United States of Brazil
The Republic of the United States of Brazil (often simply referred to as Brazil) is a democratic state in South America.
Brazil borders the Oriental Republic of Uruguay to the south, the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Paraguay to the southwest; the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Peru to the west; the Republic of Colombia and its separatists to the northwest; the Republic of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and its puppet in Guiana-Cayenne to the north.
History
The Vargas era and participation in World War 2(1930-1949)
Prior to the Revolution of 1930, the Old Republic of Brazil was ruled by an oligarchy of land gentries from the coffee industry in São Paulo and the dairy industry in Minas Garias for a period of 41 years from 1889 to 1930. It was known as the café com leite politics (milk coffee politics). After the elections of 1930 and the assasination of running mate, João Pessoa, losing candidate Getúlio Dornelles Vargas launched a coup against the goverment with the backing of a clique of army officers and established a provisional goverment led by himself. Mounting pressure for the passing of a new constitution led to the 1932 Paulista revolt which was soon defeated. In 1934 the new constitution was passed. In a appeal to populism and pressure from the people, many progressive reforms were passed: Female suffrage, the nationalization of various foreign assets and most importantly the passing of multiple measures that expanded workers rights.
During the outbreak of World War II, Brazil mantained a strict policy of neutrality but clearly favoured commercial ties with the United States of America over the Greater Germanic Reich, which took the form of deals such as the buying of multiple surplus armaments and other trade deals. Germany arrived at the conclusion that Brazil was on the side of the Allies and began unrestricted submarine warfare in 1940, sinking multiple Brazilian commercial and military ships and killing hundreds of sailors. The outrage of those violations of sovereignty made Brazil join the war on the side of the Allies in 1942, though soldiers were not deployed until a couple of years later.
Three army divisions were sent under the command of the FEB (Força Expedicionaria Brasileira) to defend Great Britain during Operation Sea Lion. The FEB was led by general Mascarenhas de Morais and sub-commanders Marechal Lott, general Castelo Branco and Armury Kruel. They fought bravely against the Wehrmacht alongside American and British troops, but the Nazi offensive was never halted. While the Allies managed to defend Northern Ireland from Germany, Great Britain and the Isle of Man were lost.
After the end of World War II, the Vargas goverment found itself in a death spiral, as its unpopularity from the defeat of the war and a deep recession all piled up against the president. During the chaos Vargas still managed to achieve some successes such as the founding of state-owned oil company Petrobras. Yet it all came tumbling down when the chief of the presidential body-guard authorized a unnoficial assasination attempt on opposition journalist Carlos Lacerda.
Ralllying the disgruntled army, Lacerda used the attempt on his life as justification to topple the regime. Knowing of his impending doom, Vargas after talking with family members and political allies decided to allow the peaceful transfer of power to democracy. Under the pressure of the military, Vargas resigned and fled to São Paulo, then returned to his home village of São Borja to stay in his farm for his remaining days.
Democracy in Brazil (1949-1962)
The Gomes presidency (1951-1956)
After the deposition of Vargas, a new constitution was written up and a election was held in 1950. Using rethoric against the unpopular previous president, the National Democratic Union spearheaded by Lacerda, elected Eduardo Gomes to power. His first act as president was to outlaw the communist party utilizing a controversial National Security Act, a law that allows the army or president to interfere in order to mantain the "democratic institutions of Brazil".
Gomes implemented multiple actions to liberalize the market. Multiple privatizations took place, deflationary policies were enacted to decrease the massive inflation from the immediate post-vargas malaise. Coupled with massive investments from the Organization of Free Nations, the economy saw some recovery.
Gomes leased multiple naval bases to the United States, lowered tariffs and opened up to more co-operation with the OFN. Those actions were meant with resistance. But it all truly came tumbling down when, with the support of the UDN, Gomes abolished the minimum wage implemented by Vargas. This coupled with other previous controversial decisions taken made his rating collapse, starting the decline of the UDN.
The Kubitschek presidency (1956-1961)
Unsurprisingly, Gomes was soundly defeated by the candidate of the PTB-PSD coalition, Juscelino Kubitschek. The celebration of his victory was cut short when news of a army coup supported by the UDN and conservative army officers, tried to depose Juscelino on the basis of stopping a "Varguist-communist-nazi" takeover of goverment. A counter-coup was initiated with support of Lott and Odílio Denys. The newly formed constitutionalist clique of the army would serve as a counterweight to hardliners in the years to come.
Kubitschek entered the year of 1956 promising a revitalization of the nationalist system, promising "fifty years of progresss in five". A combination of massive investments in infraestructure and industry, coupled with foreign investment from the United States and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere led to massive economy growth. Most importantly, Kubitschek would inaugurate the new capital of Brasília in order to geographically centralize the seat of goverment.
A otherwise sucessful presidency was derailed by foreign disputes with the Nazi goverment which contested Atlantic territorial waters. The situation would worsen with illegal vessels and pirates from the anarchic West African states would disrupt fishing even further leading to the start of the "Lobster War" in 1959. The economic situation was also not looking good for the goverment, with a severe rise of inflation to the high 40's. Even with the economic malaise, the Varguist coalition would still enter the 1960's election in a strong state.
The Lott administration (1961-)
In 1960, war hero Henrique Teixera Lott defeated the UDN's anti-Varguist candidate Juracy Magalhães to become president. In a surprise ballot, PTN candidate Jânio Quadros won the vice-presidential ballot, defeating the Varguist candidate João Goulart. The first years of the Lott presidency were marked by successes such as the start of the construction of the Trans-Amazonian highway and a drop of 8% in inflation with assistance of finance minister Tancredo Neves.
The nation's foreign policy situation has improved ever since the last two presidencies. Still mantaining the nation's independent foreign policy, Lott balances the influence of the Sphere and the Organization of Free Nations, gaining significant investments from both. Yet a threat has emerged ever since, trying to gain influence over the Latin American region, Brazil has found itself fighting with its neighbour Argentina in proxy wars. Tensions have been steadily increasing as both countries arm friendly regimes to weaken the other.
The goverment now finds itself in a awnkward position, Quadros and Lacerda may plot on the background while asking for concessions to the right wing. Goulart and Edna on the left demand concessions for the left wing and the continuation of Varguist policies. While the usual politicking plays out, the army watches closely, plotting and colaborating with other politicians so in case they see a opening to take power, they may act and possibly paralyze Brasília.
In-game
Brazil finds itself as the most powerful nation in the South American continent by game start. Its economy surpassing its neighbours handily and having the largest army out of the Southern continent.
Economy
Brazil by starts as the world's 11th highest economy. With a starting GDP of 24.17 billion and a growth of 3%. Its debt-to-GDP ratio is 28.1%, decreasing from previous years. Yet Brazil still presents a very worrying inflationary situation of 31%, the highest of any playable tag with content. This number can be decreased to the margins of 10% by taking either economic plan focus. Brazil starts with a small 15 production units. 6 of them start assigned to civillian factories, 7 to military factories and 2 to consumer goods.
Military
Brazil starts with the strongest army of South America with 23 divisions.
- 1 helicopter division
- 8 infantry divisions
- 5 light infantry divisions
- 5 tank divisions
- 2 cavalry divisions
- 1 marine division
- 1 motorized division
The Brazillian navy is also the largest of the continent with a total of 36 ships
- 1 carrier
- 5 cruisers
- 14 destroyers
- 8 frigates
- 8 submarines
Likewise the Brazillian air force is also a strong force of a total of 347 planes
- 2 fighter groups
- 2 carrier fighter groups
- 1 CAS group
- 1 interceptor group
- 2 tactical bombers groups
- 3 strategic bomber groups
- 2 transport plane groups
The army may be the most problematic aspect of Brazil. Should stability drop to low or should the player give reasons to the military to distrust them, tanks will roll in the capital, and the military shall institute a junta to stabilize the situation. The player must always keep in check the loyalty and stability of the nation to avoid a coup, while also keeping the army's nepotism in control to avoid the military from eating itself out and defanging itself.
Cliques
The Brazilian military is divided into three groups: Hardliners, Sorbonne and Constitutionalists.
The Hardliners (linha dura), also called "Goosesteppers", are comprised of fierce anti-communists and anti-Varguists led by general Artur da Costa e Silva. This group has gained infamy for couping Vargas out of power and attempting to repeat the deed in 1955 with Kubitschek. Should the president take any action that is antagonistic to the army or the Hardliners, if they have enough strength, they will be ready to act and dethrone the goverment using any measures necessary to institute a dictatorship of terror and brutality.
The Sorbonne is a moderate clique of the army led by generals Ernesto Geisel and Castelo Branco. They wish to mantain the status quo and act pragmatically and are open to cooperate with any of the two cliques. Yet if they think any president is acting in ways to deestabilize Brazil, they will act to depose the current leader and put themselves in power so they can implement the ways they see fit to "stabilize" the nation.
The Constitutionalists were founded after the attempted 1955 coup by Lott. Constituted by a wide array of liberals, leftists, Varguists and moderate conservatives, their main concern will be to defend the democratic institution of the nation and counter act against any coup of a democratically elected leader. Yet they might not always be there to bail the president out; should the leader compromise the democracy of the nation, the Constitutionalists could act.
Politics
The political landscape of Brazil is a very complicated one, the player must deal with various parties contending for power. Every two years a election will take place to decide the make up of the senate, the player is able to choose any party they want (with exception of the PRP) to campaign and win seats in the "Senado". Throught the game, the player will be able to present laws through the focus tree, the laws can gain support through lobbying in the "Projeto de Lei" decision category. These laws will make or break your presidency, the player should always have some political power set aside to advance their resolutions.
Development
At game start, Brazil is still a developing nation. The player can accelerate the development by using development edicts on one of four regions (Amazonas cannot be developed in any way). Encouraging migration increases the population of the region and gives the player more building slots. Sponsoring industry will boost industry growth in the region, and give the player a small boost to their GDP. Subsidizing mechanization will boost the mechanization rate of the region and give the player a small boost to the GDP growth. Requisitioning assets will damage the region's industry growth and Brazil's GDP, but will give the player an influx of cash. Each time an edict is taken, the next one can be taken only after 60 days.
Trans-Amazonian highway and mega projects
The Trans-Amazonian Highway is a Brazilian plan to connect Amazonia to the rest of the country, while also providing easier access to Colombia and Peru. The highway will be completed by a set percentage each year. The player can spend 10 political power and 2 production units to accelerate the highway's completion. During the game, scripted events will pop up, significantly decreasing the yearly completion of the road.
Lott-Quadros power struggle
President Lott and Vice President Quadros have promised to work together despite their differences. Their influence and relationship can be changed with events, focuses, or decisions. Multiple results can take place depending on the ammount of influence each side has. Quadros will resign as a bluff to challenge president Lott if relations get too low.
The following are possible results that can occur when Quadros resigns:
- If Lott's influence is high, he calls Quadros' bluff and João Goulart is sworn in as vice president.
- If Quadros' influence is high, he returns as vice president, then becomes president when Lott resigns.
- If the balance of power is neutral, Lott resigns, Quadros' bluff is called in by the senate, and the 100 days crisis starts after Goulart is denied being sworn in.
Should the relations be mantained high through the entire game, Lott will attempt to pass the Lott act to curb military influence. If he takes the correct military appeasement branch the army will attempt to coup him but Quadros and the constitutionalists will defend the national palace and impede the coup.
100 days crisis
After Quadros is rejected by the Senate, Brazil enters a period with no de facto leadership. The military then threatens that if the Senate won't elect a president in the next 100 days, it will intervene. The Senate will have to choose between 4 candidates: João Goulart, Adhemar de Barros, Juscelino Kubitschek, and Carlos Lacerda. Brazil will enter a transitional authority, and the player will be given a focus tree all about building influence for either of the four candidates. A candidate which will have more than 50% influence after 100 days will be elected by the Senate as the new president, if no one has 50% after 100 days, the military led by Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco will coup the government.
Trivia
- The origins of the name "Smoking Snakes" for the Brazillian Expeditionary Force is often subject to debate. Some claim its origin to be from an expression regarding how long it took the unit to prepare. ("Until snakes start smoking.") Others trace the origin to a claim Hitler made that Brazil would never join the war. ("Snakes will smoke before Brazil joins the war")
- Brazil originally did not have any content planned, and instead, content for it was added in the "Cold Southern Springs" submod. Because the devs of the submod and the main dev team got along, and it did not conflict with the lore, the submod was eventually incorporated into the main mod. Before this, the country was a liberal democracy under Juscelino Kubitschek.
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- Brazilian topics
- Countries
- Liberal states