Zimbabwe Economy and International Relations Essay

Zimbabwe Economy and Inter subject area Relations - Essay ExampleIn February 2000, the establishments draft constitution was rejected by the majority of voters representing the first electoral challenge to the hegemonic and increasingly authoritarian rule of President Robert Mugabe and his ruling jingoistic Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front Zanu(PF) partys twenty-year rule (Amanda & Raftopoulos 200310). This culminated in a wave of war veteran- take farm invasions that saw many white commercial-grade farmers losing their farms in the violence that ensued. Thus, Zimbabwes economy mainly being agro-based, the farm invasions precipitated the deepening economic decline which resulted in the disintegration of commercial farming. This also led to the decline in tourism as a result of the countrys negative publicity, major losses in foreign currency earnings, a fall in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 24 percent and a significant rise in arrears of Zimbabwes foreign debt of US$3.4, the withdrawal method of Western Aid and substantial loss of foreign investment, widespread business losses, drastic fall of the Zimbabwean dollar, crippling fuel shortages and a severe national shortage of food threatening to affect Zimbabwes estimated population of 13 million.( Amanda & Raftopoulos 2003).Regardless of the negative publicity, Zimbabwe still maintains embassies in many countries across the world and more than than sixty-six countries are represented in Harare, Zimbabwes capital city. It is also a member of various regional and international groupings such as the African Development Bank, The World Trade Organization, Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).