energy. The challenge, as The Indian Express aptly observes, "lies in what comes after the uprising." Patience, organization, and alliances will be crucial if these movements are to convert their passion and digital prowess into durable democratic reform.
The story of Gen Z’s rise is still being written. As events in Nepal, Mexico, and elsewhere show, the path from protest to progress is anything but straightforward—but the determination of this new generation is impossible to ignore.
