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handle is hein.crs/govbale0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 Zimbabwe: A Continuing Crisis A six-year economic crisis in Zimbabwe has intensified since national elections in July 2018, in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) prevailed. The dire economic situation has prompted public discontent, strikes, protests and, in early 2019, days of riots. In response, state security forces have violently repressed demonstrations and arrested civil society activists. Since February 2019, the state has also pursued a dialogue with the political opposition, but only minor parties have participated. The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC), the largest opposition party, has refused to participate unless the state ends its repression and alleged breaches of the rule of law. The MDC also insists that any dialogue be convened by an independent mediator; it contends that the Mnangagwa government is illegitimate and responsible for what the MDC calls a political crisis. Background President Mnangagwa (muh-nahn-GAHG-wah) assumed power in November 2017, after ZANU-PF chose him as its party leader. He succeeded President Robert Mugabe, a semi-authoritarian who had led Zimbabwe and ZANU-PF since independence from the United Kingdom in 1980. Mugabe resigned under pressure from ZANU-PF following a military intervention in politics aimed at ousting him. This intervention was spurred by intra-ZANU-PF rivalry- notably over who would succeed Mugabe as president and party leader-and followed Mugabe's dismissal of Mnangagwa as vice president and Mugabe's sidelining of a party faction aligned with Mnangagwa and the military. Zimbabwe Under Mnangagwa Upon taking office, Mnangagwa pledged to pursue a range of economic and political reforms-notably free and fair elections-and asserted that Zimbabwe was open for business. This raised hopes for an end to years of deep economic malaise and an abiding pattern of human rights violations and undemocratic governance under Mugabe. Such changes are key U.S. goals under the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (ZDERA; see text box), but to date the Mnangagwa administration has not pursued a course of action that would satisfy the requirements of ZDERA. State constraints on freedoms of assembly and expression declined in advance of the 2018 elections, and Mnangagwa's administration recorded some moderate progress toward some of his 2017 reform pledges. Since the election, however, there has been a marked deterioration in economic and political conditions and a rise in state civil and human rights abuses. 2018 Election The pre-poll electoral process featured some improvements over past elections, but domestic and international election observers and the MDC identified multiple serious flaws (see CRS In Focus IF10933, Zimbabwe: Forthcoming Elections). Their findings indicate that the poll did not meet international standards in many respects. Mnangagwa won the presidential race, with 50.6% of votes, and took office in late August 2018 after the MDC, citing alleged irregularities, unsuccessfully sued to nullify the election. ZANU-PF won 180 seats in the 270-seat National Assembly and the MDC won 87 seats. U.S. Policy and Congressional Role ZDERA (P.L. 107-99) frames U.S. policy toward Zimbabwe. It prohibits U.S. support for multilateral debt relief and credit for Zimbabwe's government pending free and fair elections, credible land reform, security force subordination to civilian leaders, and restoration of the rule of law, notably regarding civil freedoms and property rights. It also called for U.S. financial and travel sanctions against persons undermining the rule of law or abetting political violence. Such sanctions were later imposed and remain in effect. They also target persons who engage in public corruption. Congress has also conditioned and restricted aid to Zimbabwe's government in annual appropriations laws, and there is a U.S. ban on defense item and service transfers to Zimbabwe. In 2018, Congress passed the ZDERA Amendment Act of 2018 (P.L. 1 15-231). The new law, which retained ZDERA's core provisions, raises the prospect of stronger bilateral political, trade, and investment ties if the Zimbabwean government implements existing ZDERA criteria and takes concrete, tangible steps to carry out specified economic reforms, recover stolen public assets, and ensure good governance, including respect for the opposition, rule of law, and human rights. P.L. I 15-231 also calls on Zimbabwe's government to take various actions to ensure free, fair, and credible elections and to align Zimbabwe's laws with its 2013 constitution. Repression Since the 2018 Elections On August 1, 2018, two days after the vote, protests broke out in Harare, the capital, amid MDC demands for the release of presidential vote results. Some of the protesters engaged in violent acts (e.g., property destruction and arson). After police failed to control the crowds, military reinforcements fatally shot six protesters. In succeeding days, soldiers, other state agents, and unidentified attackers carried out widespread beatings, harassment, and detentions of opposition supporters. Citing threats, several senior MDC leaders unsuccessfully sought asylum in neighboring Zambia. Some of these leaders were later tried on charges such as public violence and the illegal declaration of election results. A presidentially appointed commission of inquiry later probed the killings, but little has been done to respond to its findings. In subsequent months, the state arrested and brought questionable charges against multiple state critics, journalists, and trade unionists and, in one case, beat MDC members of parliament. ,iftps://crsinpors Onges 0 July 12, 2019

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