In theory, I should be writing a post every day urging you to leave your email addresses in support of my nomination.
But today, an international news story will make the case better than I can:
And this is not a joke or an exaggeration in the slightest. Replace “Chombo” with “Medvedev” or “Volodin.” Replace the “African National Union” with “United Russia.”
Even the press releases would be identical. The irreplaceable national leader has successfully ruled the country for many years, restored its greatness, made the world respect us again, and pushed back against the overreaching West. The opposition criticizing the leader are Western puppets.
Mugabe has been in power for 36 years.
Well, Putin has already been in power for 17, and next year he wants to add another 6. That makes 24 years.
A very African-style term in office.
More broadly, they have almost the same political identity and even the same political tactics.
They give exactly the same answers at press conferences.
- Why is the economy doing so badly? - The Western countries miscalculated when they imposed their sanctions. They only helped us develop domestic production. The economic difficulties are temporary; growth will return soon.
*- Why does everything belong to oligarchs, your relatives, and your associates? Everyone is equal before the law here, I do not grant favors to anyone, and anyway, let’s remember what things were like before I came to power. The Americans were running everything here. We were losing our sovereignty.*
*- Why are opposition figures being persecuted and criminal cases fabricated against them? Our people are distinguished by their spirituality. Western standards and their declining civilization do not suit us. They have homosexuality everywhere. They impose their rules on us through their agents, and the people reject them. There is no repression.*
Both Russia and Zimbabwe are raw-material appendages of the West while rhetorically claiming to oppose that same West. In both Russia and Zimbabwe, officials invest in real estate abroad and receive medical treatment abroad.
In both Russia and Zimbabwe, domestic political problems are dealt with by distracting the public with foreign policy.
There is only one difference: Russia has a lot of oil, so its economy has not yet collapsed to the point where people have to carry devalued money around in wheelbarrows.
Well, that did not happen to Mugabe in his 17th year in power either, but a little later. So all of that still lies ahead for you.
Sign if you do not want to be dragged into Zimbabwe under slogans of wisdom and harmony.