“Give us water or we will take you down” was the unceremonious welcoming General Aziz got today in Magta Lahjar (Brakna Province.) Magta Lahjar, like other towns in the country, saw a rash of protests over the government’s failure to provide drinking water, or basic services. This trend is an entirely new phenomenon far surpassing the Kadihine (Maoists) golden age of street protests in the 70’s. Aziz will need more than water to put out these fires as he potentially faces either a generalized popular uprising, a coup d’etat, or both. In Mauritania today, the equation is no longer democracy versus dictatorship, but rather water versus droughts.