[Marxism] Gregory Elich on Zimbabwe

[Greg McDonald <sabocat59@xxxxxxx>]

The Battle over Zimbabwe’s Future. Read the article at http:// 
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? 
context=viewArticle&code=ELI20070413&articleId=5373

      Amid heightened tension, an all pervading crisis is afflicting  
Zimbabwe. The economy is close to collapse, the standard of living  
has plummeted, and the political scene is marred by recent violence.  
To hear Western leaders tell it, it is Zimbabwean President Robert  
Mugabe who has brought this state of affairs upon his nation through  
economic mismanagement and repression, and what would have been an  
otherwise prosperous country is instead on the edge of ruin. The U.S.  
and Great Britain trade barbs with Zimbabwe, and relations are  
perhaps at their lowest point, with pressure mounting in the U.S. and  
Great Britain for harsher measures.

      There are many in the West who have joined the chorus  
denouncing the Mugabe government and call for its replacement with a  
“democratic government.” The hostile reaction against Zimbabwe is not  
surprising when one considers that the flood of news reports is  
notable for its uniformity and lack of context. A single message is  
repeated in the media. The ruling party, the Zimbabwean African  
National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), rules through  
undemocratic means, we are told, while the opposition party, the  
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) enjoys wide support and is kept  
from power through repression. Western leaders seek only to promote  
democracy and prosperity in the region. This is the popular image in  
the Western press, and few question its veracity. How information is  
formulated, including what does not get reported, demonstrates some  
of the ways perception is managed and support for policy objectives  
is generated.


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