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The Guardian is reporting that the Zimbabwean army has for the first time rioted.
The report quotes a soldier who (for the pretty obvious reason that he wouldn't last long otherwise) wished to remain anonymous: "We have no food in the barracks. There is no medication in military hospitals, and we cannot access our money in the banks. Even if people are to riot, there would be no enthusiasm to stop them."
The Zimbabwean army has stopped feeding all but senior ranks. Desertions have nearly halved it's size from 40,000 to 26,000. Those who remain cannot get at their money simply because there aren't enough bank notes to go around. The law says you can withdraw a maximum of Z$500,000 a day - that's just 18p (about US$0.09).
Mugabe is capable of complete self-deception. He's a brutal man running a brutal regime. The reason for that brutality is power; when his power goes, he's a dead man and he knows it. So, he has to rely on those he can still afford to pay. When there's no one left to rely on , it'll be over for him, and that can only be a good thing.
It's been noted many times that if South Africa cuts electricity to Zimbabwe (it supplies pretty much all of it), Mugabe's stranglehold would be gone within a week and the country could begin to breathe again. It's also worth noting that this hasn't happened. You have to ask why.
