Re: [Marxism] Why "Hands Off Zimbabwe" is the main question -- including in Zimbabwe

[Patrick Bond <pbond@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fred Feldman wrote:
> Basically, what Patrick submits is a cover story for the policy of ignoring
> the fact that the US imperialist state has now made the fall of Mugabe an
> explicit state interest, publicly.  

"Now"? Have you not been paying attention to this part of the world? 
Here's one report from 4 and a half years ago:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/article/0,2763,778557,00.html
US admits plan to bring down Mugabe
Chris McGreal in Johannesburg
Thursday August 22, 2002
The Guardian
The United States government has said it wants to see President Robert 
Mugabe removed from power and that it is working with the Zimbabwean 
opposition to bring about a change of administration... Mr Kansteiner 
said the US was working with trade unions, pro-democracy groups and 
human rights organisations to bring about change.

> This in itself is a significant
> escalation of the developing political and economic war against Zimbabwe.
>   

No it's not. You've just had your passing, faddish interest in Zimbabwe 
momentarily peaked, and have not bothered to do rudimentary googling to 
find out if you are saying anything new.

> Today that is the self-determination issue that is at stake, and more and
> more Zimbabweans are going to realize it before or after Mugabe falls.
>  
> Self-determination of the nation is only one aspect of popular democracy of
> course, but it is sheer demagogy to pretend that overthrowing the Zimbabwean
> government in direct alliance with US and British imperialism 
Nonsense, no one on the independent left I know is in "direct alliance" 
with US and British imperialism, just the reverse: they haven't called 
for sanctions precisely because it could potentially follow the 
imperialist logic. (This is to distinguish such sanctions from popular 
measures such as the campaign against Caterpillar during Operation 
Murambatsvina in 2005, when the homes of 700 000 people were bulldozed.)

> ...  There is nothing protective of the Zimbabwean people in so-called "smart
> sanctions." Under the claim of targeting only the bad individuals, a
> deliberate policy of crippling and breaking the entire economy is being
> pursued.  
Huh? Evidence?

> ... The smart sanctions, I guarantee you, utilize the same scientific
> methodology. They are aimed at the people of Zimbabwe, 
No, just 100 rulers and crony elites.


> ... Sayan suggests an international movement to demand that South Africa
> effectively blockade Zimbabwe, and thus force Mugabe out.  

In consultation with the Zim trade unions, SA workers are starting 
symbolic (not actual) blockades at the Beitbridge Limpopo River border. 
But if what you say about Sayan is correct this violates the principle 
that those in struggle who are affected by sanctions should be the ones 
to make the call. It would be substitutionist and inffectual for Sayan 
to make such a call.

> But I have to say something else: The lineup of forces right now indicates
> that the Zimbabwean people will be very, very lucky indeed if the successor
> government in Zimbabwe is as independent, civilized, and democratic in its
> functioning as Mbeki's.  
Civilised? Again, please wake up, Fred. Here in SA, we have more 
anti-government protests per person than any other country in the world, 
I'll bet you, and many are viciously repressed by the police. Black 
people have gotten poorer since liberation, and whites richer. Capital 
flight is endemic and the currency has crashed four times since 1996, 
the most of any major country. The environment is massively messed - far 
worse than during apartheid. Regional geopolitics look like a more 
successful subimperialism than the Botha regime could have hoped for. 
Mbeki authorised the sale of sophisticated weaponry to the Bush/Blair 
regime for use in Iraq, and spent $5 billion on hopefully useless 
military toys in recent years, replete with widespread corruption that 
goes to the top of the ANC. We have an appropriate phrase for what's 
going on here: "Zimbabwe is the preview, South Africa is the movie"... 
and an appropriate word - made popular by a top SACP leader - for the 
ANC itself: "Zanufication".



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