El Cargotá: Special Events

[Aureumterra]

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El Cargotá

OOC|IC|National Assembly|Special Events

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This is a thread for special events, this thread is separate from the main IC to prevent clutter, and also to have your character be able to hold rallies and propose legislation whilst still attending these events. This thread is also where debates happen.

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Current Special Event
First Liberal Party Primary Debate

[Aureumterra]

First Liberal Party Primary Debate
"Welcome to the first liberal party primary debate! I am your host, Carlos Martí. In this debate, we have the three candidates that qualified, Assemblyman Pedro Tejedor, Assemblyman Matthew Sainz, and Assemblyman Garcia Oñez. Mayor of Caitado Paris Coralez qualified for the debate, but declined to show up.

To start off, since this is the first debate, I want every candidate to introduce themselves and their vision for El Cargotá briefly'

[The Hindustani State]

"Thank you, Carlos." Pedro replied. "I am Pedro Tejedor, an assemblyman for my district in the Estribaciones. My vision for our great country is to be a paradise for civil rights and freedom. Unlike some others on this stage, I do not consider myself a neoliberal, but rather a libertarian, and libertarianism is what the next generation wants, it should be clear to everyone, because younger liberals are overwhelmingly in support of our movement. We have built one of the largest grassroots campaigns since Miguel Tafalla himself in 2008, and we want to keep this momentum going. Our campaign is built by the people, not the plutocrats or bureaucrats."

[Greater Redosia]

Sainz gave his best smile and adjusted himself to look more proper as this was needed to rule the debate, one could win with honeyed words and the correct ideals, but it's the look that people pay attention to the most. So now Sainz will make the nation look towards him, someone proper enough to lead but close enough to the ground to understand the people themselves.

"I'm sure you all know who I am, Assembly member Matthew Sainz, representative of the people to our nation and currently nominee for the Presidency of el Cartogá. Now, what I see as a future for our nation is a land that protects the social liberties and the political liberties of our people. A nation that doesn't punish the wealthy, but also doesn't abandon the working man. We need to stop this authoritarian nonsense, realign with the United States and return our lost jobs to the nation. We must have unity through common sense, something I believe all of us can agree on. But we must do this with love for our nation and the will to make changes that restore the course of Cartogán prosperity!"

[Sao Nova Europa]

García Óñez smiled warmly and, with the calm demeanor of a Professor, he began his speech.

"I am Assemblyman García Óñez. I was for years a Professor of Economics at New York and Bartago. My work has led me to look at statistics and numbers rather than empty slogans and aphorisms. I believe that my campaign can create the broad social majority needed to defeat the President and move the country forward. We cannot afford to choose ideological extremity that will alienate a large part of the general electorate and allow the President to be reelected; we need to defeat him now, lest we become a second Venezuela. We need to denounce populism and focus on solving problems instead. I pledge to restore respect for our democratic institutions and constitution, to simplify the tax code and completely digitize the public sector. I believe that we can combine a cost-efficient welfare state for the poorest in society with a dynamic, market economy."

[Aureumterra]

"That brings me to my next question, this one is for Mr. Óñez. Polling shows you do well with older liberals and historically underprivileged indigenous groups, but you pale in comparison to others among younger liberals, who would see an uncompromising libertarian attitude rather than the mainstream neoliberal one. How does your campaign see to reach out to young liberals?"

[Sao Nova Europa]

"That brings me to my next question, this one is for Mr. Óñez. Polling shows you do well with older liberals and historically underprivileged indigenous groups, but you pale in comparison to others among younger liberals, who would see an uncompromising libertarian attitude rather than the mainstream neoliberal one. How does your campaign see to reach out to young liberals?"

"I sympathize with our young people, who are fiery idealists and want radical change. However, we cannot afford to take an uncompromising libertarian stance in the general election. It may be popular among young liberals, but it will alienate a large part of the general electorate. And electability should be our first concern in this election. It is not a typical election! The President is bit by bit dismantling our Republic. If we lose, I fear we will become a second Venezuela. We need to defeat him now and to do so we need the broadest social majority to rally behind us. I am willing to reach out by implementing some libertarian ideas, such as the Minimum Guaranteed Income inspired by Milton Friedman. But I repeat; we cannot risk alienating the general electorate and giving the President the chance to dismantle our Republic."

[The Hindustani State]

Pedro raises his hand

[Aureumterra]

"Yes, Assemblyman Tejedor, you may reply"

[The Hindustani State]

"Firstly, I would like to agree with my Assembly colleague here that our president is dismantling the democratic institutions our country was founded upon, based on the vision of Latino revolutionaries like Bolivar. However, I have seen our movement grow since the day I formally announced my campaign, I have managed to raise more grassroots money than most others, it is clear that most people are longing for radical change. My campaign does not need to rely on big name donors because we resonate with the people. On the other hand, more moderate candidates are willing to work hand-in-hand with the authoritarian PDP and their bloc. What they’re doing is simply just changing hands and only moving slightly in the right direction, not nearly the movement we need to lift the massive tax burdens on average Cargotans."

[Aureumterra]

"Thank you. If anyone would like to reply, please raise your hand. If not, we will move on to the next question."

[Sao Nova Europa]

Óñez raises his hand.

[Aureumterra]

"Yes assemblyman Oñez"

[Sao Nova Europa]

"I am glad that my colleague agrees on the danger that this President poses to our Republic; which is why he must be defeated now. He has indeed had great success among young liberals, but young liberals do not represent the attitudes of the general electorate. To defeat the President we cannot simply rely on appealing to our core base; we need to appeal to moderates and even center-leftists who would not usually vote for the Liberals but who are fed up with the President's authoritarianism and look for an alternative. The average Cargotan wants reform, not revolution. Tax cuts are popular, but abolishing the welfare state is not. Liberalizing the economy and cutting red tape is popular, complete deregulation and abolition of workers' rights is not. We need a broad social majority to defeat the President and move the country forward."

[Aureumterra]

"The floor is open to a few minutes of cross-debate between all three candidates"

[The Hindustani State]

"I have never called for dismantling the welfare state, it is essential to the well-being of our disenfranchised. If you are elected, however, you will not do enough to lift the burden on small businesses and individuals, and many of those taxes are used just so Tafalla’s bureaucrats get richer and richer, Mr. Oñez"

[Sao Nova Europa]

"I have called for the complete digitization of the public sector; this will cut hours of paperwork and red tape and will drastically reduce its cost while making the public sector more effective. I have called for abolishing all taxes except for income, corporate, sales and a low carbon one. Income tax for working and middle class individuals will be reduced drastically while corporate tax for small businesses shall also be reduced. On the other hand, high earners and big corporations will pay slightly more to fund those drastic tax cuts. I have called for tax benefits of up to 5% for corporations, in proportion to native Cargotans they hired. I am for tax cuts, but also for fiscal responsibility and prioritizing the working and middle classes."

[Greater Redosia]

"While I understand the need to streamline our bureaucracy and to reduce taxes, we must also understand the limitations of it if we do not have a complete understanding of working conditions. Unions, they are widespread and entrenched in our political sphere due to our left-leaning Government. They are being radicalized against private businesses being, all for the betterment of the Government coalition. What we need to do is make a connection between business owners and unions which benefit the people instead of a political gain, cooperation between Unions and businesses both help bring economic growth whilst keeping the native Cargotan safe."

[Sao Nova Europa]

"I am in full agreement with my colleague with regards to the importance of unions. Unions need not be obstacles to private enterprise. Instead, we can have cooperation between businessmen and unions to ensure a healthy market economy with respect for the dignity and rights of the working people. I also agree that cutting taxes is not enough. By streamlining our bureaucracy and cutting government waste, we can reallocate already existing resources towards our public health and education systems. I pledge to increase the salary and number of doctors and teachers. A dynamic market economy requires a healthy, educated populace. We cannot hope for our workers to compete in this globalized world without excellent healthcare and education. This will be one of my top priorities."

[Aureumterra]

"Thank you candidates. Now that the debate is on unions, that brings me to my next question, again at Mr. Tejedor. In your latest rally, you mentioned your support for right-to-work laws, would you elaborate on that?"

[The Hindustani State]

"Indeed. Under Tafalla’s government, many businesses now have mandatory union membership as part of their employment contract. Under my presidency, I pledge to pass right-to-work laws which remove such restrictions, allowing for reducing unemployment. I would like to point out the Southern states in the US, who after adopting RTW laws, are seeing massive economic growth and a boom of private businesses moving in.

Tafalla’s presidency has made our economy sluggish, we’ve seen rising unemployment in the last few years, as well as slow economic growth. If we do not implement such laws in time, we will become the next Venezuela."

[Aureumterra]

"The floor is now open to cross-debate"

[Sao Nova Europa]

"A right-to-work law for the public sector is indeed needed; without it, we get inflated wages for public workers and inflated taxes. However, I am against imposing such a law on the private sector. Private businesses have the right to have the freedom to choose if they want Union membership as a requirement for work. Employment is a voluntary relationship. No one is forcing workers to join a union. I believe in the right of businesses to choose. Some businessmen prefer such arrangements because in many cases Union workers are better certified and qualified. Others don't, and we need to respect those too. Last but not least, I believe that Unions are overall beneficial to the workers. They have drawbacks, especially when radical left-wing Union leaders get to impose their political agendas, but with the right regulations they can be the backbone of our working class."

[Greater Redosia]

"Unions are the lifeblood of our political course and of our culture as a whole, what we require are Unions that support less fortunate workers allowing them to become qualified in their field. We should make Union membership a choice, but as a Government we need to take less responsibility in the daily lives of our people, so in its wake we should cooperate with Unions to train our next generation of workers which will leave an extremely large and open market for businesses to enjoy qualified and experienced employees."

[The Hindustani State]

"Mr. Oñez, considering many businesses have union membership as a requirement, that indirectly hinders employment and the ability to be employed. Without right to work laws on both the public and private sector, we are indirectly disenfranchising those who cannot afford to pay union dues, aren’t we?"