Zambia’s President: ‘You Cannot Eat Democracy’
In the wake of the pandemic, Zambia defaulted on its foreign debt. Its president argues that democracy alone will not improve his country’s lot
Hakainde Hichilema, Zambia's president, at the United Nations General Assembly.
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/BloombergI know the rough edges of an imperfect democracy. Until 2021, much of my adult life was spent in opposition in Zambia. Charges of treason and 15 stints in jail came with the role. But as the 2023 Summit for Democracy begins in Washington D.C. — co-hosted by my nation along with the US, South Korea, Costa Rica and the Netherlands — two questions are paramount in the global search to protect and rejuvenate the democratic process.
First, what measures can countries around the world take to improve democracy within our own borders? And second, how can we collectively create the international conditions in which democracies will flourish?