Demagogue

Apparently, something like this.

Zimbabwe's ambassador to United States told CNN on Tuesday that reports of people in Zimbabwe eating rats were misleading because the eating of mice in that country "is a delicacy."

But, Elizabeth, a mother of six children in Zimbabwe seems to disagree. U.S. journalists aren't permitted to operate freely in Zimbabwe, but CNN managed to interview Elizabeth by using a surrogate cameraman-journalist. CNN reports on Elizabeth and her children:

Tonight, they dine on rats.

"Look what we've been reduced to eating?" [Elizabeth] said. "How can my children eat rats in a country that used to export food? This is a tragedy."

This is a story about how Zimbabwe, once dubbed southern Africa's bread basket, has in six short years become a basket case. It is about a country that once exported surplus food now apparently falling apart, with many residents scrounging for rodents to survive.

According to the CIA fact book, which profiles the countries of the world, the Zimbabwean economy is crashing — inflation was at least 585 percent by the end of 2005 — and the nation now must import food.