Mrtedious's Blog
All Eyes On Zimbabwe
It is the moment of truth as the peaceful, freedom-loving peoples of Zimbabwe go to the polls to elect their president today. Ranged against them are the police, the armed forces, the civil authorities, and a scheme for rigging the elections so audacious even Stalin would blush (Hu Jintao is taking notes). And yet, sources say, these brave people who have endured tyrannies large and small are prepared to go the distance against the corrupt regime of Robert Mugabe. Threats, spies, a civil infrastructure broken by two and a half decades of misrule, violence, and a policy of suppressing dissent that is little short of organized, barbaric murder are not enough to deter the people of Zimbabwe from saying their piece.
Opposition leaders stated that they will keep a scrupulously close look on the election, and if there is evidence of rigging or vote-tampering, they will refuse to honor the results of the unjust election. Instead they will protest in the streets like the Kenyans, even if it means, as in Kenya, violent reprisals from government forces. As the life expectancy for both males and females has dropped precipitously in the past few years, they may not have much to lose: starvation, murder, and government-backed assassination are all-to-frequent under Mugabe's iron fist, and the people of Zimbabwe are prepared to meet the danger as true heroes: head-on.
Why You Shouldn't Vote for Robert Mugabe
So I realize that my odds of placing in this contest are pretty slim, but since you can't cancel your account I thought I'd take the opportunity to raise awareness on an something that takes place miles away, but, as humans, still affects us all. And isn't that what MTV is all about?
I'm talking about the elections next week in Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe is the chief thug ("dictator" is too nice a term) of that country and has presided over its spiral into chaos. Mugabe has been a psychopathic strong man for much of his tenure since 1980 and unfathomably corrupt for all of it. Even two decades ago Mugabe's corruption was limited to stealing elections and political cronyism, and Zimbabwe was doing fairly well--better, at least, than many of its neighbors.
Since then, however, vigorous opposition parties have arisen and challenged Mugabe's rule, only to find their leaders arrested or executed, their members beaten, their property confiscated, and the elections rigged.
Since then, Zimbabwe's agricultural and mineral production has virtually halted, as well as its tiny industrial sector. The government has printed money and imposed price fixes to prevent massive inflation, but the result is that goods are now so scarce in many areas that no amount of money can buy them. Even a gold sold coin cannot buy bread, as their is no bread to buy. Black-market inflation rates are estimated to be as much as 100000% PER YEAR, which would be like a shirt costing $20 in December of 2007 now costing $500000, and likely to cost over $2 million by the end of the year.
Half of Mugabe's own party is disgusted with his tactics, but with the police on his side, there are questions whether any non-military solution to the problem is even possible.
So if you're Zimbabwean, next Friday vote for Makoni or Tsvangirai. Don't vote for Mugabe.
If you're not a resident of Zimbabwe (citizens living abroad cannot vote, another way for Mugabe to maintain his control), get the word out. Tell your friends. Tell Paris Hilton. But everyone must know not to vote for Robert Mugabe.
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27, Goddess Land, PA Votes: 102669 |
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21, Stanford, CA Votes: 94422 |
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23, astoria, OR Votes: 79 |
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22, Medford, MA Votes: 531 |
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20, Arvada, CO Votes: 135 |
