{
  "id": "RL31229",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31229",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 103304,
      "date": "2001-12-27",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:17:59.616941",
      "title": "Zimbabwe Backgrounder",
      "summary": "In late 2001, political tensions were mounting in Zimbabwe as a March 2002 presidential\nelection \napproached. There were several incidents of political violence, and President Robert Mugabe issued\na new decree to accelerate the forcible takeover of white-owned farms. The move was widely\ninterpreted as violating a September 2001 agreement, signed in Abuja, Nigeria, committing the\ngovernment to proceed with land redistribution only with \"due regard\" for the rule of law. The\ngovernment was also preparing to introduce legislation to ban foreign reporters from Zimbabwe and\nto require Zimbabwe journalists to be licensed. It had earlier indicated that only Zimbabwe civil\nservants would be permitted to act as observers during the March vote.\n  Apart from its political difficulties, Zimbabwe faced a declining GDP; high rates of inflation,\nunemployment, and poverty; and an HIV infection rate of 25% among adults aged 15 to 49. Food\nshortages were feared, partly because of the turmoil in the country's agricultural sector, and partly\nbecause of a severe drought in southern Zimbabwe. Officials acknowledged the need for food aid,\nbut said that they would not permit charities and international relief organizations to distribute\nassistance. They claimed that such groups would use relief aid to interfere in the country's politics\nand support the opposition. \n  On October 15, 2001, President Mugabe announced that Zimbabwe was abandoning free\n market\nreforms and returning to a socialist style economy. The move was judged likely to deepen\ndifficulties with the international financial institutions, which had already halted lending, and further\ndiscourage potential investors.\n  Following the November 2001 assassination of a ruling party activist, President Mugabe\ncharged that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was a \"terrorist\" organization,\nleading many to expect an intensification of government action against the party. A poll showed\nMDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai leading Mugabe in the presidential contest, but analysts believed\nthat Mugabe was determined to win in March at almost any cost. Britain, the United States, the\nEuropean Union, and many African leaders, including South African President Thabo Mbeki, were\npressing Mugabe to permit a free and fair vote. Many feared rising political turmoil in Zimbabwe\nin coming months.\n  U.S. policy-makers once saw Zimbabwe as a source of political and economic stability in\nsouthern Africa, but with the failure of Zimbabwe's economic reform program and mounting unrest\nin the 1990s, U.S. assistance levels fell sharply. Aid came to focus on programs to strengthen\ndemocracy, raise living standards among the poor, and fight the AIDS epidemic. In late 2001, the\nUnited States announced the withdrawal of Peace Corps volunteers from Zimbabwe and strongly\ncriticized the Zimbabwe government for restrictions on the press. On December 11, Congress passed\nthe Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 ( S. 494 ), providing\npressures and incentives intended to promote peaceful and democratic change, equitable economic\ngrowth, and a restoration of the rule of law.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31229",
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          "images": null
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "African Affairs",
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}