非洲風情：津巴布韋─風光一時的麵包籃

南非津巴布韋曾有「非洲麵包籃」 之稱。經過獨立運動後，穆加貝在八十年代起掌權。但中央集權、土地改革引致的經濟衰退，及種族清洗恩德貝萊族，一連串政策削弱津巴布韋非洲民族聯盟—愛國陣線（ZANU-PF）的支持度。

憲制改革失敗後，反對派積極參與千禧年的國會選舉。最大反對黨的爭取民主變革運動，面對穆加貝偽造選票和暴力威嚇，仍然成功爭取過半議席。為確保勝出兩年後的總統選舉，穆加貝重施故技，一如外界所料。

結果，英聯邦、國際貨幣基金組織和世界銀行紛紛中止援助。美國實施制裁，並指津巴布韋是邪惡軸心國之一。可是，掌握該國經濟命脈的南非，重申其外交原則，支持「為非洲的問題，尋找非洲風格的解決方案」。

缺乏足夠國際制裁下，穆加貝以暴力鎮壓勝出零八年的大選。反對派甚至不敵壓力，退出選舉。直至一八年，前副總統姆南加古瓦在軍事政變中，成功推翻政權。民眾紛紛在首都哈拉雷慶祝，但坊間擔心新政權只是穆加貝2.0。

Zimbabwe - The Breadbasket of Africa

Zimbabwe was known as the breadbasket of Africa. Robert Mugabe came to power in the 80s, following the liberation against the white minority regime of Ian Smith.

Centralized bureaucracy, ethnic cleansing of Ndebele, combined with economic crisis after land confiscation, eroded the popularity of his ZANU-PF government.

Failure on constitution reform, the Movement for Democratic Change won nearly half of the seats in the 2000 parliamentary elections, despite electoral fraud and voter intimidation.

To ensure the victory in the 2002 Presidential election, there was no surprise that Mugabe used the same way to secure his power, as what critics and observers expected.

The commonwealth, IMF, and the World Bank cut off their support subsequently. The US imposed sanctions, and branded Zimbabwe as one of the six “outposts of tyranny”.

But South Africa, which enjoyed considerable influence in Zimbabwe's economy, insisted on a strategy of “quiet diplomacy”, and urged for “African solutions for African problems”.

Without sufficient international sanctions, the general election of 2008 was unsurprisingly marked by electoral fraud and repression. The opposition even withdrew from the run-off.

It was until 2017 that Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa overthrew the regime in a coup. Though people celebrated in Harare, critics worried he would become Mugabe 2.0.

IMG: https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20190907-mixed-feelings-zimbabwe-begins-national-mourning-mugabe-freedom-fighter-despot