Zimbabwe: From Africa's Richest to 100 Trillion Dollar Notes

Rhodesia, the debate the collapse of Zimbabwe never closed

One hundred trillion dollars. That is the face value of one of the last banknotes Zimbabwe circulated before its currency became practically worthless, and it remains the best summary of the enigma the country carries. It was, according to its defenders, Africa's richest country. Today, it barely survives. The former Rhodesia declared independence from London in 1965 with a white minority government, and its memory, more than half a century later, continues to ignite a discussion that transcends History: why some former colonies prosper upon independence while others sink irreparably. The answer is not unique. The figures do not help settle it either.

What Rhodesia was and what remains of its economy

Rhodesia declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, governed by a white minority of about 400,000 inhabitants over a much larger African majority. In 1979, an agreement renamed the country Rhodesia-Zimbabwe and distributed power between priest Muzorewa in the presidency and Smith in the vice-presidency. The fix did not take hold, and soon after, Robert Mugabe came to power. From there, Zimbabwe entered a decline that led to hyperinflation and to the fifty and one hundred trillion dollar notes, converted into the recurring joke of any conversation about the country. After his death in 2019, the media spoke of "ups and downs," a euphemism that many found hard to swallow.

The argument of British colonialism and its counterexamples

The first line of response blames colonialism: plunder of resources, institutions designed to squeeze the territory, and a ruling class trained to obey, not to govern. Under this thesis, the subsequent collapse was inevitable. The refutation appears quickly. They point to Liberia and Ethiopia, where there was no white colonial administration, and to the comparison with South Korea, Singapore, or Taiwan, economies that emerged from underdevelopment in the same period.

The most uncomfortable denial, however, is Botswana. That is where the gap begins: some argue it was a disaster and that its leaders found a working formula —let mining companies do their thing and do not interfere— with tickets to escape the third world if the invention is maintained. Those who defend this comparison argue that the distance between one case and another is not explained by the flag of an empire that has not governed anything for decades.

Zimbabwe: from fertile land to deforestation

One participant points to a detail that does not appear in the headlines: Zimbabwe would have lost close to 30% of its forest mass since 1990 without gaining a centimeter of arable land. Gold and platinum mines are still there, as are diamond mines discovered in 2006. The land remains fertile. So, where does the hunger come from?

The repeated answer is institutional corruption and the ideology with which Mugabe governed the country for decades. The colonial argument falls short when more than five decades have passed since independence and the person responsible for management does not wear any foreign flag on his lapel.

The war that won all battles but lost the campaign

The military narrative has its own space. The guerrilla that fought Rhodesia survived more than a decade of defeats in the field, but external pressure grew: the lack of South African support and Soviet backing for forces stationed in Mozambique, increasingly resembling a conventional army rather than an insurgent group. The repeated summary is that Rhodesia won all battles and lost the war. Then came Mugabe, and with him the dismantling of the economy and a white minority turned into a scapegoat.

Chess, an unexpected battlefield

The discussion also went into detail. To rebut that talent knows no borders, Phiona Mutesi, the Ugandan chess player discovered in a suburb and brought to cinema by Disney, was brought up. The answer was a fact: her position in the FIDE ranking, 199,280 in the world and 6,096 in Africa. The story, which started as an example of overcoming, ended up becoming a statistical duel. Little edifying, but revealing of how the subject is discussed: the anecdote to one side and the ranking to the other.

The question that no one closes

In the end, the conversation always returns to the same place. Botswana and Zimbabwe share a neighborhood, resources, and starting point, and ended up in opposite extremes. No one disputes the arrival point. What remains open is why. And there, for now, everyone stays with their hypothesis and their one hundred trillion dollar note.