Mugabe’s Mess

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe emerged severely weakened from his stunning defeat last weekend in a referendum on constitutional amendments that would have increased his powers and in effect made him president for life. The vote might have started his ruling ZANU-PF party sliding toward defeat in the April parliamentary election, and that would be a boost for democracy in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is in the midst of its worst crisis since it won independence in 1980 and elected Mugabe as its first president. Inflation stands at 70%, and half of the adult population is unemployed. The nation has defaulted on payments to creditors and is running out of fuel. Corruption is rampant. Dissent is being suppressed with increasing ruthlessness. The economy is bankrupt, yet Mugabe’s government sent military hardware and thousands of troops to Congo, becoming one of several participants in a civil war there. That involvement is very unpopular among Zimbabweans, who denounce it as pointless and too costly.

Zimbabwe’s relations with the International Monetary Fund, which last summer approved $200 million in standby credit, were suspended when Mugabe refused to disclose the cost of his nation’s military involvement in Congo.

Mugabe’s party still might win the April election, and his own term doesn’t end until 2002, but he has squandered public trust in his government. International lenders should shun Zimbabwe unless the April vote proves to be legitimate and unless Mugabe pulls his troops out of Congo. The president must also offer a credible plan showing real commitment to reviving the moribund economy and restructuring and privatizing the bloated state-owned sector.