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Republic of Lugarico

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The Republic of Lugarico is a unitary presidential republic spanning the Lugarican Islands, located in the South Serica Sea. The third most populous Coalition member, Lugarico is among the primary sources of offworld colonists for the CCN. A major recipient of Coalition subsidies and aid due to its strategic equatorial position, Lugarico is host to the Equatorial Space Elevator, one of two Plateian space elevators. Lugarico is also a close economic partner of Tenzan, the two Coalition nations comprising the bulk of CCN trade presence in the Azulic Ocean.

History

Lugarico entered the Rational Era destabilized and impoverished by the Twilight War's global economic downturn, the first few decades defined by gradual recovery. While not an initial member of the Coalition, Esmaria troop commitments to the archipelago were succeeded by Coalition troop commitments, a matter that was steeply opposed by a number of political organizations unwilling to allow the continued use of Lugarico as a military base for foreign troops. While opposition to this was initially disorganized and uncertain, the foundation of the Asterian Union State in 0014 R.C. served to galvanize anti-Coalition stances, providing a framework with which to build an ideology.

By the 0020s, nationalist populist stances had consolidated behind the Makabayan Party (Patriotic Party) which pushed for the closure of all Coalition military bases in Lugarico. Under its leader, Senator Martin Rufino, the party forged a platform of Lugarican national populism, expansion of existing social welfare programs and an independent foreign policy approach which advocated for Lugarico to act as an intermediary between the Union State and the Coalition. The party's ideology, described as a mixture of Labourism and Prostasism ideas, appealed to college educated youth, the urban poor and the impoverished ruralites, leading to a meteoric rise from its foundation in 0019 R.C. to the elections of 0024 R.C. Rufino's narrow defeat in the 0024 presidential elections would lead to widespread claims of electoral fraud, culminating in nationwide riots concentrated in the capital of Sangca. The “SWAY” (due to the most intense protests primarily occuring in the Sangcan Motorway also dubbed “SWAY”), as it would come to be known, was defined by widespread protests, looting and rioting from November 11 to 24 of that year.

From the 21st to the 24th, the Armed Forces of Lugarico deployed to respond to the riots by force, assisted by the Coalition Forces Authority. The actions were met with condemnation outside of the CCN, especially as widespread reports of extrajudicial violence came to light. In the wake of the violence, internal conflict within the Makabayan Party, as well as calls for their disbanding due to their association with the insurrection, led to the party's fracture and subsequent dissolution, with Senator Martin Rufino stripped of his office and forced to flee the country. Military defectors, students and intellectuals, disillusioned with the failures of SWAY, fled to the countryside, founding the Popular Liberation Front (PLF). The ensuing decades of the 0030s and 0040s would be defined by closer ties between Lugarico and the Coalition, driven by the threat posed by the PLF insurgency, itself equipped and advised by the Union State.

Under the administration of President Gregorio "Goyo" Yuchengco, Lugarico signed the Cotalama Accords in 0049 R.C., which provided the framework for Lugarican accession into the Coalition. However, the stipulations of the Global Disarmament Initiative all but spelled the inevitable dissolution of the Armed Forces of Lugarico, demanding its full integration into the Coalition Forces Authority. This, paired with the military's exclusion from the Cotalama Accords, quickly spread disillusionment among high-ranking Lugarican officers regarding a purported 'loss' of Lugarican sovereignty.

These fears led to the formation of the Officers for National Salvation, a cabal of military brass opposed to Lugarican entry into the CCN. Multiple schemes against the Goyo administration were planned from 0050 R.C. to 0053 R.C., four coup d'etat plots being discovered and crushed by authorities before they could be executed. The full scale of the ONS remained unknown until the 0054 coup d'etat attempt, which lasted from December 21 to December 27 and saw forces loyal to the ONS almost seize Madato palace. The coup would only be suppressed through Coalition military intervention, which was authorized on December 26th. With the coup's presence in Sangca thwarted, it quickly fell apart in loyal cantonments nationwide. Pro-ONS forces, fearing reprisals, fled the cities and established the Lugarican National Liberation Army. Lugarico joined the Coalition the following year, with the Armed Forces of Lugarico finally being fully integrated into the CFA by 0058 R.C. Components deemed unnecessary to the CFA were folded into the National Police Force, which gained an empowered role in the aftermath of the military's official dissolution.

The ensuing decades were defined by massive economic and demographic growth, as Lugarico became a prime recipient of Coalition subsidies. The Mitsubara Group, already a noteworthy presence in the country, saw the vast slums as a prime source for offworld colonists, with millions migrating to Vasati in the 0070s and 0080s. The largest of the Coalition's projects in Lugarico, however, would be the Equatorial Space Elevator, a collaboration between Tomoda Heavy Industries, the Mitsubara Group, and Standard Atomics. Construction started in 0068, facing multiple delays until its completion in 0086 R.C. The project was marred with controversy, as much of Magondato island's indigenous population were forcibly relocated by Tomoda private security contractors. Further exacerbating opposition to the endeavor were claims that many local politicians were receiving significant kickback in exchange for their complacency.

The demographic boom would finally catch up to Lugarico in the 0090s, as its welfare system collapsed in the wake of the Tetuan Papers, which revealed incumbent president Edmundo "Lodi" Franco had defrauded the Lugarican people of billions of Greenbacks in close collusion with megacorporate actors, virtually gutting the nation's welfare system to line the pockets of himself and his cronies. Coupled with his unpopularity due to the rise of extrajudicial killings during his term (euphemistically dubbed “salvaging operations”), the ensuing constitutional crisis saw President Lodi overthrown in SWAY II, the CFA's refusal to assist in his calls for assistance proving to be the final nail in the coffin for his administration.

In the aftermath of SWAY II, Lugarico's political system was defined by instability, with familial ties and nepotism taking precedence over party affiliations, all the while rural insurgencies of the PLF and the LNLA remain a persistent nuisance. Efforts to alleviate rampant overpopulation, such as offworld relocations and the construction of the Sangca Megatowers, yielded little fruit in mitigating the burdened country's situation. The emergence of the Colony War in 0108 R.C. would only exacerbate these crises, as Coalition military presence in the country was vastly expanded in the wake of naval skirmishes off the Lugarican coast. Two air raids over Sangca, in 0111 R.C. and 0114 R.C. respectively, remain a bitter and traumatic memory for the populace.

Mayor Josefaliano Arnel Drapiza's victory in the 0114 R.C. elections has proven to be a glimmer of hope for many. Aside from being the first president from the impoverished southern island group of Tagbanowa, he built his platform on a drive to 'heal' the nation. Drapiza's administration has persistently aimed to raise literacy rates, uplift the poor and undo the scars of the Colony War. However, his is an uphill battle — despite his broad popularity, he is faced with a corrupt and deeply flawed political system, as well as an increasingly radical fringe of rural insurgencies, terrorist organizations and cults aiming to overthrow the Lugarican government.