> The class struggle in Zimbabwe is moving from the > Black bourgeoisie of that country mobilizing the > workers and landless peasants in that African country > in its own class interests against "White settler- > colonists" into a struggle in which the Zimbabwean > worker's and peasants have come to be and think > as a 'mind and will' of their own, class consciousness > as opposed to bourgeois nationalist race consciousness. > > The ZANU-PF, while it is to be defended in the > earlier stages of land expropriations of settler- > capitalists by landless peasants, it has always > been clear that this is a bourgeois-democratic > extension of the liberation movement into the > economics of the country-side, but the ZANU-PF > socialist rhetoric has always been a sham. > > Land reform or land redistribution has always been a > component of the bourgeois democratic revolutions, > whether the English Revolution in 1840, the Great > French Revolution in its radical stages represented > by the Committee of Public Safety Jacobins government, > the Russian Revolution in 1917, 1921-8, or even the > Chinese Revolution in the 1930-40s, and the Zapata > factions in Southern Mexico in the Mexican Revolution > in the early to mid-20th century. This kind of radical > land redistribution in Zimbabwe was put on hold by > the Lancaster Agreements in which the ZANU-PF shifted > its alliance with the poor peasants and workers of > Zimbabwe to the settler-capitalists, and subsequently > with IMF. > > The Zimbabwe landless peasants led by the war veterans > took matters into their own hands in the latter part > of the 1990s, and continue to do so today. In need > of their political support against the imperialist > supported "Movement for Democratic Change (MDF) the > ZANU-PF government supported rather than opposed the > land expropriations. Britain, Amnesty International, > the American government (both the Clinton and the > Bush administrations) and the Congressional Black > Caucus and Trans-Africa and Black Radical Congress > all came out in opposition to the land expropriations > ostensibly in opposition to "Mugabe" the individual. > > While it is the duty of workers to defend the peasant's > land expropriation, it is never to be with illusions > that it has anything to do with socialism which is > based in the proletariat in the agribusinesses as well > as industries and mines themselves expropriating these > productive forces not as individuals for private wealth > but as collective class property for social wealth of > the people of Zimbabwe, both these expropriations and > management of expropriated bourgeois wealth must occur > without regard to the race, tribe, religion or color > of the capitalists being expropriated or of the workers > doing the expropriating! > > The article below shows that the ZANU-PF is as it has > always been: the political party of the dominate factions > of Zimbabwa's Black urban bourgeois (the peasants are > nothing but the rural bourgeois) now that the poorest > of the peasants, following their class interests are now > expropriating Black bourgeois property and are being > chased from those properties by the ZANU-PF government's > state. > > It is becoming clearer to African workers and even > the poorer peasants that racial nationalism is nothing > but the ideology of the African "Black" bourgeoisie, > mobilizing African workers and peasants to pursue > the interests of the African bourgeoisie in the liberation > movements and wars. > > Since for the past several decades the Black bourgeoisie > has been in power, and have wrecked African civil societies, > and wars of competition has broken out between the > competiting factions of this bourgeoisie on the basis > of supposed "tribal" interests, including ethnic wars, > it is clear in Zimbabwe where the class content of these > social wars is most advanced in consequence of the > peasants risings (expropriations) -- now that these > poorest peasants are expropriating the lands of > the African bourgeoisie and being repealed by the > ZANU-PF state -- that the bourgeois democratic revolutions > by the poor peasants land expropriations have to > throw-off racial ideology and disassociate themselves > from the bourgeois party in power (in this case in > Zimbabwe ZANU-PF). > > Only by forming an alliance with the wageworkers in > the factories, and mines, and yes, the wageworkers > on the farms - the expropriation of all the bourgeois > property in Zimbabwe, including the Black bourgeoisie - > can the peasants and workers of Zimbabwe advance the > permanent revolution! > > > Lil Joe > ======= > > > Mail & Guardian (SA), 4 June > Mugabe comes to crony's aid > Godwin Gandu > > Harare - The Zimbabwean government has cracked the whip on an errant > deputy > minister for violating government policy and has ordered the minister of > anti-corruption and anti-monopolies to launch an investigation into his > activities. Deputy Information Minister Bright Matongo has been personally > instructed by President Robert Mugabe to vacate land owned by Tom Beattie. > Matongo and 15 war veterans invaded Chigwel farm in Chegutu in the prime > commercial farmland in Mashonaland west, about 100km outside Harare, in > May. > The estate employs 1 200 workers and exports produce to the Middle East, > Russia and Europe, raking in more than $1-million a year. Two weeks ago > the > Mail & Guardian reported that on August 31 2004 the Administrative Court > of > Zimbabwe issued a "notice of withdrawal" by the minister of lands, > agriculture and rural resettlement from interests in "Tom Beattie family > farms". Beattie claims he has already voluntarily allocated a "sizeable > portion" of his land for resettlement purposes. A government source said: > "Beattie is a Zanu PF supporter and had brought his problem to the > attention > of the party and government." Beattie has obtained a new court order > preventing Matongo from coming within 100m of his property. The police > have > also removed the war veterans from his farm. Beattie told the M&G that he > would be suing the deputy minister for damages and loss of production > totalling Z$25-million. Workers have started repairing damage to the farm > and production has resumed. > > Several studies have pointed to the government's fast-track land > redistribution programme as the main reason for food and nutrition > insecurity in Zimbabwe. A recent country-wide survey of communities > indicated that 82% of districts reported widespread crop failure after > poor > rains in the last growing season. Mugabe this week told the United Nations > humanitarian envoy and World Food Programme (WFP) director, James Morris, > that he would welcome help in feeding about one-third of the population. > "We > want to see that hungry people will get the food they need," Morris said > in > Johannesburg, after leaving Harare on Wednesday. Extra food supplies are > expected in about two months. The WFP will not distribute food directly to > the general population but will be limited to school feeding programmes, > home-based Aids care, and food for work schemes. The restricted scope of > the > aid will leave the Mugabe government in charge of providing food for the > general population. Food security concerns have escalated in the past two > weeks after a crackdown on informal traders and illegal shacks in urban > centres, forced thousands of people to flee to rural areas where local > chiefs have complained to Mugabe that rural folk are starving. More than > 22 > 000 people have been arrested in police raids since last week. Meanwhile, > the first session of Zimbabwe's Parliament since the March elections will > be > held on Thursday. The ruling Zanu PF is expected to table a proposal to > create an upper house of Parliament for the first time since independence > in > 1980. >
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