THENEWSOUTHAFRICA
effort led by intellectuals to give substance to the idea of an African Re-
uaissance.U"
During 2000, Mbeki's foreign policy was put to a severe test by events
in South Africa's most important neighbor, Zimbabwe. President Mu-
gabe, like many other African leaders, had a good start but had degener-
ated into an autocrat and was largely responsible for wrecking his coun-
try's economy. In the run-up to a parliamentary election which he seemed
likely to lose, Mugabe unleashed violence against his opponents and en-
couraged impoverished young men, led by veterans of the war against the
white regime of Ian Smith, forcibly to occupy farms that had been owned
by and occupied by Whites since the colonial conquest at the end of the
nineteenth century.116 These events had repercussions in South Africa.
The rand plummeted, business confidence waned, and some ANC parlia-
mentarians demanded that similar action should betaken against white
South African farmers because, in South Africa as in Zimbabwe, a legal
process for transferring land had been very tardy.l!? As the crisis devel-
oped, Nelson Mandela denounced Mugabc.but Mbeki handled him with
kid gloves. Publicly, Mbeki praised Muga be for leading the fight for