Liberalism in Zimbabwe Movement for Democratic Change. Led by Morgan Tsvangirai with a short-lived faction led by Arthur Mutambara, the MDC, which presses for social and political liberalism and is backed by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, soon usurped the opposition position in Parliament against the ZANU-PF. By 2008, it had achieved the majority in both houses of parliament. Liberals in Zimbabwe have experienced persecution from the government (both during); in addition, Liberalism in Zimbabwe is characterized by the ZANU-PF as a pro-white, non-African, colonialist ideology. Liberalism in Zimbabwe This article gives an overview
Robert Mugabe during the Lancaster House negotiations, "of course he didn't actually practice what he preached, did he? Once in office he became a capitalist". Mugabe has stated that "socialism has to be much more Christian than capitalism". The Zimbabwean scholar George Shire described Mugabe's policies as being "broadly-speaking" social-democratic. During the 1980s, Mugabe indicated his desire to transform Zimbabwe from a multi-party state into a one-party state. In 1984 he stated that "the one-party state is more in keeping with African tradition. It makes for greater unity for the people. It puts all opinions under one umbrella, whether these opinions are