Zimbabve - autokraatliku sotsialismi mustrenäidis

Zimbabvest on varem Vabalogis juttu olnud, kuid seal toimuv on vaikselt võtmas katastroofi mõõtmeid, mis kohe kuidagi hästi lõppeda ei saa. New York Times võttis täna teema uuesti üles ja olukorra tõsiduse tõttu isegi esilehel kui ma õieti aru sain. Igal juhul mõned valusamad tsitaadid:

Bread, sugar and cornmeal, staples of every Zimbabwean’s diet, have vanished, seized by mobs who denuded stores like locusts in wheat fields. Meat is virtually nonexistent, even for members of the middle class who have money to buy it on the black market. Gasoline is nearly unobtainable. Hospital patients are dying for lack of basic medical supplies. Power blackouts and water cutoffs are endemic.
. . .
People are now living off the food they had the foresight or ability to squirrel away in pantries. Otherwise, when gas is available, they drive across the border to Zambia, South Africa and Botswana for supplies. Factory layoffs and slowdowns are bringing new poverty to the 15 or 20 percent of adult Zimbabweans who still have jobs. Pensioners, whose fixed incomes already have been gutted by hyperinflation, now find that no amount of money can purchase some staples.
. . .
In recent weeks, gangs of price inspectors have patrolled shops and factories, imposing price reductions, sometimes arbitrarily. As many as 4,000 businesspeople have been arrested, fined or jailed, according to the Zimbabwean police.
. . .
The empty grocery shelves may be the starkest sign of penury, but there are others equally worrisome. Doctors say that at most, there is a six-week supply of insulin and blood-pressure medications. Less vital drugs like aspirin are rarities.

“You can boil willow bark, just as Galen did,” one physician quipped.
. . .
Moreover, the manufacturer said, suppliers of fabric have also been ordered to cut their prices, even as inflation and problems like power failures have raised their costs. Once their existing stock of fabric is exhausted, he said, there is little incentive for them to make more.

Kõhedust tekitav artikkel, mis on kahjuks ühtlasi hea näide sellest, mis siis saab kui mingi autokraatlik juht hakkab ettevõtjatele dikteerima, millised peaksid olema nende kaupade hinnad. Ma siiralt loodan, et sellele põrgule tuleb varsti lõpp.

Daniel Drezner pakkus juuli alguses, et Zimbabve langeb täieliku kaosesse 5 nädalaga, mis hakkavad juba otsa saama. Tundub, et päri nii kiiresti riik kokku ei varise, kuid MIDAGI peab juhtuma ja varsti, sest samas vaimus jätkates hakkab massiliselt inimesi nälga surema.

Mina pakun, et enne ametliku sügise algust on mul põhjust Zimbabvest veel kord kirjutada ja seda pigem ahastuse kui rõõmu võtmes.