Rumahokian transition to democracy
Rumahoki's transition towards democratisation started with the Velvet Revolution of 1994. It would end with the enactment of the Constitution of Rumahoki in 1996.
Background: the Pascual-Torres era
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The 14 July 1919 coup d'état in Rosario replaced the increasingly unstable democratic government with a military dictatorship which promised that order, authority, and discipline would be maintained, something which won over much of the increasingly anti-democratic populace. This military regime soon abolished political parties, took steps to persecute the small by highly vocal Socialist groups, and had swept away the republican institutions. This began the trend of Delepasian-dominated polities turning towards highly conservative and authoritarian regimes as democratic rule of law was rejected outright. In 1931, the Rosarian dictatorship invited University of Adouka professor Fernando Pascual to serve as the minister of finance. In 1935, he was subsequently made Prime Minister, and in 1938 his power had consolidated to the point that he would formally declare the formation of the Social State (Estado Social).
Under Pascual (1935-1988), Rosario, and, since 1976, Delepasia became, at least formally, a corporative state. The Rosarian Constitution of 1933 and the Delepasian Constitution of 1976 embodied the theory of corporatism, under which government was to be formed of economic entities organised according to their function, rather than by individual representation. One group would consist of the employers, another would consist of the employees, and these groups would have to deal with one another through their representative organisations.
In practice, however, Pascual was the head of an autocratic dictatorship with the help of an efficient secret police – the fuvicivides. He introduced the strictest of censorship laws, had the fuvicivides monitor anyone deemed to be politically suspect by the regime, often resorting to matters such as imprisonment, exiling, or even executions.
Rosario, and later Delepasia, drifted and floundered under this highly repressive and sectarian regime for many decades. Economic conditions improved only slightly in the 1970s, when Pascual began to implement the first of two five-year economic plans. These plans were deemed a success, thus stimulating some much-needed growth, which in turn allowed for the living standards to noticeably rise.
1980s and the anti-Loa campaigns
The 1980s, however, were crisis years for Delepasia. Guerrilla movements emerged in the internal Delepasian protectorate of Loaland that aimed at liberating the Loa from what was over a century of living under the sectarian Navidadian System. Fighting these numerous guerrilla movements for more than a decade proved to be enormously draining for the poor, increasingly backwater nation in terms of labour and financial resources.
In the early 1980s, the rise of new technocrats with a background in economics and technical-industrial expertise led to a new period of economic fostering for the fledgling nation, with Delepasia slowly becoming an attractive country for international investment. The development of industries and the growth of the economy would continue throughout the 1980s. During Pascual's tenure, Delepasia began in 1981 to compare its GDP to that of the Vallosian Economic Association's average and thus focused on certain sectors accordingly in order to catch up. In the early 1980s, Delepasia began to openly trade with its neighbours and beyond, with plans set in motion to open up select sectors to foreign firms. This period marked the initiation of Pascual's more outward-looking economic policy. Delepasian foreign trade increased by 64 per cent in exports, and 53 per cent in imports. In the years between 1980 and 1993, total output (GDP at factor cost) saw a 120 per cent growth in real terms, with an unparalleled robust annual growth rate in GDP by 6.9 per cent, in industrial production by nine per cent, in consumption by 6.5 per cent, and in gross fixed capital formation by 7.8 per cent.
In 1980, at the initiation of Pascual's more outward-looking economic policy, Delepasia's per capita GDP was only 42 per cent of the VEA's average, by the end of the Pascual period, in 1988, it had risen to 54 per cent; and in 1993, under the leadership of Nicolas Torres, Delepasia's per capita GDP had reached 61.7 per cent of the VEA's average. On a long-term analysis, after a long period of economic divergence since 1852, and a period of chaos in the latter half of the 19th Century, the Delepasian economies had collectively recovered slightly until 1970, entering thereafter on a path of strong economic convergence with the rest of Vallos, until the Velvet Revolution in April 1994. Delepasian economic growth in the period from 1980 to 1993 under the Estado Social regime (and even with the effects of the expensive anti-Loa campaigns in Loaland against guerrilla groups), created an opportunity for real integration with the developed economies of Vallos. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and firms changed their patterns of production and consumption, bringing about a structural transformation. Simultaneously, the increasing complexity of a growing economy raised new technical and organizational challenges, stimulating the formation of modern professional and management teams in order to meet these challenges.
Pascual incapacitated
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When Pascual was incapacitated in an accident in 1988, the Privy Council, a high-level advisory body created by the Constitution of 1976, chose Nicolas Torres to succeed him. Torres (1988-1994), although initially a Pascual protégé, tried to modernise and liberalise the old Pascual system. He was opposed, however, by a group widely referred to as "the stronghold," the old Pascualists. These included the head of the United Delepasian Armed Forces, General Francisco de Costa, the other senior officers of the armed forces, and the heads of some of the country's most powerful gransindinales. The stronghold was powerful enough that any fundamental change would certainly have led to the immediate overthrow of Torres.
As Torres promised reform only to fall into indecision due to the stronghold's intervention, the sense began to grow among all groups—the armed forces, the opposition, and liberals within the regime—the sense that only a revolution could produce the changes that they felt Delepasia was desperately needing if it was to make it to the year 2000. Contributing to this revolutionary feeling was the number of growing tensions on the political and social scene.
Economic pressure
The continuing economic drain caused by the military campaigns in Loaland was exacerbated by the end of the Occidental Cold War. Politically, the desire for democracy, or at this point just a greater opening up of the political system, was increasing. Social tensions mounted, as well, because of the slow pace of change and the absence of opportunities for advancement.
The decisive ingredient in these tensions was the increasing dissension within the military itself, which was long a bulwark of the regime. Younger military academy graduates resented a program introduced by Torres whereby militia officers who completed a brief training programme and had served in Loaland's defensive campaigns, could be commissioned at the same rank as military graduates. Torres's government had begun the programme (which included several other reforms) in order to increase the number of officers employed against the Loa insurgencies, and at the same time cut down military costs so as to alleviate an already overburdened government budget.
Quintero and revolution
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A key catalytic event in the process toward revolution was the publication, in 1993, General Raul Quintero's book, Delepasia and the Year 2000, which criticised the conduct of the Loaland campaigns and offered a far-ranging and far-reaching programme for Delepasia's recovery. The general's work sent shock waves throughout the political establishment in Santa Maria. As the first major and public challenge to the regime by a high-ranking figure within the system, Quintero's experience in the Loaland campaigns gave his opinions added weight and influence. The book was widely seen as the opening salvo in Quintero's ambitious campaign to become prime minister.
1994 uprising
On 30 April 1994, a group of younger officers belonging to an underground anti-Pascualist organisation, the Democratic Rebirth Society (Sociedad del Renacimiento Democrático, SRD; Kasikasgau des Reneisensa Demaukrata, KRD), overthrew the Torres regime, and Quintero emerged as at least the titular head of the new government. The uprising succeeded within hours with virtually no bloodshed. Torres and other high-ranking officials of the old regime were arrested and exiled, many to The Cape, while Emperor Maximilian I, who from 1976 until 1996 served as the ceremonial head-of-state, declared his support in favour of the revolutionaries. The military seized control of all important institutions.
Quintero regarded the military's action as a simply military uprising aimed at reorganising the political structure with himself as the head, a "revitalización" (revitalisation), in his words. Within days, however, it became clear that the uprising had released long pent-up frustrations when thousands, and then tens of thousands of Delepasians spontaneously poured into the streets celebrated the downfall of the regime and demanding further change than was Quintero had been hoping. The coercive apparatus of the Estado Social – secret police, National Men-at-Arms Regiment, official party, censorship – were all soon overwhelmed and abolished. Workers began taking over shops from owners, peasants seized private lands, low-level employees took over hospitals from doctors and administrators, and government offices were occupied by workers who sacked the old management and demanded a thorough housecleaning.
Very early on, the demonstrations began to be manipulated by organised political elements, principally the Marxists and other groups farther to the left. Radical labour and peasant leaders emerged from the underground where they had been operating for many years to escape Pascualist reprisal. Francisco Carvalho, the leader of the nascent People's Democratic Party, and Manuel Ruiz, former general and member of the Pascualist regime who converted to Marxism during his exile, returned from exile to Delepasia within days of the revolt and received heroes' welcomes.
Who exactly ruled Delepasia during this revolutionary period was not always clear, and various bodies had vied for dominance. Quintero became the first interim prime minister of the new regime in May 1994, and he chose the first of six provisional governments that were to govern the country until two years later when the new constitution was enacted. This new government consisted of members of the moderate Christian National Party, the PDP, the Marxists, five independents, one military officer, and Emperor Maximilian I himself.
Beneath this formal structure, there existed several other groups that wielded considerable power. Within the first weeks of the revolution, a key group was the Junta for the Salvation of Civility (Junta para la Salvación de la Civilidad), composed entirely of high-ranking, politically moderate military officers headed by the Emperor. Working alongside it was a seven-member coordinating committee made up of politically radical junior officers who had managed the uprising. By the end of May 1994, these two bodies worked together with other members of the Privy Council, the nation's highest governing body.
Gradually, however, the DR Society emerged as the most powerful single group in Delepasia as it overruled Quintero in several major decisions. Members of the DR Society formed the National Liberation Command (Comando de Liberación Nacional - COLINA) composed of 15,000 elite troops with Major (later Brigadier General) Vito Borbon as its commander. Known universally by his first name Vito, Borbon had directed the 30 April uprising. Because the regular police withdrew from the public sector during the time of revolutionary turmoil and the military was somewhat divided, COLINA became the most important force for order in the country and was firmly under the control of radical left-wing officers.
Quintero formed a second provisional government in mid-July with army Colonel (later General) Augusto Ortega as his deputy, eight military officers, and members of the PNC, PDP, and the Marxists. Quintero chose Ortega because he was a moderate, but he was to move increasingly to the left as he served as deputy prime minister in one more provisional government, and as prime minister in three more, between July 1994 and September 1995. Quintero's position further weakened when he was obliged to consent of the formation of the Loa-majority states of Kalanatoa and Na'aturie as well as a dismantling of the Navidadian System, rather than allowing for a limited amount of Loa to run for public office in Navidadia as outlined in his book. Kalanatoa and Na'aturie were both officially declared as states within Rumahoki in 30 April 1996. Quintero attempted to seize full power in late September 1994, but was blocked by COLINA and resigned from office. He replacement was the moderate General Fidel de la Pena, who with Ortega formed a third provisional government with heavy DR Society membership, nine military officers in all, and members of the PNC, PDP, and the Marxists.
In the next year, Delepasian politics moved steadily leftward. The Marxists were highly successful in placing its members in many national and local political and administrative offices, and it was consolidating its hold on the country's labour unions. The DR Society came ever more under the control of its radical wing, and some of its members came under the influence of the Marxists. In addition, smaller, more radical left-wing groups joined up with the Marxists in staging demonstrations that brought about the increasing adoption of leftist policies, including nationalisations of private companies.
An attempted uprising by Quintero in early March 1995 failed, and he fled the country. In response to this attack from the right, radical elements of the military abolished the Junta for the Salvation of Civility and formed the Council of the National Revolution as the country's most powerful governing body. The council was made responsible to a 240-member radical military legislature, the Congress of the Armed Forces. A fourth provisional goverment was formed, more radical than its predecessor, and was under the influence and leadership of Ortega, with eight military officers, and members of the PNC, PDP, the Marxists, and the Social Democratic Commission (Comisión Socialdemócrata - CSD), a party that was getting increasingly close to the Marxists.
The new government began a wave of nationalisations of banks and large businesses. As these banks were often holding companies, the government came after a time to own almost all the country's newspapers, insurance companies, hotels, construction companies and many other kinds of businesses, so that its share of the country's gross national product amounted to 85%.
The transition to civilian rule
Elections were held on 30 April 1995, for the Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. The PDP won nearly 42% of the vote, while the PNC took 32.5%. The Marxists won less than 17% of the vote. A right-wing party, the Democratic Reform Party, came in forth with less than 10%. Despite the fact that the elections took place in a period of revolutionary ferment, most Delepasians voted for moderate parties committed to pluralistic democracy.
Many Delepasians regarded the elections as a sign that democracy was being effectively established after over 75 years of dictatorial rule in some places. In addition, most members of the military welcomed the beginning of a transition to civilian democracy. Some elements of the DR Society, however, had opposed the elections, agreeing to them only after working out and agreement with political parties that the DR Society's policies would be carried out regardless of election results.
Following the elections came the Hot Solstice of 1995 when the revolution made itself felt in the countryside. Landless agricultural labourers in the north seized the large farms on which they worked. Many estates in Kauabimini were confiscated—over 50,000 square kilometres in all—and transformed into collective farms. In the south, where most farms were small and owned by the people who worked them, such actions have never occurred. The north's small farmers, highly conservative property-owners in Auxana, violently repulsed the attempts of radical elements and the Marxists to collectivise their land. Some farmers formed right-wing organisations in defence of private landownership, a reversal to the region's early welcoming of the revolution.
Other revolutionary actions were met with hostility, as well. In mid-July, the PDP and the PNC withdrew from the fourth provisional government to protest the antidemocratic actions committed by radical military and far-left political forces, now known as "steelheads" (cabaceros). The PDP newspaper Socialist Action had been closed by radical workers, causing a storm of protests both domestically and abroad. The PDP and other democratic parties were also faced with a potentially lethal threat to the new freedoms posed by the steelheads' open contempt for parliamentary democracy and its dominance in Delepasia's main trade union, the United Federation of Delepasian Workers (Federación Unida de Trabajadores Delepasianos – FUTD).
Almadaria and Takatta Loa, as well as much of mainland Sarpedon, expressed considerable alarm at the prospect of a violent Marxist takeover in Vallos. Almadaria in particular even threatened to invade Delepasia to restore order if the country fell to civil war or a hostile Marxist takeover. One contemporary noted the similarities between this revolution and Pelaxia's Revolution of 1852. The result of these concerns was an influx of foreign financial aid into Delepasia to shore up groups committed to pluralist parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.
By the time of the "hot solstice of 1995", several currents could be seen within the DR Society. A moderate group, the Group of Nine, better-known as the "velvetines" (aterciopeladistas), issued a manifesto in August that advocated moderate socialism along the lines of what they believed were the fundamental principles founded in the 30 April uprising the year prior, the basis of Velvetine socialism. Another group published a manifesto that criticised both the Group of Nine and those who had drawn close to the cabaceros and singled out Prime Minister Ortega for his links to the "steelheads". These differences of opinion signaled the end of the fifth provisional government, in power for only a month, under Ortega in early September. Ortega was subsequently expelled from the Council of the National Revolution as this body became more closely-aligned to the moderate socialist velvetines. The sixth provisional government was formed, headed by Admiral Hugo Castillo; it included the leader of the Group of Nine, and members of the PNC, the PDP, and non-steelhead Marxists. This government, which was to remain in power until January 1997, when the first constitutional government was formed, was pledged to adhere to the policies advocated by the "velvetines".
Evolving political stability did not necessarily reflect the country as a whole, which was on the verge of anarchy. Even the command structure of the military broke down. Political parties to the right of the "steelheads" became more confident and increasingly fought for order, as did many in the armed forces. The granting of statehood to Kalanatoa and Na'aturie meant that the Loaland campaigns have ended. The attainment of peace, the main aim of the military during all theses months of political upheaval, was thus achieved, and the military could begin to transition to civilian rule. The polling results of the April 1995 constituent assembly elections legitimised the popular support given to the parties that could manage and welcome this transition.
A coup by military units in December 1995 by Vito Borbon, referred to as the 3 of December, marked the decline of far-left influence in Delepasia. On this day, under the pretense of a far-left radio takeover of a radio station, Emperor Maximilian I declared a state of emergency, and sent loyal velvetine commandos led by Colonel Raimundo Carrillo to seize the city of Santa Maria. Revolutionary units within Santa Maria were quickly surrounded and forced to surrender; about 250 leftists were arrested, and COLINA was abolished. The steelheads' ability to institute its goals had diminished without the support of the military, and people returned to their jobs and daily routines after eighteen months of political and social turmoil.
A degree of compromise among competing political visions of how the new Rumahokian state should be organised was reached, and the country's new Constitution was proclaim on 30 April 1996, paving the way to the termination of the provisional governments and of the Ongoing Transitionary Process. In May that same year, the first elections of Rumahoki were held.
These elections could be said to be the definitive end of the period of revolution. Moderate democratic parties received most of the vote, with a coalition government being formed between the PNC and the PDP. Revolutionary achievements were not discarded, however. The constitution pledged the country to realise socialism. Furthermore, the constitution declared that the extensive nationalisations and land seizures of 1995 were irreversible. The military supported these commitments through a pact with the main political parties that guaranteed its guardian rights over the new democracy for four more years.
Consolidation of democracy
After the adoption of Rumahoki's new Constitution in 1997, the first elections for the Congress of the Commons, were mostly won by the PDP and the PNC, which together took 76.8% of the vote, compared with the 16.2% for the PRD, and 7% for the PCR. The PDP and the PNC entered into a coalition government, with Francisco Carvalho becoming the first prime minister of the newly-established constitutional government in Rumahoki. The PDP continues to be the ruling party of Rumahoki to this day, now holding a majority government ever since the 2000 elections.
During its near-40 years in power, the PDP has cemented Velvetine socialism as the party's main ideology as guided by Carvalho's ideological viewpoints, has transitioned Rumahoki's economy towards one where the state maintains an active role in dirigism, and has established special economic zones (SEZs) over the states of Portas Gemeas and the Federal District. By 2005, the results of these economic policies allowed for the nation to experience economic growth for the first time since 1993, soon reaching to VEA levels in 2011, partly thanks to Rumahoki having joined the VEA in the early 2000s.
See also
- 1992 Republic Day revolution – which occurred along a similar time period in The Cape
- Assumption Accords - what led to the Estado Social becoming increasingly isolated
- Lushan Square Massacre - an attempt at a similar event in Daxia that was repressed