Zimbabwe Economy and International Relations Essay

Zimbabwe Economy and world(prenominal) Relations - Essay ExampleIn February 2000, the governments draft constitution was rejected by the studyity of voters representing the first electoral challenge to the hegemonic and increasingly authoritarian rule of President Robert Mugabe and his ruling national Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front Zanu(PF) partys twenty-year rule (Amanda & Raftopoulos 200310). This culminated in a wave of war veteran- lead farm invasions that saw many white commercial 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 reaping (GDP) of 24 percent and a significant rise in arrears of Zimbabwes foreign debt of US$3.4, t he separation 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 to a greater extent than sixty-six countries are represented in Harare, Zimbabwes capital city. It is also a member of respective(a) 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).