We are, once again, at a historic crossroads. The Democrat Party, here in the United States, has been co-opted by the far left, including the so-called "Democratic Socialists," who even have their own organization within and without the Democrat Party — the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. Young people here in the United States are seeing socialism in a more favorable light than they have in decades past, and this 2026 midterm election and the 2028 election to come, where we will choose the next president, will set the course for American politics for a generation or more.
The left will keep pushing for socialism, even communism. Socialism has, however, borne bitter fruit throughout history, everywhere it has been attempted. The results are all too similar: Mass arrests, work camps, "re-education," mass executions, starvation, and economic collapse. On the other hand, capitalism, while it isn't perfect — no system created by humans is — has lifted more people out of poverty and into prosperity, has created more wealth, and has resulted in more technological advance than any other system of economics and government.
In this series, we'll take a look at some of the more notorious events to rise out of socialist and communist systems, as a warning for this election season: It could happen here. It very well could happen here. In this installment, we'll have a look at Africa, specifically Ethiopia, and the shocking events of what would become known as the Red Terror.
The communist takeover of Ethiopia began in 1974, when the Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed. Taking over was a group called the "Provisional Military Administrative Council," a communist politburo in all but name; locally, the group was known as the Derg. They would end up ruling Ethiopia until 1987. In early 1975, the Derg, having swept aside the old government of the Ethiopian Empire, established a communist dictatorship under a military junta, with Mengistu Haile Mariam later emerging as the leader.
In 1976, the Derg began a brutal repression campaign against other Marxist groups they saw as challenging their rule, including the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP), who launched an assassination campaign against Derg leaders. The Derg cracked down, launching what would be known as the Qey Shibir, or Red Terror.
Problem was, the Derg were split into two factions, one loyal to Mengistu, and one opposing him. That problem was solved, as is so often the case with communist countries, with bullets; in February 1977, at least 58 top Derg officials were killed, many of whom were Mengistu opponents. Mengistu later credited Lenin, claiming "We are doing what Lenin did. You cannot build socialism without Red Terror."
This statement was about to prove horribly true. The regime launched a brutal series of attacks on known and suspected EPRP units and associates. In 1977, the Derg started house to house searches, seeking out any EPRP members. The Derg claimed to be looking for weapons, but they took food and other supplies at gunpoint. Each searching squad was an independent unit, making up their own rules, if any, as they went.
Then, another group, the All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement, which carried the native acronym MEISON, rose up in opposition as well. That's when the horrors started in earnest. The forces of the Red Terror went after MEISON in earnest. The MEISON's leaders tried to go underground, but it was too late; in August 1977, as the leaders of MEISON were fleeing into the countryside, almost all were captured or just killed.
Over the next few years, the Red Terror's forces executed thousands. Amnesty International estimates half a million killed, either by gunfire or famine. People were herded into churches and the churches set afire. Women, captured by the Derg/Red Terror, were treated to systematic and brutal abuse. Of the dead, over a thousand were children.
There is now, in Addis Ababa, a Red Terror Martyr's Memorial Museum, honoring the innocent victims of the Red Terror. Mengistu Haile Mariam, having lost the backing of the collapsing Soviet Union, fled to Zimbabwe in 1991, where he had maintained a friendship with the thug-dictator Robert Mugabe. He was found guilty of genocide in absentia in 2007, and sentenced to life in prison, but Zimbabwe refused to extradite him. In 2008, the new Ethiopian Supreme Court sentenced him to death, again in absentia, and again, Zimbabwe refused to extradite him.
Thus the leader of the Red Terror was sentenced, but these sentences were never carried out. Mengistu remains in Zimbabwe to this day, still unpunished for his part in the Red Terror.
When we go to the polls, even now, we should remember that statement of Mengistu Haile Mariam: "You cannot build socialism without Red Terror."
These are the fruits of socialism and communism. This is the precipice we may be on the edge of. This is history. And this is what we must, at all cost, vote to prevent happening here. We go to the polls in just a few more days. Vote! Vote for liberty, for property, for free trade, for free people, for honest elections, for prosperity — all of which we would lose, under socialism. Vote!
See also the previous installments in this series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.
