What is the basis of Mugabe’s support?

In the late 1990s, Robert Mugabe began confiscating private property of (white) farmers in a rather disgusting “land redistribution” plan. That was the beginning of Zimbabwe’s nightmare. Overnight the country was turned from the breadbasket of Africa to a food importer. The economy began to implode. Inflation jumped into absurd numbers. More people are unemployed than employed. Poverty is rampant. Security is collapsing. The country is a complete mess.

Yet Mugabe continues to receive inexplicable support from his neighbors.

At a recent southern African summit in Tanzania, he received warm support from his neighbors just weeks after his security forces arrest and beat opposition leaders, and the collapsing security services had to be reinforced by ninjas from Angola. The 83-yo leader then returned home and rallied the ruling party to endorse him for re-election next year. How much longer will the madness last? And why?

The answer seems to either (1) as long as Mugabe his supporters can cast the elder president as a symbol of the 20th century anti-colonial struggle, or (2) raw geopolitics. Yes, his neighbors are sick of him, but they limit their criticism to recommendations, and all of Zimbabwe’s neighbors reaffirmed their solidarity with Mugabe at the recent summit. But it may not just be that they want to shove it to the US and UK for their finger-wagging rebukes of Mugabe—pissing off one of their close neighbors will only make problems for themselves.