Arvenia wrote:NATION APPLICATION (WIP)
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The Greater Colombian Republic (La República Gran Colombiana)
Colombia
Government Type: Federal Constitutional Presidential Republic
Government Explanation: The Greater Colombian Republic is a federal republic that separates power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The President heads the executive branch and is elected directly by popular vote. He is assisted by a Vice President and government ministers. The executive branch consists of the President, the Vice President and many executive departments (with each department being headed by a minister). The President has the power to appoint officials to government positions, command the military, present budget to the Congress and represent Colombian interests abroad. He is elected for a single term of four years. The Vice President governs the country if the President is either absent or deceased. Among executive departments is the Ministry of National Defense (Ministerio de Defensa Nacional), who is the first of its kind to incorporate both army and naval affairs, since the country doesn't have a separate department for naval affairs. Other departments include the Ministry of Justice (Ministerio de Justicia), the Ministry of Home Affairs (Ministerio del Interior), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio del Exterior), the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda), the Ministry of Agriculture (Ministerio de Agricultura), the Ministry of Labor (Ministerio de Trabajo), the Ministry of Communications (Ministerio de Comunicaciones), the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), the Ministry of Transportation (Ministerio de Transporte), the Ministry of Welfare (Ministerio de Bienestar), the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs (Ministerio de Asuntos Indígenas), the Ministry of Urban Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Urbano), the Ministry of Natural Resources (Ministerio de Recursos Naturales), the Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Ambiente), the Ministry of Science (Ministerio de Ciencia) and the Ministry of Trade (Ministerio de Comercio).
The Congress (Congreso de la República Gran Colombiana) is the tricameral legislature that consists of the upper Censorate (Censorado), the middle Senate (Senado) and the lower National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). The National Assembly consists of 382 MNAs who are directly elected through proportional voting and represent the general population. Each MNA has an electoral district to represent and the Speaker heads the house. The National Assembly has the power to vote on most legislative matters, approve the budget and send proposed bills to the Senate. The Senate consists of 56 Senators who are indirectly elected by state legislatures and represent the individual states. There are usually four Senators per state (due to the RGC having less states than the US, Argentina and Brazil). The Senate has the power to give advice and consent to the President, ratify treaties, appoint state officials, supervise the judiciary, vote on some legislative matters (mostly constitutional ones) and debate on proposed bills that are sent from the National Assembly. The Senate is headed by a Chairman. The Censorate is a house composed of 12 Censorators who are secretly appointed by either the President or a group of politicians. They represent the Greater Colombian Constitution and has the power to impeach the government, keep an eye on the other two houses and even act as a constitutional court. While the two lower houses are dominated by political parties, the Censorate is completely nonpartisan. The Censorate is headed by a High Censorator (Censorador Jefe), who is usually a veteran judge.
The judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de la República Gran Colombiana), the Appellate Courts (Tribunales de Apelación) and the District Courts (Tribunales de Distrito). It follows the European civil law and also includes other courts such as military courts and administrative courts.
From 1840 to 1892, the main political factions were the Moderates (Moderados) and the Patriots (Patriotas). The Moderates were a pro-European movement influenced by Miguel Carceres, who supported traditional values, economic liberalization and states' rights (decentralization). The Patriots were an anti-European movement influenced by Daniel Sulívar, who supported liberal values, economic intervention and national unity (centralization). In 1892, the Moderates became the Conservative Party (Partido Conservador), while the Patriots became the Patriotic Party (Partido Patriótico). However, 1899 saw an internal conflict happen in the Patriotic Party, which ended when a large majority of PP members broke away to form the Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) a year later. For the first half of the 20th century, the Conservative Party (PC) and the Liberal Party (PL) were the largest parties in the country, followed by the Patriotic Party (PP) and other smaller parties. The Patriotic Party eventually gained power in the late 1930s as a result of the Great Depression, but it didn't last long until a coup d'etat in 1944. Starting in the 1980s, newer parties started to emerge, while the Liberal Party split up a decade later. One half of the party merged with the Conservative Party to form the Liberal Conservative Party (Partido Liberal Conservador), while the other half became the New Liberal Party (Nuevo Partido Liberal). As a result, the Liberal Party became known as the "Old Liberal Party" (Antiguo Partido Liberal). As of 2010, the RGC is currently ruled by the Democratic Party for National Unity (Partido Demócrata por la Unidad Nacional), a national conservative and anti-communist party formed by President Álvaro Uribe in 2001.
The country is geographically divided into first-level states (estados), second-level cantons (cantones) and third-level municipalities (municipios or municipalidades). The states have governors (gobernadores), legislatures (congresos estatales, asambleas estatales or legislaturas estatales) and courts (tribunales estatales), while the cantons have cantonal councils (consejos cantonales) and the municipalities are like those in the US (various kinds of municipal governance). The country has currently fourteen states. Those states are Ecuador, Urabá, Baudó, Amazonia, Orinoquía, Cordillera, Inca, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Panama, Sulivia, Rondonia and Roraima. Bogotá is an independent city, which means it is not part of any state in the country.
Head of State: President Álvaro Uribe (PDUN)
Head of Government: Same as above
Nation Capital City: Bogotá
Official Territory: Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Panama, Acre State (Brazil), Roraima State (Brazil), Rondônia State (Brazil) and Amazonas State (Brazil)
Territorial Disputes: The RGC has numerous territorial disputes with Brazil, Guyana (British Guyana) and Chile.
Nation Population: 137,663,152
Military Population: 1,093,598 FARGC personnel (624,648 actives and 468,950 reserves)
Alliances: UN, WTO, OECD, APEC, OAS, ALADI, SELA, OEI, UNAS, Mercosur, CARICOM (observer) and NATO (Global Partner)
Enemies: Brazil and Chile
History: The area that makes up the Greater Colombian Republic belonged originally to various indigenous civilizations (such as the Inca Empire and the Muisca Confederation). In the 16th century, the area was invaded and colonized by the "Conquistadors", a group of soldiers from Spain. The civilizations inhabiting the area were either eradicated or enslaved in the process. The area was divided into the New Kingdom of Granada, the Province of Venezuela and the Viceroyalty of Peru. Several years later into colonial rule, the Spanish began shipping their African slaves to the Americas. The colonization of this area produced many goods like tobacco, cotton, wood, textile, wheat, copper, nickel, iron, gold and silver, which would greatly benefit Spain. In the 18th century, both Venezuela and New Granada merged to form the much larger Viceroyalty of New Granada.
However, between the late 18th century and the early 19th century, colonial uprising began to emerge in the Americas due to various factors. These factors include slavery, poverty, war and corruption. The "Libertadores" were rebels who fought for independence in the Spanish Americas. Among these rebels was a military officer named Daniel Sulívar (1774-1828). He was born to a Spanish colonel and a Wayuu woman, which makes him a "Mestizo". He was raised as a Spanish person with many privileges. He served in the Spanish Army up until the Americas began rebelling against their colonial overlords. Since he was a Mestizo, he was disgusted by the injustice that is being directed at both African slaves and Amerindian tribes (especially how his mother was treated due to her ancestry), as well as the fact that all power in the Spanish Americas belonged to the "Peninsulars" (native Spaniards residing overseas). Largely inspired by the revolts in New Spain, Daniel deserted and then organized his own rebellion against colonial oppression in New Granada. This rebellion united many Amerindians, Africans and some dissident Peninsulars in their quest for independence from Spain. One of those dissident Peninsulars was a fellow officer from the Spanish Army named Miguel Carceres (1776-1862), who also happened to be Daniel's childhood friend. Together, Daniel and Miguel greatly weakened Spanish rule in New Granada, allowing it to become independent. However, their quest was far from over as they later focused on Peru. There, they spearheaded another successful revolt against Spanish rule. This allowed Peru to also become independent. Around 1816, the Greater Colombian Republic was proclaimed after the merger of New Granada and Peru. Daniel Sulívar, who was the primary head of the revolts in New Granada and Peru, was declared President of the Greater Colombian Republic, with Miguel Carceres serving as Vice President due to being second-in-command. Under his rule, Daniel made many changes like abolishing slavery, introducing public education, implementing universal suffrage for all ethnic groups, stripping the Catholic Church of many privileges, returning all indigenous land to their respective tribes, establishing a tricameral legislature, ending corruption, nationalizing the economy, cutting all ties with mainland Spain and adopting the Colombian dolár as the national currency.
During the first years of its existence, the RGC maintained friendly relations with the United States, New Amsterdam and other Latin American states. Although enjoying peace and stability, the RGC would soon be rocked by an internal conflict between Daniel and Miguel. Miguel, who was somewhat sympathetic towards Spain and the Catholic Church, started to disagree with Daniel, who was fiercely liberal and nationalist, over issues regarding administration, culture, economy and diplomacy. In the end, Miguel departed from his position and cut all ties with Daniel. Following this, Daniel selected a former slave named Luis Antonio Gil to serve as Vice President. Daniel would go on to rule the RGC until he died from a disease in 1828, by which he was given a state funeral. After the funeral, the country held its very first election. Luis Antonio Gil, serving at the time as acting President following Daniel's death, won the election and became the second permanent President of the RGC (as well as its first African President). He continued Daniel's policies with the same level of efficiency. Later in the 1830s, however, Ernesto Rodríguez, the third President of the RGC, began cutting all ties with the US and other Latin American states, after he accused the former of discriminating against Native Americans, while the latter began suffering from political turmoil. This wouldn't benefit the RGC, who had no country to trade or cooperate with (since it was hostile towards both Europe and Brazil). As a result, the country began experiencing both diplomatic isolation and economic crisis (with the latter causing uprising among businessmen and villagers).
In 1840, as the country held its fourth presidential election, Miguel Carceres unexpectedly began his candidancy, which would be the first time he appeared publicly since he broke up with Daniel Sulívar. His platform included economic liberalization, social stability, reconciliation with Europe and more sovereignty to the constituent states of the RGC, while President Ernesto Rodríguez continued supporting Sulivarian policies (such as economic intervention, social equality, national unity and liberation of the Americas). Due to the general dissatisfaction with the current government, Miguel was able to win the election and become President of the RGC. Even more unexpectedly, he also changed the Gran Colombian Constitution so that the President only has a single term. His presidency saw the RGC supporting conservative values, tax cuts, free trade and states' rights, which helped stabilize the economy and establish diplomatic ties with Europe. Two months after election, the RGC and Spain signed the Treaty of Bogotá, which saw Spain recognize the RGC as an independent country and also end bad blood between the two countries. A year later, Miguel reinstated diplomacy between the RGC and the United States. Following this, the RGC also restored diplomatic and economic ties with other Latin American states. Despite his successful presidency, Miguel gained many enemies, many of whom were supporters of Daniel Sulívar. This caused the RGC to operate under a two-party system, with the supporters of Miguel Carceres becoming "Moderates" and the supporters of Daniel Sulívar becoming "Patriots". Once Miguel's presidency ended in 1844, as they ultimately won that year's presidential election, the Moderates would dominate the RGC from 1844 to 1852, when the Patriots gained power under Quentin Valentino, a radical Senator from Ecuador. His presidency saw the RGC return to its liberal roots and cut off all ties with Europe, while the Patriots would dominate the country for three decades. During those decades, both East Asians and Jews began migrating to the RGC. This era also saw the RGC support the Union during the American Civil War, which allegedly included sporadic attacks against the Confederate Navy in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1879, the RGC declared war on Chile. While it fought hard, the RGC was eventually defeated by Chile in 1883. This tarnished the reputation of the Patriots, which led to the Moderates being elected once again in 1886. In the end, industrialization decreased and corruption increased. In 1892, both Moderates and Patriots were respectively reorganized as the Conservative Party and the Patriotic Party. In 1898, the RGC assisted the US throughout the Spanish-American War. In 1899, President Roberto Caycedo, a member of the Patriotic Party, was impeached by the Censorate on charges of corruption after being accused of it by both the Conservative Party and even members of his own party, which makes him the first President in the RGC to be impeached by the Censorate. His impeachment sparked an internal conflict within the Patriotic Party, which ended with the formation of the Liberal Party in 1900. This new party, although having the same social views as the Patriotic Party, was more moderate and also supported a free market economy. Since then, both the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party were the largest and dominant parties in the RGC, while the Patriotic Party was reduced to being a small party, although it still held some congressional seats and certain political positions. 1902 saw the RGC get its first Liberal President, a pragmatic Senator from Venezuela named Carlos Maduro. In 1903, the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed between the US and the RGC, resulting in the US gaining control of the Panama Canal.
In 1906, Rafael Basquera, a Conservative MNA, became the new President of the RGC. His presidency saw the RGC become more industrialized in 1908. By the 1910s, the FARGC was now filled with aircrafts. Once WW1 broke out, the RGC initially stayed neutral (although it did send supplies to the Entente). However, following an attack by the German Navy, the RGC officially declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. From 1917 to 1918, the RGC sent a large expeditionary force of 450,000 troops to the Western Front. This expeditionary force was commanded by General Juan Díaz Ortega. This force participated in numerous battles such as the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Once WW2 ended, the RGC had lost over 65,000 men. The Colombian involvement in WW1 was overseen by President Victorino Márquez Bustillos (PL), who became the third President in the RGC to serve two terms. During Victorino's presidency, the RGC unexpectedly allowed Presidents to serve two terms again, much to the dismay of veteran politicians, especially older members of the Conservative Party, as there might be a risk for increased corruption.
While everything was relatively peaceful and calm in the 1920s, with General Juan Díaz Ortega (PC) being President from 1922 to 1930, the Great Depression broke out in 1929, which then reached the RGC a year later, thus crippling its flourishing economy. This has since led to the Patriotic Party gaining popular support for the first time since the 1890s. From 1932 to 1935, the Chaco War was fought between the RGC and Paraguay, which eventually ended with the latter emerging victorious. In 1938, the Patriotic Party finally won that year's presidential election, thus making its leader, Antonio José Castelli (PP), the new President of the RGC. The new government began implementing radical policies, which includes demand for Colombian takeover of the Panama Canal, the nationalization of the Colombian economy, the centralization of the Colombian states and the complete buildup of the Colombian military. As WW2 broke out, the RGC covertly cooperated with Japan. However, in 1944, the Patriotic Party was overthrown by a group of far-right FARGC officers who formed a military junta called the "Supreme Council for National Defense" (Consejo Supremo de Defensa Nacional). Led by a young Marco Pérez Jiménez, his junta forced the RGC into fighting on the Allied side for the remainder of WW2, while persecuting the country's Japanese population. After WW2 ended, the CSDN continued the rule the RGC with an iron fist and make amends with the US. It also went on to persecute feminists, communists, anarchists, intellectuals, journalists, pacifists, LGBT people, disabled people, indigenous people, religious minorities, trade unions and small businesses, as well as forming a close relationship with the Conservative Party, thus shunning both the Liberal Party and the Patriotic Party. In 1950, the Patriotic Party was officially dissolved by the CSDN, thus leaving the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party as the sole major parties in the RGC (although the CSDN favored the former over the latter).
Once the Cold War broke out, the RGC immediately joined the Western Bloc. In 1954, the CSDN allowed elections again and restored numerous government institutions, but continued to covertly support the Conservative Party. This allowed the party to win that year's presidential election, which has been rigged by the CSDN. The new civilian government, led by President Laureano Gómez (PC), implemented many social and economic policies that favored the US, the CSDN, the Catholic Church, big businesses and anti-communist dictatorships. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party continues to lose popularity and many statues dedicated to Daniel Sulívar were removed due to his left-leaning beliefs. During the Korean War, the Colombian Battalion was deployed to the Korean Peninsula to aid South Korea and their allies. Gómez continued to be President after winning again in 1958, but then something happened two years later.
In 1960, a coup d'etat took place in Bogotá. It was led by Lieutenant Colonel Enrique García Martínez, a WW1 veteran and vehement supporter of the Patriotic Party, and liberal members of the Colombian military. It was supported by the Liberal Party, moderate members of the Conservative Party and even the Red Guards, the armed wing of the Patriotic Party. The coup was a success and supporters of the government, including the CSDN, were prosecuted by a new junta called the "National Reconstruction Committee" (Comité de Reconstrucción Nacional). The CRN reversed many policies that both the CSDN and President Goméz had implemented. In 1962, new elections were held and a new party called the Democratic Action Party (Partido Acción Democrática) emerged victorious with Rómulo Betancourt (PAD) as the new President. The Democratic Action Party formed a coalition government with both the Liberal Party and the Christian Social Party (Partido Social Cristiano), which became known as the "Puntofijo Pact" (Pacto de Puntofijo). This coalition government implemented numerous liberal policies and took inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement. The RGC was briefly involved in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1968.
However, during the 1960s, many left-wing rebel groups would show up in the RGC. Two of these were the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) or FARC and the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) or the PCC-SL. The former is based in the northern parts of the country, while the latter is based in the southern parts. The former is influenced by Che Guevara, while the latter is influenced by Mao Zedong. Ever since their formation, both groups have been terrorizing the RGC for years. This also led to the creation of right-wing paramilitary groups. Meanwhile, relations between the RGC and Chile deteriorated when the latter is subsequently ruled by military dictator Augusto Pinochet. Both countries nearly went to war in the 1980s, but it was neverthless thwarted.
In 1977, the Torrijos–Carter Treaties were signed by the US and the RGC in Washington DC. In 1982, due to the prolonged US control of the Panama Canal Zone, the state of Panama seceded from the RGC and was subsequently led by General Manuel Noriega, a disgruntled EGC officer. The Colombian government, led by President (PC), both condemned the secession and charged Noriega with treason. In 1989, Panama was jointly invaded by both the US and the RGC. The former had Noriega wanted for racketeering and drug trafficking, while the latter sought out to regain control of Panama. Despite being denounced by the UN and the OAS as a violation of international law, the invasion was a success and led to the RGC regaining control of Panama in 1990. However, that same year, due to the invasion, the Colombian population became fearful of the aftermath. As a result, Alberto Fujimori (AU), a Japanese-Colombian politician from Peru, is subsequently elected as President. A member of the right-wing populist United Action (Acción Unida), Fujimori took a harsh stance on left-wing insurgents and the country's macroeconomic instability. Due to the outbreak of a constitutional crisis in 1992, Fujimori, with the help of the Colombian military, carries out a self-coup. This coup led to the dissolution of the Censorate, the removal of judicial independence and the creation of a new constitution in 1993. Alberto was able to run for three terms, making him the first (and only) President to do so in the RGC. Starting in 1997, Alberto supported and funded the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia), a notorious right-wing paramilitary group who fought against FARC and other left-wing rebel groups, while fighting against both the Shining Path and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru) down south. Meanwhile, Fujimori used his party to promote Japanese interests in the RGC and form close relations with Japan, even going as far as to deny the severity of Japanese war crimes, provide all Japanese companies with special treatment in the RGC, support Japanese territorial claims and advocate for the revision of Article 9. This didn't sit well with both left-wing activists and far-right nationalists. In 1998, as a result of changes in its political platform, the Liberal Party splits into two groups. One group merged with the Conservative Party to form the centre-right Liberal Conservative Party (Partido Conservador Liberal), while the other group merged with the Democratic Action Party to form the more left-leaning New Liberal Party (Nuevo Partido Liberal).
In 2000, Alberto Fujimori lost all support when a video depicting his corruption is shown to the public. His ministers resigned, while he fled to Japan. After that, Ricardo Márquez Flores (AU) was elected as acting President and would oversee the 2002 presidential election. Two years later, that election is won by Álvaro Uribe (PDUN), the self-described leader of the Democratic Party for National Unity (Partido Demócrata por la Unidad Nacional). Meanwhile, the old Colombian constitution is reinsated, thus restoring both the Censorate and judicial independence, as well as limiting presidential terms to two again. As the current President of the RGC, Álvaro continues to wage war on left-wing terrorism and promote national security in the RGC. The year is now 2010 and Álvaro's second term is coming to an end as a new presidential election is to be held later that year.
RP Example(s): A War of Blood and Steel
#CITYUPONTHEHILL - Do NOT Remove
Accepted! Welcome aboard.
On this vein/note, I will say that the Korean and Hong Kong reservations will expire tomorrow at 11:59pm EST. If those players apping as those nations don't finish their apps by then, it is likely I will free them both up to other players.
