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South Africa's election campaign has taken a populist turn, with candidates calling for the death penalty and the deportation of foreigners to voters fed up with crime, unemployment and national insecurity.
Opposition groups, often championing identity politics and anti-immigration sentiment, have emerged ahead of the May 29 vote, which marks the first time since 1994 that an absolute majority has voted in favor. Become. african national congress Under threat.
Former president Jacob Zuma to be released this week TikTok videos He claimed that „before the arrival of foreigners“ there was „no crime“ in South Africa.he used to was suggested Teenage mothers are sent to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent years in prison, to complete their studies.
In December, Zuma launched a new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), named after the disbanded armed wing of the ANC. The party has a banner of radical economic change and is widely seen as stirring up xenophobic sentiments among the Zulu people, the country's largest ethnic group.
Separately, the Patriotic Alliance, which frequently uses anti-immigrant slogans abahambeThe word, which means „must go'' in Zulu, primarily appeals to communities that identify as „coloured'', but the right-wing Afrikaner party Freedom Front Plus is a leader in the Western Cape. Supports CapeXit's independence from other regions. South Africa.
„The rise of a xenophobic, patriarchal type of politics stems from the manipulation of black political disillusionment,“ said Joel Modiri, an associate professor at the University of Pretoria.
Africa's most industrialized country currently receives more immigrants than any other country on the continent. Xenophobia is a persistent problem in the region, where foreigners from countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo are scapegoated for chronic unemployment, which currently stands at 32%.
Outside the heavily fenced storefront of a Somali-run kiosk known as a spaza shop in Soweto, local resident Siphiwe Taiari said foreign businesses are frequently attacked. „Instead of fighting the government, we go to spazas and loot, and that's not good,“ he said. “People are just trying to make a living.”
Writer and activist Busisiwe Seebe said political parties were stirring up anger. „There's a huge problem in South Africa right now around populism,“ she said, adding that cracks in the political system are emerging along identity lines.
„The Zulus will be fighting against the Xhosa, the Venda, the Sothos and others,“ she said. „With the rise of Jacob Zuma's MK party, this has become even more evident.“
south africa election The committee on Thursday barred Zuma from running for parliament, citing his 2021 conviction for contempt of court.
Seeb said calls for the death penalty began at the grassroots level in response to rampant crime. „The new party is piggybacking on the death penalty issue because they think they can get more votes by defending the death penalty.“
Gayton McKenzie, the brash and outspoken leader of the Patriotic Alliance, said during a panel discussion in Cape Town last month: . . Our young people should find jobs. ”
He called out South Africa's abominable apartheid Donpa The law requires foreigners to carry ID at all times, as black South Africans were once required to do.
Last week, ActionSA, the political party of Herman Mashaba, known for his hard-line stance on immigration when he was mayor of Johannesburg, released a manifesto to ease the movement of illegal immigrants.
However, its platform particularly avoided populist rhetoric, explicitly condemned xenophobia, and called for simplifying official immigration procedures, especially for skilled workers.
“We want people from all over the world to come to South Africa, but to do so they must obey our laws,” the manifesto reads.
Legal scholar Thembeka Ngcukaitobi said the ANC's core remained committed to progressive values, even though some elements of the group were touting more radical rhetoric.
“When people say we are witnessing the last days of the ANC, who will defend the pillars of non-tribalism, non-racialism, Pan-Africanism and internationalism?” he asked. . “What kind of society do we envision if no one stands up for these values?”