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Full Nation Name : Confederate States of South America (CSSA)
Majority/Official Culture : South American
The Spanish language is promoted by the state and is the hallmark of South American identity, along with Catholic Christianity. Foreign immigration is widely accepted, but immigrants are expected to assimilate gradually to the dominant culture: a strongly nationalist-oriented school system aids the government's effort. The government initially excluded Native Americans but this policy changed over time: in 1851 citizenship and full rights were granted to Natives and since the 1880s a fascination with the pre-Columbian Tiwanaku empire has become a norm among South Americans, who view it as grand, majestic South American Empire. A fusion has emerged with both the Tiwanaku empire and the Spanish colonizers viewed as glorious ancestors. The contradiction of a largely Spanish-descended population that massacred natives only a few decades ago now viewing them an illustrious part of their history is largely ignored for the purposes of constructing a glorious national history/narrative.
Territorial Core : MAP
Territorial Claim : The CSSA has no territorial ambitions.
Capital City : Buenos Aires
Population : 11,500,000
Government Type : Federal Presidential Parliamentary Republic
Government Ideology/Policies :
The ideology of CSSA is that of pacifism, isolationism and liberalism (the 'Three Founding Principles of the Republic'). CSSA pursues free trade and cordial relations with neighboring states, with war being viewed as abhorrent. Isolationism does not mean being cut off from the world, but rather avoiding alliances and treaties that could entangle the CSSA in war or other costly activities beyond its borders. Liberalism in CSSA amounts to a strictly limited and defined government, protection of individual rights and defense of private property; each individual should be free to pursue his wishes with as little government interference as possible.
Government Focus :
The focus of the government is to defend the rights and liberties of CSSA citizens, engage in free trade with neighbors and avoid getting entangled into conflicts.
Head of State : President Santiago de Solis
Head of Government : President Santiago de Solis
Government Description :
The President is elected directly every 6 years. One person can serve only two terms as President, and henceforth he is barred from seeking that office again. The President is both head of state and government and is vested with executive powers. His powers include the execution and enforcement of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive, diplomatic, regulatory and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Congress. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn the houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances. The President directs foreign and domestic policy and has the power to Veto legislation.
The Congress is comprised of three bodies: the Senate, with two Senators representing each state regardless of population, the House of Representatives, with four to thirty Representatives representing each state (that is determined by population of each state), and the House of Aristocrats, with forty members (revered individuals [whether successful statesmen, intellectuals, diplomats, etch] nominated and appointed with a 2/3 majority by the other two Congressional bodies). For a law to go into effect, it must pass all three bodies of Congress. The relation between the President and the Congress is one of mutual checks and balances, but from time to time the President may be able to benefit from a one-party majority in Congress to pass through his legislative agenda.
The States have a similar governmental structure, with State Congresses and a Governor. They have broad autonomy over fiscal and social policy, though less so when it comes to educational policy. The issue of states' rights is fiercely debated, with the Federalists wishing even more decentralization and the Nationalists wanting a stronger central government.
Majority/State Religion : CSSA is officially an irreligious state, but majority religion is Catholic Christianity.
Religious Description : Catholic Christianity is the majority religion of the country, with local, pre-Spanish deities incorporated as Christian Saints. Pre-Columbian religious festivals have made their way as Christian religious festivals.
Economic Ideologies : Free-Market Capitalism
Major Production : Agricultural and diary goods (wheat, soybeans, corn, beef, poultry, wool, fish, etch)
Economic Description :
Exploitation of rich lands of CSSA (RL Argentina, Chile and Bolivia) created the conditions for an export-oriented economy, with exporting mainly of wheat but also of other agricultural products. The growth of exports led to a booming economy and created the necessary fiscal conditions for CSSA government, in cooperation with and under the ownership of foreign investors, to promote large-scale construction of railways across the country. Aside from agricultural production, foreign investment has meant that the CSSA now has a nascent, but booming, industrial sector which benefits from a low-tax and minimal regulations environment.
Development: Modern
Development Description : The export driven economic growth has allowed the CSSA to become one of the modern countries of the world, though the North of the country is semi-industrialized (or, in some parts, even primitive).
Army Description : The CSSA has a standing army and a two-years compulsory service for all South American men. The focus of the military is on defense and makes extensive use of artillery and fortified positions. It has about 100,000 men.
Army Weakness : The military is ill-suited for offensive campaigns and is mainly focused on defensive warfare.
Naval Description : CSSA has a medium-sized naval force, which is for the most part comprised of up to date ships but it can act only as a defensive force, securing CSSA naval borders, rather than as an offensive force capable of undertaking long-range maritime campaigns.
Naval Weakness : The navy has been underfunded for years and is mainly focused on defensive actions.
Further Military Description : The military has rarely been used since the 1830s, with pacifism being the state doctrine of CSSA. It is battle-ready, of course, but only prepared to act as a defensive force.
National Goals : Economic prosperity, peace and stability of democratic institutions.
National Issues : Trade with foreign nations is of vital importance as the CSSA economy relies on exports. A disruption of free trade or a trend of either protectionism or economic downturn in importing countries can have catastrophic consequences for the CSSA economy. The North of the country is economically backwards and there is demand for state action to deal with this inequality.
National Figures of Interest : García Óñez - Hero of the CSSA War of Independence
National Ambition/Aspirations : Peace and economic growth
History :
In August 12, 1820, the Congress of Tucuman declared the independence of South America from Spanish domination and pledged to overthrow the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Discontent with Spanish rule had been brewing for some time, as the institutions of the Viceroyalty were dominated by individuals from Spain (Peninsulares) and excluded in large part the local elites. The Congress, made up of representatives from the various provinces of the Viceroyalty (for the most part local elites and notables), elected lawyer Cornelio Saavedra as 'Premier of the State'. Cornelio was supposed to be checked by a fairly liberal constitution drafted by the Congress, but he managed to get a majority to approve the 'Law of National Emergency', a bill granting him absolute powers until the Spanish were driven out.
An army made up by enthusiastic volunteers and veterans of colonial forces led by General García Óñez defeated the Spanish in October 18, 1820, in the Battle of Maipu. This was the first victory of the South Americans over the colonial authorities and boosted their morale. Óñez, a young officer of the colonial army who had defected to the revolutionaries, became a celebrity at once. In a series of brilliant battles, he drove the Spanish out of most of Spanish South America (RL Chile and Argentina), except for the southern parts which remained under Spanish control and the strongholds of the colonial authorities.
Cornelio had grown jealous of the adulation of Óñez and felt threatened by the rising general. He also faced pressure from Congress to rescind his emergency powers since the war was for the most part a success for the South American forces. Cornelio fabricated a letter indicating that Óñez was planning a military coup and ordered his arrest (10 April, 1826). While Óñez was considering whether to march with his army on Tucuman or stay put and try to prove his innocence, a group of congressmen fed up by Cornelio's authoritarianism murdered him in April 15.
In the 'Free Territories' (as the liberated parts of South America were called) a civil war broke out between two factions: the 'Nationalists' who wanted a strong centralized government and were enjoying the support of Cornelian sympathizers and the 'Federalists' who wanted a confederal state and who were supported mostly by anti-Cornelio South Americans. Despite having been branded a traitor by Cornelio, Óñez sided with the Nationalists and marched onto Tucuman where a Federalist government had been set up, made up of anti-Cornelio congressmen. Óñez captured the city on 10 July, 1827 and massacred most of his political opponents in the 'Massacre of Tucuman'. The Nationalists recognized Óñez as their leader and the leaders of the Nationalist faction granted him the office of 'Generalissimo'. Óñez moved the capital of South America to Buenos Aries and continued his war against the Spanish.
In a final offensive in 1828, Óñez drove out the Spanish from the South American south, ending colonial presence in the region. The Spanish initially refused to negotiate with the 'rebels' but, with no chance of retaking the lost territories in sight, in May 21, 1830, Spain and the South American Congress signed a peace treaty that recognized South American independence. Óñez had become a national hero at this point and was adulated by the population of South America.
García Óñez ruled until 1841 as a dictator, taking the title of Consul. At first, his image as a national hero was enough to keep the country united despite regionalist tendencies, but in 1835 a revolt broke out in Chile demanding independence for the region. The 'Republic of Chile' was born, a coalition of Republicans and regional notables who felt ignored by the central government. Óñez did not tolerate this. In a year long brutal campaign, he sacked five Chilean cities, defeated twelve times the Chilean army and eventually suppressed the rebellion. Hoping to end the regionalist tendencies of the various provinces, he reorganized the administrative structure of country, dividing it into 30 (later 35) States, that were in large part arbitrary and meant to erase regional identities. He also facilitated the construction of schools across the nation that would promote a common national identity.
Óñez was careful not to repeat past mistake and made substantial investment in Chile, allowing it to recover from the destruction brought by the rebellion. He also facilitated colonization of the 'New Territories' (RL Bolivia). He saw this as a mean to contain the pressure on his government by sending away poorer people and avoiding social tensions. Indeed, many poor South Americans who had little to lose decided to move to those new territories to escape from poverty and hopefully start a new life. This movement of peoples saw those lands being annexed by South America.
The colonization process, though, was not a peaceful one. The territories were inhabited by natives who were brutally suppressed by the South American military and informal colonial militia, many of whom carried out indiscriminate massacres that were almost genocidal is scale. Óñez, while by no means a sympathizer to the plight of the natives, saw the instability such massacres could cause and had the military disband such militias. Native tribes in return surrendered fully their territories to South America, recognizing that they could not fight back against the colonization of the region. The natives were allowed to live in peace in the remaining territories they retained but were labelled as 'subjects' rather than 'citizens'.
After his large scale investment in Chile, Óñez gradually abandoned government intervention and instead follow an economic policy of low taxation, fiscal prudence and non-interference in the economy. Historians attribute this change to economist Baltasar de Cisneros. In 1841, satisfied with the progress South America had made, Óñez proclaimed a new, Republican constitution and declared the 'Three Principles of the Republic' (Pacifism, Isolationism, Liberalism). The 'Confederate States of South America' had been born.
It is still debated why Óñez made this turn to Republicanism and Federalism. The official account, and the one promoted by Óñez himself, is that he never intended to rule forever as a dictator. Instead, he wanted to rule with an iron fist only as long as it was necessary for South America to become a unified and stable country and out of fear that becoming a Republic too early would lead to a break up. Óñez also stated that since the regionalist tendencies had been crushed, allowing the states to have greater self-determination in a federalist context would not lead to a break up of the country. Some critics argued that Óñez had already been experiencing symptoms of the disease that would kill him five years later and that he did not want anyone but him to rule as an absolute ruler. His only son had after all succumbed to a different disease in 1838. Some also argue that he understood that such a large state could not remain united as a unitary state and that he realized that his successors would not able to keep the country unified, hence he decided to grant greater autonomy to the states and preserve South America as a federation than try to keep it as a unitary state and see it unravel in the future.
García Óñez resigned as President and in the first democratic elections, Juan José Castelli was elected President. An attempt by a pro-dictatorship faction in the military to launch a coup against the new government ('September 12 Coup') failed after Óñez used his influence on the military to squash the attempted coup. With Óñez on his side (and, as such, with no fears of a military intervention in politics), Juan largely followed a classical liberal government agenda of fiscal prudence and non-interference. The nation also progressed socially, as the second President (Carlos de Elio) granted in November 12, 1851 citizenship to Native Americans with the 'Equality Act'. With the Constitutional Amendment of 1864, more powers were granted to the states, especially on fiscal matters.
From 1841 to 1900, the CSSA experienced rapid economic growth as the exploitation of the rich soil allowed agricultural exports to boom. The trade balance of the CSSA tipped to its favor, budget surplus were the norm and the government encouraged economic growth by further cutting the already low tax rate. Foreign investment facilitated in the 1880s and 1890s the construction of large-scale railway projects. This led to a gradual process of urbanization, especially with regards to Buenos Aries which saw an influx of both South Americans and foreign immigrants. It became one of grand metropolitans of the world. The combination of economic growth and a generally open doors policy towards migrants led to a population boom: the CSSA attracted poorer Europeans who flocked to the new world in search of a new, better life.
However, this economic boom and rapid modernization was mainly felt by south of the country. The northern part of the CSSA, especially around the Andes, remained a semi-industrialized region (and, in some cases, even primitive). This has led to a reverse movement of people, with descendants of colonists returning back south. To stem this flow of people, the CSSA government has placed travel restrictions for residents of that area and is subsidizing the local Native American population with a 'Repayment Scheme': nominally as a reparation for the ills caused by colonialism, the scheme mainly aims to prevent the region from becoming depopulated and to prevent movement of natives to the south.
The Republican institutions of government became solidified as peaceful altercation of power between Presidents became the norm. The two main parties that have emerged are the Federalist Party (center-right, fiscally and socially conservative) and the Nationalist Party (centrist, fiscally moderate to slightly liberal and socially liberal). The Nationalists believe in a strong central government that can promote national unity, a combination of moderate stimulus spending with a proto-welfare state and an inclusionary social liberalism. The Federalists tend to distrust the central government and prefer for matters to be left to the States, are supporters of economic liberalism and non-interference in the economy and believe national unity can be achieved by the promotion and protection of traditional social values and culture. Aside from those two parties, the Andean Front has emerged as a minor party: a curious coalition of Spanish American settlers and Native Americans, it wants the central government to undertake greater investment in the region.
In 1902, Santiago de Solis of the Federalist Party was elected President on a program of maintaining low taxation and expanding trade deals. On Congress, his party is in coalition with the Andean Front and so he has to balance his program of low taxes with a policy of greater state investment in the Andes. He is the current President.
RP Sample: A link from a political RP I participated: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=36610103#p36610103
#AltDiv (do not delete this, it's for keeping track of the apps)
