Economic challenges have brought Zimbabwe to the point of anti-government protests. The National War Veterans Association has denounced President Robert Mugabe in an extremely vituperative statement. This is surprising considering for a longtime they were his major backers in elections. With China's economic slowdown and Western sanctions Zimbabwe is struggling. The people are beginning to think that everything is the fault of President Mugabe, when that may no be entirely accurate. There is a possible danger here of an Arab Spring like scenario sweeping across the region or the horrible prospect of a Western intervention through NATO. The loss of President Mugabe would mean the return of the British and the US as colonizers. So far, there has not been armed rebellion. There are not masses of people demanding the government be overthrown. Robert Mugabe plans to run for president in 2018 and wants to do this continually as long as he lives. This seems more like emerging political factionalism, rather than a desire for overthrow as seen in Burkina Faso or Burundi. Hopefully, Zimbabwe can survive despite less than preferable circumstances.
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