Let's do this right. First, we increase socialist military aid, in order to defend against Rosario.
Then we began a practice of modifying the State of Emergency Law to please the Europeans and the Popular Stability opposition. I start off by abolishing censorship and getting rid of the Revolutionary Tribunals, in the hopes of appeasing the Europeans.
So CIA funding is actually STOPPING the 'reactos' from engaging in more disaster? It's more than likely just Padilla boasting through the roof. Still, our regime is weaker than we offically claim...
...wait a second? Padilla is merely the MILITARY chief? This is interesting; it means that the reactos are organizing themselves into something more than just a simple paramilitary group.
This could be terrible.
So I shot myself in the foot in the first place by authorizing the State of Emergency. Great. Just great.
Then we began talking about legalizing opposition rallies.
Uh...Calderon...I don't know where to begin.
First,
LIMIPA the 'reactos' aren't brutal mercenaries. They'll kill people for free.
Second, they AREN'T aiming to destroy all that "we" have struggled to "build". That's just as inane as saying "Terrorists hate us for our freedom". The 'reactos' want an amnesty, the right to operate death squads again, and to have a rightist or centrist regime to ensure that their death squads will not be 'hampered'. Any future government will have to respond to popular opinion (or get quickly overthrown) so they will still be SOME leftist reforms made. Not as much as you want...and considering how leftist reforms have a nasty tendency of backfiring, I don't think that's a bad thing.
Third, you give the 'reactos' a reasonable excuse to keep on being 'reactos', and force the 'loyal opposition' to consider more 'violent' ways to express their opinions. Like a military coup. Conducted by Alejos. Remember him? Of course not. You have a memory of a goldfish.
Finally, Chrisitan Reform politicans ARE NOT 'reactos'. Inform your National Liberation goons, why won't you?
So, opposition rallies legalized, yay.
The moderate and the left wants me to cut infrastructure spending as a cost-saving measure to prevent default. I find no reason to disagree, despite the rightists ranting about international competition and having the right tools for the job.
The right drew my attention to a growing situation in Panslavia.
Worker unrest.
Worker unrest.Calderon, you are the worst Commie ever. I'm voting For the resolution to condemn Panslavia.
Back to human rights, we now talk about the issue of 'wage freezes'.
Calderon, of course, has other plans:
I'm not entirely unsympathetic to the idea of a National Salary Scale, however, I am wanting to increase "human rights", so we're going to have to abolish the 'wage freeze'.
Oh, and, um...er...would you mind telling me why we actually need a wage freeze and a ban on strikes?
Hold on a second, Calderon. We got some visitors.
Gloria! It's so nice to see you! Since I have a new and improved army, killing me would be impossible, so it's just better to skip the whole 'coup' business and take the next airplane to...um...I was going to say Havana, but we're close allies with Cuba, so that won't work. Maybe Argentia?
It's back to appeasement, huh? Let's see.
I know Gloria likes Land Reform, but our economy is already going to default; there is no reason to implement something that would disrupt our economy greatly.
How about letting government bureacrats decide what wages are the most fair?
Fun.
How about implementing those food subsidies you were always talking about, Calderon? The food riots are an embarrasment in Moscow, and we really need to end them now.
Nope. Forget it, I got an idea. I'll fire you, Calderon, and appoint Gloria in your post as Defense Minister. This will allow me to ask Gloria what she feels is most important, allowing me to appease her...
And let's get to that...wait a minute...
This is the exact same list of agenda topics that Calderon had when he was Defense Minister! Gah!
New plan. Keep Calderon as Defense Minister, I'll appoint Gloria to the position of External Minister. This might give me a new set of agenda topics that I might appease her with.
We can't really afford to alienate what few friends we got, so, yes, establishing diplomatic relations with Libya and the PLO.
Pledge? PLEDGE? Gloria Jimenz Fleming, Sub-commandate Correa is currently funding rebels
right now, and unless we stop the Chief of Staff---
--well, it would be seen as hypocritical for our guys to be funding revolutions in Panama while condemning the United States for doing the same thing. And Chimerica is not an advanced country by any means. Not at all. If a person really want to go into exile, he'd do so in Cuba, certainly not in this war-torn location.
Yet, you're the one trying to kill me, so I don't have any latitude in disagreeing. "Buffard, we are pleased to inform you that our troops have pledged to not give any weapon whatsoever to Marxist insurgents. Now, we are not going to enforce our pledge due to the reacto insurgency, and if anyone is caught violating this pledge, he'll get a slap on the wrist, but that's alright, right Buffard?"
Sadly, Chimerica also pays attention to its own national security.
Wee...a new mandatory Marketing Board.
I'm tired of appeasement Gloria, so I'm going to do something else...like improving our economy. I'm going to talk to big business.
Ever thought that maybe the bosses want to actually reward good workers so as to
retain them (instead of having them flee out of the country)? It might be true that big business want to put the government under pressure...but there has to be a good reason for that pressure, after all.
Okay, we're done with that nonsense, let's decide to enact a major left-wing agenda: give loans to the food producers.
Well. I guess I can't go that route. I guess I'll go back to talking to Gloria.
I decide to condemn a missile strike in Diwaniya. Certainly not at all foreshadowing a future CIA attack on Fonseca.
We finally decide to round this season up by ending censorship and punishing human right abusers, in the hopes of appeasing Europe. Well, that's it for this update. Hope to see you next-
...
How about this? We establish that glorious National Salary Scale and then do a photo-shoot with Correa, so that Correa and Gloria knows that our government are strongly anti-'reactos'.
Correa...
...isn't that what an insurgency is SUPPOSED to do?
What stupid insurgent would actually fight the Army directly? Come on, now. You're a gurellia leader. You should know better.
But, yes, I give you again a meaningless proclaimation telling you that we are building an army capable of protecting our citizens.
Happy, Gloria?
Appeasement isn't just plain working for you, and it's certainly not letting me govern the country in the moderate way that I desire it too. It looks like I have to resort to military force to suppress you then.
Socialist military aid is certainly helping out, but it's not enough to actually defeat Gloria. What I need to do is to increase my popularity. If I can do that
The main problem is finding out what policies actually increase my popularity. Each Minister wants to present his party's view in the best light possible, leavin git to
---wait a second. Why should I rely on my Cabinet? They live a completely sheltered life, and does not know what the people want. All they believe is whatever the Party tells them to believe, and all they really want is their Hidden Agendas to be implemented.
And what happens if I want to implement a policy a Cabinet Minister dislike, but the people like?
No more. No more of this stupidity.
I am hereby requesting the resigination of every Cabinet Minister...now!
Instead, I'll talk to the Influentials directly. Just talking to the Influential gives me a big boost in Support
...implementing that Influential's proposed policy is just icing on the cake.
Let start by talking to the Doctor.
I just know I'm going to regret this. Our economy is currently collasped into oblivion, and what am I doing? Basically bribing Influentials. Maybe this could be a temporary policy...just to ensure I survive long enough for me to repeal it.
And this press release was meant to make me hate the reactos...how?
Judith Escobar de Royce covertly supported the Insurrection. She did not do so out of any alturism...she did it because
she wanted money. Padilla was one of the few loyalists of Farsante. Judith was a valid target.
In fact, it's you who should start realizing that maybe your big army build-up isn't really saving people's lives.
YOU IDIOT. I just got done talking to Calderon in a previous timeline, and then you go in repeating those exact same misunderstanding---
You know what? Sod it. Here's your blood money, Teacher. As long as the children learn how to read, I don't care if you force them to read Das Kapital. Get out of my sight.
...now, how am I supposed to pay for all this?
It is just a propaganda stunt, but one that will likely remind the people that I'm the one waging the war against the reactos. This could help my popularity.
Our Supreme Court ruled that the Revolutionary Tribunals illegal...and I wasn't even informed of that by my Cabinet? Must be that National Liberation Censorship Commission at work again.
Huh. So the Syndicate is foreshadowing my eventual overthrow by Gloria, who would likely implement food subsidies just soon after becoming Presidente. I suppose I might as well give into pressure...the food riots have to eventually end some day.
We finally end the season by:
1) Talking to Correa, and reassuring him that we will continue to build the army to protect against the reactos.
2) Implementing the National Salary Scale.
3) Accept more Cuban military aid.
Will this work?
Can I make it?
YES! This season is finally, finally over---
We started off this game with 9 Politicans, 3 Politicans from each of the political parties. Now, we have only 5 Politicans
left, 2 National Liberation, 2 Chrisitan Reform, and 1 Popular Stability. Almost half of the Junta is now in exile, and we're only half-way through the game. I won't be surprised if we end the game with only 2 politicans left, and both of them are Chrisitan Reformists who are prohibited by the game from launching any military coup in the first place.
We are soon going to have to confront a Cabinet Problem...we have 5 politicans...and only 4 Cabinet Ministeral positions to hand over. If the pace of coups continue, we may end up having less politicans than we do Ministers.
I would berate you on incompetence, Correa, except that you just saved me from military coups by Gloria and Rosario.
Was this...intentional by the rationing authorities? It's hard to say. We don't have a mandatory Marketing Board though in this timeline, so I don't know where these rations are coming from. Maybe it's that stupid State of Emergency going on...
...El Independiente...
There
are no cooperatives in Chimerica. We didn't engage in land reform and we didn't turn the Farsante farms into cooperatives, so there is not actually a legal cooperative located anywhere here. This is seriously making me wonder if the entire article in question is a lie...
The Europeans like our trials but...will it bring in the moolah?
Slow news day, huh? I don't even know why eggs are considered that big of a deal...
It's certainly not in Hector's list of demands for food he want to eat.
NO. Bernie blamed both the CIA and the government, the CIA for launching the attack, and the government for engaging in provocations that caused the CIA to launch the attack. This sounds like a reasonable criticism to me, and not at all treasonous. Besides, Bernie is the only Popular Stabilitarian not trying to kill me, and El Independiente had said far worse stuff about my regime, so I want to give him and Chimerican Ahora some slack.
(I also liked the Padilla interview by the way. It's nice to keep your enemies close.)
Well, that's it for this season. If anybody is reading this, I'm right now confused on what to do from here, so I'm holding a vote. The Cabinet is a useful insitution to have: it can deal with corruption, infrastructre, international affairs, and a whole lot of other issues Influentials just don't seem to care about. At the same time...if I want this regime to stay alive, I need the support of influentials.
Obivously, I can (and will) manlipuate Cabinet members and Influentials to implement the policies I want (the most important policy being "remove those stupid price controls", by having Bernie run the Agricultural Ministry when I plan on repealing the price controls)...but for the most part, should I rely on talking to Influentials directly, or restore the Cabinet's traditional power? This may impact the future direction of our country, so choose wisely.
A.
Restore The CabinetB.
Rely On InfluentialsWhile you're voting, I'm going to leave Chimerica on a state visit, and sign a military alliance with the USSR in
San Fernado, Islari. There's going to be vodka and dancing. It's going to be fun.