Coups from what I’ve seen always seem to happen out of the blue, such as the attempted coup in Turkey just 2 years ago. It was hard to see that coming even if you knew what caused it. Yesterday the leader of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, who is also the oldest leader of any country at 93 years old, was placed under house-arrest by the military in what some view as a coup. Mugabe has been in power for 37 years, and in the past few years his wife Grace Mugabe, who is 40 years younger than he is, has risen up in power and influence these past few years. The effects of this include Robert Mugabe sacking his vice president last week in order to have his wife become the VP, who will eventually succeed Robert in power. This is why the military takeover occurred: Robert Mugabe went too far this time. From what I read, in the past few decades Mugabe and his authoritarian regime has led to human rights violations, extreme hyperinflation, and economic decline for the past few decades. Supposedly, Zimbabwe could be considered one of the richest countries in the world due to its natural resources, but its citizens are among the most impoverished. At the center of this is Mugabe. If Mugabe is succeeded by his wife, then there’s no telling what will happen, and it will just be seen as another political dynasty. But the military taking over could lead to his dynasty being replaced with another one at his death or resignation. And that new dynasty could possibly lead to a better Zimbabwe, but time will only tell.
