In the last few years, Zimbabwe has suffered through an economic crisis that has impoverished the entire nation, the destruction of its agriculture sector, and the theft of elections that its citizens had hoped would end the country's mismanagement. Incredibly, however, the situation continues to deteriorate. An internationally mediated power-sharing proposal appears to be unraveling and a cholera epidemic is sweeping the country.
The United Nations says the epidemic has killed about 1,000 people and up to 18,000 others have been infected. Yet Zimbabwe's leaders appear to be digging in — oblivious to the extraordinary costs their misrule is having on the country. President Robert Mugabe claims that the epidemic is over.
Zimbabwe was once the breadbasket of southern Africa. But when Mr. Mugabe, the former guerrilla leader who has ruled the country since it gained independence in 1980, lost a referendum that would have allowed him to stay in power — the first vote he ever lost — he declared war against white farmers, accusing them of being a fifth column for former imperialist powers. Encouraging former war veterans to take over those farms devastated the economy.