Mandela was once a world-renowned name.
Mandela's full name is Nelson Raleighla Mandela. He was president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, the first black president, and is revered as the "Father of the Nation of South Africa". He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and has a very high reputation in the Western world. Wong Ka-koo, the lead singer of the famous Hong Kong band Beyond, once created "Glorious Years" to pay tribute to Mandela, and Mandela once heard this song and burst into tears.
Mandela
The second half of Mandela's life was glorious, but it was also accompanied by great controversy.
Mandela's historical contribution to South Africa: blacks gained dominance but oppressed whites
South Africa was historically a Dutch and British colony. It was a country where blacks and whites coexisted, very similar to the 19th century in the United States. During the period of white rule, a policy of racial discrimination and apartheid was long pursued in the country by legislative and administrative means. That is, in South Africa, whites dominate the country, while blacks have basically no status. The order of status of the various races in South Africa is from high to high: white, East Asian, Indian and Arab, Southeast Asian, black. (Due to their economic status, Japanese and Koreans were awarded the title of "Honorary Whites" by the South African government, and by the late 1980s, Taiwanese were treated as "honorary whites" and enjoyed the same rights as whites.) ）
South Africans
Black people at that time were discriminated against. Blacks make up 80 percent of South Africa's population, but social benefits are mostly white, blacks have few educational opportunities, and blacks have to stand when they sit on the bus. As the problems became more and more serious, blacks rose up against them, and Mandela was the leader of them. When he led the anti-apartheid movement, the South African government arrested him and Mandela served 27 years in prison. In 1994, Mandela led the ANC to win the South African presidential election. Mandela solved the problem by adopting a racial reconciliation approach and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Black South Africans
Mandela was able to make South Africa nationally equal, which was a very big contribution. He can compare this to America's greatest President Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.
Mandela's shortcomings and mistakes: the removal of white people who knew how to manage, and the blacks who did not know how to govern the country
After Mandela succeeded in achieving national reconciliation in South Africa, there were no bright spots in national and economic policies. Mandela spent 26 years in a South African prison and was so disconnected from society that his ability to govern the country was greatly diminished. South Africa was originally the largest economic power in Africa, and in the early 90s it had a reputation as a "quasi-developed country", but now the South African economy is not as dynamic as Nigeria.
First, blacks dominate the country, but they drive out white people who know how to manage. After achieving national reconciliation in South Africa, it went to the other extreme. Blacks gradually occupied all the leadership positions in South Africa, while whites became a powerless minority and became poorer and poorer. These whites gradually left South Africa, taking with them a great deal of capital and technology, while blacks, largely uneducated and their own limited qualifications, were inferior to whites in management and development. Under Mandela's administration, South Africa also gave birth to a large number of white slums, which is truly unique in the world. Talented entrepreneur and Tras founder Elon Musk immigrated to the United States from South Africa. American movie star Charlize Theron also grew up in South Africa. The brain drain is one of the reasons for South Africa's decline.
The white poor in South Africa
Second, South Africa's gold resources have been depleted, and the country's economic transformation has not been realized. South Africa is one of the countries with the largest gold reserves in the world, and the Rand Gold Mine is the world's largest gold mining area, accounting for more than half of the world. It has been more than 130 years since the Rand Gold Mine was discovered in 1866, and mineral-resource-type countries like Saudi Arabia and South Africa will sooner or later run out of resources. After the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, south Africa's most important industrial gold mining declined so badly that it was difficult to become a pillar industry for economic development. If resources are depleted and no economic transformation method can be imagined, the consequences can be imagined, the economy is declining, and the unemployment rate is rising.
South African gold mine
Third, the shortcomings of the white period were not solved. During the white rule of South Africa, the economic strength was still good, and the urban construction and environment were also very successful. But that was achieved on the basis of whites' oppression of black labor. In addition, during the white rule, South Africa had a lot of foreign investment, especially the international large enterprises of Britain and the United States, and South Africa was increasingly reduced to an "economic colony" of the United States and Britain. Foreign investment dominating the national economy is also a matter that is not conducive to national development. If one's own national enterprises are not competitive, the country's economy will not be competitive. This problem existed before Mandela came to power, but no one after Mandela was able to solve it. In addition, the South African president abandoned the atomic bomb research, which also deprived South Africa of the opportunity to become a great power.
South African economic problems
All in all, Mandela was a great man, but he was not a perfect man after all, and his main energy was national reconciliation. The decline of South Africa was not due to Mandela alone, he did have a great deal of responsibility. But don't mythologize the economic myths of white South Africans, which are all glorified by the West. It can only be said that Mandela was a mediocre talent who governed the country, and the reason why he was famous was entirely the result of the hype of European and American countries.
South Africa is no longer a developed country. If South Africa's white population continues to be lost, and the national education problem and the status quo of foreign ownership are not addressed, South Africa's tomorrow may continue to decline.