Robert Mugabe | Cambridge And Baccalaureate Exams | Litcharts

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Introduction

Robert Mugabe is a politician, revolutionary in Zimbabwe and 2^nd President of Zimbabwe. From 1980 to 1987 he served as Prime Minister and from 1987 to 2017 he served as President of Zimbabwe.

Timeline

Robert Mugabe was born on 21^st February 1924 in Kutama, Zimbabwe. He is now over 94 years old.

Country

Zimbabwe

Rise To Power

Robert Mugabe received 7 degrees from Fort Hare University in South Africa. He has been the Maoist Zimbabwe African National Union’s, Secretary General in the year 1963. Against the Rhodesian government, he gave a ‘subversive speech’ for which he was sentenced to prison for ten years, in 1964. In the process of launching a guerilla war to gain independence, he fled to Mozambique after his release. In the year 1979 he returned to Rhodesia and by 1980 he became Prime Minister. Zimbabwe the new name was given to the newly independent country the following month.

Dictatorship

Robert Mugabe rose to power via fear-mongering and electoral deception. In one of the elections in one particular province, he didn’t get votes so he fabricated stories of treason and rebellion against the civilians and orchestrated killing of more than 20,000 people. Due to the ‘land reform program’ he introduced, more than 3.1 million people from Zimbabwe lost livelihood, jobs and homes during his reign in office. Any village that voiced dissent was bulldozed thus leaving people homeless. Against Rhodesia, the white colonial rulers, he led a bloody guerrilla warfare.

End Of Regime

After his autocratic rule for decades, his reputation as a grassroots leader eroded. By 2010 he was advanced in age. The Zimbabwain army announced in November 2017, that it had placed him under house arrest. He resigned from office on 21^st November 2017.

Short Term Impact

Robert Mugabe leads a socialist party, called the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front founded in 1987. To counter the imperial past of the nation, he and his party are heavily nationalist with the ideology of the left wing, favoring seizure of land from the Zimbabwean whites. In 1987 the role of Prime Minister was abolished and he assumed Presidency. The annual inflation rate under his rule has increased to around 100,000 %.

Long Term Impact

As far as the Movement for Democratic Change is concerned, it is Robert Mugabe who has probably faced the most organized and strongest opposition. He persecuted members of the MDC by accusing it of being backed by Western countries. He ordered arbitrary violence and arrest against the supporters, due to which opposition against his iron-fisted rule, could galvanize further. In the effort of keeping his grip in power, Robert Mugabe has been relying on help from ‘war veterans’ militia and in the process keep off pressure from world bodies and actions from South Africa.