Maracao

Republic of Maracao 5 other official names Iustian: República de Maração Maracan Creole: Republika di Marakao Matai: Mchúl nya M̃araxa Mutuse: Ubou lan Marakau Natí: Repablika te Marokey
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Liberação, revolução e salvação" "Liberation, revolution and salvation"
Anthem: "Avante Camarada!"
Maracao within the Arucian.
Capital and largest city	Porto Leste 6°24'S 84°18E
Official languages	Iustian
Recognised national languages	Maracan Creole Nati
Ethnic groups (2017)	94.1% Black 2.0% Mestizo 1.8% White 0.9% Native —0.87% Arucianic ——0.82% Natí ——0.05% Mutu —0.03% Other ——0.03% Marai 0.2% Satrian 0.2% Badawiyan 0.8% Other
Religion (2017)	79.2% Solarian Catholic 20.8% Other
Demonym(s)	Maracan
Government	Unitary parliamentary socialist republic
• Supreme Leader and President of the Presidium	Adão Costa
Legislature	Revolutionary Congress
Independence from Marirana
• Porto Leste Declaration	April 19, 1821
• Independence granted	November 22, 1884
• Mariranan occupation	May 17, 1930
• Liberação	February 26, 1933
• Current constitution	January 6, 2000
Area
• Total	40,140 km2 (15,500 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	3,497,281
• 2017 census	3,386,077
• Density	87.13/km2 (225.7/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$54.8 billion
• Per capita	$15,761
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$27.4 billion
• Per capita	$7,836
Gini (2017)	18.7 low
HDI (2017)	0.710 high
Currency	Maracan comor (MRC)
Antipodes	Soltanabad, Zorasan
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+718
Internet TLD	.mr

Maracao (/'mærækaʊ/; Iustian pronunciation: [maɾa'sə̃ʊ]), officially the Republic of Maracao (Iustian: República de Maração, Maracan Creole: Republika di Marakao, Nati: Repablika te Marokey) is a sovereign state within the Arucian Straits that comprises the entirety of the island of the same name and several smaller islands in the Arucian Strait, including the disputed Dunhelm Island. It shares maritime borders with Eldmark, Imagua and the Assimas, Marirana and Vilcasuamanas and is geographically a part of Asteria Superior. With a population of 4,886,077 in the 2017 census, Maracao is the second-most populous island state in the Arucian, behind Sanslumiere. It has an area of X, making it also the second-largest island state in the Arucian by area.

The first recorded inhabitance in Maracao were the Nati peoples, a subgroup of the broader Taino peoples that inhabited the pre-colonial Arucian, around the 2nd century BC. Iustian colonists from Florena arrived and colonised the island in the 16th century, establishing the modern-day capital, Porto Leste, in 1545. Maracao was utilised for its profitable sugar industry and also for the export and import of slaves during the Asterian slave trade, where the native Nati peoples were treated extremely poorly by the Floren settlers. When slavery was widely abolished in 1740, the colony of Maracao suffered economically, but became popular with upper-class Florens as an Arucian retreat location. The island was forcefully annexed by Salvatore Renzi's dictatorship in Marirana, issuing the Porto Leste Declaration in 1821. Sixty years of oppressive Mariraran rule culminated in independence following its loss in the War of the Arucian in 1884, establishing the Empire of Maracao under Adelmar I. Years of squandering of wealth, decline in power, and oppression towards the lower-class populace preceded Maracao's entry into the Great War on the side of the Grand Alliance in 1926, with Marirana occupying the island fully by 1930, by which Adelmar had fled to Eldmark. A socialist revolution in 1933 ousted the Mariranan occupiers and established the modern Republic of Maracao, modelling itself off of Kirenia. Democracy flourished initially but was continually undermined by corruption and scandal. In 1995, current president Adão Costa was sworn into office, and by 2000 many of the democratic institutions in the country were suspended.

Currently, Maracao rates extremely poorly in democratic indexes and is considered a military dictatorship by most, however its strategic location in the Arucian Strait often provides leverage for its continued relevance in global geopolitics. Maracao is a member of the Community of Nations and the Association for International Socialism, and is commonly subject to influence from nearby Chistovodia, whom it shares many agreements with.

Etymology

The Estmerish name Maracao, as well as its Iustian name Maração and Taino name Marokey, are all believed to have descended from the Nati Taino language. It is a portmanteau of the words maro, meaning "without clouds" or "blank sky", and keya, meaning "big place" or "vast land". The island is believed to have developed its Taino name sometime in the 16th century, pre-dating Euclean discovery and subsequent colonisation, similar to that of the island of Imagua within Imagua and the Assimas. Its native-deriven etymology makes it among one of the few Asterian states to lack a Euclean etymology.

The name for the island is believed to have been first transcribed into Iustian as Maração upon initial arrival in the 1550s, and stuck due to its simplicity to say in the Iustian language. The first Estmerish transliterations as Maracao appeared in a transliterated atlas from 1563 attributed to Hinrick Richenbachs, who travelled much of the early Asterias for his mapping, published as Atlas Orbis Terrarum Nova inventa est. The transliteration is believed to have originated from Ashcombe as an incorrect transliteration of the letter ç in Iustian to c in Estmerish.

History

Pre-colonisation

Before the arrival of Euclean settlers, the island of Maracao was inhabited by the Nati people, a Arucian-wide people who inhabited modern-day Dunhelm Island, the island of Imagua and the Assimas Islands. The Nati were a rural populace who set up small villages around the coast of Maracao to suit their fishing-dominated, hunter-gatherer lifestyles, but are unique in the fact that they displayed facets of early native advanced civilisation with the construction of the Yukayeke paths across the island. One of the largest pre-Euclean settlements on the island was centred about modern-day Cabo Gaspar, in the north of the island, but the settlement was destroyed shortly after Euclean arrival. The Nati population of Maracao was estimated to be around 75,000 before Eucleans arrived on the island.

A 19th century depiction of Tamaya.

Iustian colonisation and rule (1545–1821)

The island was charted and settled in 1545 by Iustian explorer Tadeu do Rosário, who commanded his ship, A Sereia, to land near modern-day Alfeite. Rosário claimed the island for the Crown of Florena, initially naming it Ilha de Sereia after the ship that had sailed there. The city of Alfeite was the first established by the settlers sometime in 1546, with coastal settlements eventually engulfing the island by 1550 and Porto Leste quickly emerging as the primary settlement on the island due to its location near large sugar plantations.

Settlers and administrators on the island brutally repressed the native Nati peoples, evicting them from their homes and often razing or destroying their villages to make way for Euclean settlements. Farmland and crops were stolen from the natives and their traditions and history began to be forcefully erased by the Iustians, who either attempted to assimilate them into Euclean society by taking their children and raising them as Iustian, or by deporting them to other Iustian colonies or by outright murdering them. Fabled chief Tamaya led a rebellion in 1583 against the Iustian colonists, but it was suppressed and defeated by the Iustian soldiers and settlers there, and greatly worsened the repression of the native peoples of the islands, who were now essentially being round up and exiled to the forested settlement of Garriapa, which functioned as an early internment camp for the natives. Conditions in the camps were awful and natives who were sent there regularly died of starvation, dehydration, infectious diseases introduced by Eucleans, or from being killed or beaten by guards.

As the slave trade expanded, native Nati peoples were removed from the camps and sent to work on the sugar and cotton plantations due to a lack of Iustian presence in Bahia. Sugar and cotton exports back to Euclea made up the bulk of the Maracan economy throughout the 17th century, as the Asterias began to be filled by the Euclean powers. Maracao, specifically the city of Porto Leste, served as a significant trading hub and naval dockyard for Asterian subdivisions of the Iustian Navy, and ships and fleets were regularly stored there to keep a significant colonial presence in the Arucian.

A drawing depicting slaves in Maracao, published in 1736 as part of the anti-slavery campaign in Euclea.

Coupled with the exports of sugar and cotton, Iustian settlers also began to export wood, specifically wood from the Manassan green tree, as it came to be known in the 19th century. The wood's density and colour made it popular in Euclea, and was a sign of wealth and power, with many pieces of furniture made from Manassan green tree wood made for various monarchs of Euclea. Fruits such as mangoes and bananas were also introduced to Manacao around this time, and were a popular delicacy amongst the Iustian elite, also often being exported back to Euclea.

Manacao suffered economically as the slave trade was abolished in the 1740s and 1750s, with the amount of exported material decreasing drastically as countries like Estmere and Gaullica began enforcing the ban on slavery and patrolling the Asterias for the activity. With liberalism now emerging in Euclea and the first concepts of the fundamental rights of man began to emerge, the Nati peoples began to be permitted to live and work in the same settlements as the Iustian settlers, although massive prejudices existed between the two groups of people. Native districts in many of Maracao's largest cities formed of the natives looking to live and co-exist with their own, the largest of which, Distrito de Babau, being home to over 6,000 natives by the turn of the 19th century.

Maracao's population grew drastically and its economy rebounded due to many people seeking Arucian and Asterian refuge from the War of Asterian Secession, which involved the two primary empires in the Asterias, Estmere and Gaullica, and many of their most populous colonies. The independence of Halland, Eldmark, Marirana and Nuxica in the 18th century saw questions being asked of the continual presence of the Iustian in Maracao, with some early groups forming that wanted Maracan independence, however these were continually suppressed by the colonial governors of Maracao. In 1817, colonial governor Estevão Mendez was assassinated by a Maracan republican, who was arrested and subsequently executed. However, Mendez's execution was a pivotal event in Iustian ownership of the island, with a string of four governors between 1817 and 1821, Mariranan dictator Salvatore Renzi issued the Porto Leste Declaration in 1821. With the Mariranan fleet and army surrounding the small Iustian forces on the island, Renzi announced the seizure of the island on April 19, bringing the island under direct Mariranan military rule, where it was renamed to Manassa.

Mariranan military rule (1821–1884)

Renzi delivering the Porto Leste Declaration in 1821.

Renzi's Marirana quickly began reforming the island from being a natural export haven to a prime military base for Marirana to project its influence around the Arucian. The cities of Digueifel and Rozem were founded in the 1820s and initially served as military outposts for the Mariranan forces, facing both north and south. Marirana's ambitious foreign policy at the time coupled with the intense changes to Mariraran society and the economy under Renzi's regime saw increased amounts of instability in Maracao, particularly among those who advocated for independence before Marirana and Renzi seized the island. Land, including that in Maracao, was taken from Mariraran oligarchs, causing some instability on the island as many employed on the plantations now lacked an employer and a source of income. Money was also being rapidly redistributed from social aspects of society and given to the military, with Renzi introducing a levée en masse policy that greatly increased militarisation on the island. As tensions flared and border conflicts became more common, Renzi sparked the Mariranan Revolutionary War, ultimately culminating in Mariranan defeat and Renzi fleeing the country.

Despite calls for independence, Maracao remained a possession of Marirana in the treaty that concluded the war. A series of ill-fated presidents ruled the country for around five years after the end of the Revolutionary War, with many failing to solve the mounting social and economic problems that Renzi's regime and the war had brought upon the country. Believing that a republican government was the source of these failures, Marirana invited Weranic duke Peter Ferdinand of Ludwigheim, crowned Pietro Ferdinando, to be the Grand Duke of Marirana. The coronation of the new Grand Duke set the precedent for monarchist rule in Maracao, with Pietro having treated Maracao comparatively liberally and good-willed compared to Renzi and the presidents before him. When Pietro died in 1841, his wife Caterina continued her husband's history of ruling the island, before being ousted by the military, led by Italo Agostino Saragat, declaring the Third Republic of Marirana. Free trade policies introduced by Saragat benefitted the island, although his authoritarian policies led to the suppression of many on the island, mainly independence activists.

Adelmar in military attire in 1897.

With Saragat assassinated by his opposition in 1870, calls for Maracan independence became more widespread throughout the island than had been achieved before. With most of the island's inhabitants now openly rejecting Mariraran rule, the post-Saragat government of Marirana, under president Fortunato Pacifico, attempted to reign in the island by centralising it and ruling it as an integral part of Marirana. With most of Maracao now supporting the liberal opposition during the October Crisis, Pacifico's self-coup in 1880 effectively sealed a Maracan revolution at an opportune time. Three year's later, with Buscarello d'Ormea bringing Marirana into the War of the Arucian, severe armed resistance in Maracao began to emerge, often funded and armed by Estmere and Gaullica. Having removed the last of Mariranan resistance in early 1884, Maracan independence was legally recognised by the Treaty of Aquinas in 1884, with independence revolutionary Adelmar de Estremoz inheriting the position as Emperor.

Adelmar I's rule (1884–1930)

See also: Carlos Cristóvão de Croan

Great War and occupation (1926–1933)

Maracao participated heavily in the Arucian front of the Great War, with its ships and personnel being involved in the fight against Marirana for almost the entirety of the conflict. When Adelmar ordered a declaration of war on Castello's Marirana in 1926, he also ordered a series of quick and unorganised naval landings on the San Marcos peninsula, where the capital Aquinas was, in an attempt to strike at Marirana's underbelly whilst they were busy fighting powers such as Eldmark and Nuxica in the west. Four landings were designated in the San Marcos peninsula, Sul, Norte, Chama and Cacao, and intended to surround forces in the peninsula, encircling them in the south before forcing their surrender and moving north with the Mariranan supplies. The plan failed miserably, and the Maracans were defeated with heavy losses at every landing except Sul, which managed to advance around 15 kilometres into the mainland before being defeated and turned back at the Battle of Lanuvio. With all Maracan forces regrouped on the island by February 1927, it is estimated that around 36,000 of the 110,000 who attempted the landings lost their lives.

Soldiers of the Mariranan army escort captured socialist guerrillas caught in 1932.

As the Entente began to see major success in the Arucian, fear began to arise in Maracao of another occupation. With Chistovodia neutral, Halland fighting Gaullican forces in the north and Marirana hammering down on Eldmark and Nuxica in the south, much of the powers in Asteria Inferior were struggling to maintain their positions of power. Estmerish and Etrurian colonial outposts in Imagua and the Assimas provided little defense as the islands were swiftly occupied by Gaullica and its fleet. Following some small battles on the Maracan mainland as Mariranan forces landed at their old military base in Covancas in June 1930, the island of Maracao was occupied by Marirana.

The occupation once again saw Iustian names renamed to Vespasian, and the island itself renamed to Manassa once again. Mariranan units used Maracao as another outpost, and units were regularly seen walking down streets in Porto Leste and many other large cities as martial law was declared on the island for ease of occupation. Maracan flags were torn down and burnt throughout the island as a symbolic act by the Mariranan occupational forces. The flag over the modern Revolutionary Congress Building was replaced with a Mariranan flag and played the anthem of the country every morning. By the end of 1931 the Mariranans had eliminated most explicit sense of national identity on the island. In January 1932, Nemtsovist revolutionary Renato Guimarães formed the Frente Revolucionária de Libertação (FRL; "Revolutionary Liberation Front"), which formed the first examples of organised, armed resistance against Mariranan occupational forces. By using knowledge of the island's terrain, night attacks and guerrilla tactics, the FRL saw many initial successes in attacking Mariranan forces on the island. As Entente influence waned in the Asterias, and as Gaullica was nearing surrender back in Euclea with the entry of Kirenia into the war, Guimarães declared an open revolution against the Mariranan occupiers.

Revolution and republic (1933–)

Main article: Liberação

With Guimarães and the Revolutionary Liberation Front now in open rebellion against Marirana, and with Halland and Nuxica pushing back on Castello's Marirana from the north, revolutionary influence in Maracao began to grow as the Front saw major victories against Marirana at the Battle of Garriapa and the Battle of Sanceriz, both of which saw heavy Mariranan losses. The two Mariranan battalions retreated to different locations on the island, the first to the initial landing bay in Covancas and the second further north to Cabo Gaspar. The battalion at Covancas were encircled and surrendered on November 18, whereas the resistance at Cabo Gaspar was a lot more organised and fierce, and were not defeated until January 7 the next year.

Inaugural president Renato Guimarães was an influential revolutionary icon in Maracao and the socialist world.

With Marirana completely evicted from Maracao, Guimarães declared the Republic of Maracao on January 9, 1934, and was sworn into office and its first president. Drafting and passing the Maracan constitution in 1935, Guimarães modelled early Maracao off of Asterian Chistovodia and Euclean Kirenia, and his constitution was praised for its particular liberality towards the LGBT and women, with Maracao being a frontrunner in rights for both demographics. Guimarães sought about reforming Maracan society to be less militaristic and more socially liberal, taking the Kirenian Revolution as main inspiration. Despite this, Guimarães still did prioritise a well-run and modernised military for the sake of national defense. Owing to this new policy of armed neutrality, Guimarães refused to participate in the Solarian War when it began in 1942, with conflict raging just offshore in the Assimas Islands. This neutrality was preserved throughout the war, however Guimarães chose to stand down as president in 1944, and supported his friend and revolutionary participant Josué Couto, who was elected shortly after. Guimarães died in 1945. While Couto saw Maracan neutrality in the Solarian War as important, he was not opposed to exploiting it for the country's own gain. Couto ordered the seizure of Dunhelm Island from Imagua and the Assimas in 1945 whilst the conflict was still going on, and brought about plans to set up a military base there to expand socialist influence in the region. Named after his deceased friend and former president, Guimarães Base opened in 1946, and initially only stationed Maracan military assets, mainly small patrol boats and surface missiles. Imagua attempted to retake the island in 1947, but were repulsed by the Maracan forces and forced to retreat back to Imagua.

Couto oversaw the warming of relations with Kirenia and Chistovodia, and brought Maracao into the Association of Emerging Socialist Economies in 1949, bringing Maracao closer to the socialist world. Couto died in 1957 and was replaced with Prime Minister Matheus Moreno, who was sworn in on October 15. Moreno only lasted a year in office, when he was replaced with Enéas Almeida, who held the position until 1973. Almeida was the architect of much of Maracao's anti-imperialist involvement in conjunction with the AESE, and his tenure saw funding go to socialist revolutionary groups in Bahia, Badawiya and Southeast Coius. Almeida introduced staunch anti-capitalist policies and amended the constitution in 1966 to give the President more power within the country, which is recognised by historians to have been the first step in the transition from democracy to strongman rule throughout the 20th century. Despite this, he is also credited with the modernisation of many of Maracao's job sectors, using AESE funding to create tertiary jobs separate from the rural agricultural work that had dominated the island for centuries. Agricultural output dropped as Maracao transitioned to a modern economy through Leonardo Alcântara, who served until 1986 and continued much of Almeida's modernisation policies, with Maracao becoming a tertiary-sector economy in the 1980s. Alcântara also negotiated Maracao's entry into the Association for International Socialism, and was a founding member along with Chistovodia, Kirenia, Dezevau and the Wale. The last free elections were held in Maracao in 1986, when Alcântara left office, and elected Ademar Abril, who oversaw the recognition of the Nati language as a recognised national language on the island, and introduced increased rights for the natives in the legislature and constitutionally. Abril became the second president to die in office when he suffered a heart attack in 1995, and was replaced with his Prime Minister Adão Costa.

Costa immediately sought to implement strongman rule as he secured the favour of the army in his rule and prohibited rival socialist parties from running in the 2000 election, the first incident of explicit electoral manipulation in the country's history. Costa was re-elected in 2000, by which his rule was classified as a military dictatorship by most political organisations. The 2000s mainly consisted of Costa solidifying his grip on power and expanding the military, greatly increasing military infrastructure around the island and introducing a military school policy, whereby students could leave school at age 15 to join a military academy instead of leaving at the usual age of 18. Costa drew widespread condemnation from most countries and even members of the AIS, with the Asterian Forum for Development and Cooperation particularly issuing condemnation to Costa for his threat to trade passing through the Arucian Strait. AFDC suspicions were proven right when Costa ordered the seizure of a Satucine cargo ship bound for Cuanstad for reportedly breaching Maracao's exclusive economic zone. After a month of negotiation and the internment of the crew, Costa released the ship in 2013. Since then, Maracao has not interrupted any cargo passing through the strait. In 2015, Maracao lifted trade restrictions and entered into more trade deals with non-socialist nations, which was coupled with a sharp increase in tourism to the country, which has benefitted the economy since.

Government and politics

Adão Costa, President since 1995

Constitutionally and officially, Maracao is a unitary presidential socialist republic, as envisioned and interpreted by Renato Guimarães as he outlined in the inaugural constitution in 1934. However, in the modern-day the country operates moreso as a dominant-party dictatorship, led by president Adão Costa since 1995. The President of Maracao acts as the country's head-of-state, with the Prime Minister, currently Julio Fonseca, acting as the head-of-government. Maracao operates a 79-seat unicameral legislature known as the Revolutionary Congress, the seats of which are directly elected in the country's 79 provincial elections every five years.

The dominant party in Maracao is the Revolutionary Liberation Front, founded by Guimarães prior to Liberação, and has historically been the unrivalled main party in Maracao. Currently the Revolutionary Congress consists of 76 seats to the Front and three seats to a Popular Front created in 2004 by Costa, which consists of particular interest parties that are constitutionally "devoted to the promotion and retention of socialism and its policies". Parties of the popular front operate with the consent of the Revolutionary Liberation Front.

The Maracan judiciary has developed based on the precedents set by Iustian and to a lesser extent Mariranan law. It is considered a common law system, with the final court of appeal being the Grand Court of Maracao located in the nation's capital, Porto Leste.

Administrative divisions

Maracao is divided into nine aldeias, which translates roughly into Estmerish as "towns" - a translation that is used officially for Estmerish communications. The towns of Maracao are also grouped into three larger provinces, or províncias. As Maracao is a unitary country, each province or town has no devolved federal jurisdiction, but operates on the context of localised governments such as mayors and town councils.

The largest town is Porto Leste, with a population of 1,605,918 in 2016, and the smallest is Revolution Island, with a population of 97,816.

Demora Province		Capital	km2	Alcaria Province		Capital	km2	Aldiriz Province		Capital	km2
1	Cavaca Town	Cabo Gaspar	820	4	Rozem Town	Rozem	2,576	6	Porto Leste Town	Porto Leste	27.5
2	Vasconha Town	Nova Casa	3,346	5	Formiga Town	São João	1,260	7	Natinha Town	Garriapa	2,150
3	Covancas Town	Covancas	1,200	9	Revolution Island	Guimarães Base	125.4	8	Digueifel Town	Digueifel	228.8

Foreign relations

Maracao's foreign relations links stem mainly from members of the Association for International Socialism or other independent socialist states, with Maracao enjoying good relations with most socialist nations in the world. Historically and currently it is a controversial nation in the Asterias, and condemnations and criticisms have been levied at it for its handling of trade passing near the island in the Arucian Strait, and has particularly sour relations with the Asterian Forum for Development and Cooperation, including one of its member states, Imagua and the Assimas, with whom the Revolution Island dispute is still ongoing, and the two have severed diplomatic presence with each other since the 1960s. Recently, however, it has begun to expand its foreign relations to AFDC member states such as Belmonte, mainly through strategic and cultural connections.

Maracao is also known for its involvement abroad, particularly under the presidencies of Renato Guimarães and Josué Couto in the 1930s to 1950s. Maracao involved itself in socialist wars and nations in emerging nations in Coius, with focus on Bahia and Southeast Coius, with which it shared significant political and cultural connections throughout the 1950s. Maracao was a member of the Association of Emerging Socialist Economies from its creation in 1949 to its dissolution 1988, by which Maracao had succeeded to the AIS upon its foundation in 1980.

Military

A small vessel of the Revolutionary Navy on patrol north of Cabo Gaspar.

The Maracan military is split into three subdivisions, the Revolutionary Army, Revolutionary Navy and Revolutionary Air Force, all three of which fall under the encompassing Revolutionary Vanguard of Maracao, the collective name for the armed forces, often abbreviated to VRM from its Iustian translation, Vanguarda Revolucionária de Maração. The VRM was created as a successor and centralisation of the guerrilla forces that fought for the Revolutionary Liberation Front during the Great War, and was intended by Guimarães to be a primarily self-defense force, a role which it mainly continues to take to this day. The VRM saw initial combat in the 1947 Battle of Dunhelm Island, a victory for the VRM and a show of power over the Imaguan Constabulary, with the Imaguan Armed Forces disbanding soon after the loss of the battle.

Maracao's main military supplier is nearby Chistovodia, who supplies the bulk of Maracan military equipment, particularly in regards to the air force and navy. Recent acquisitions include equipment such as the Ilchenko Il-31, three of which were purchased by the Revolutionary Air Force in 2014 to assist in patrolling the Arucian Strait. Maracao's military is regarded as a developing military, with a small ground force made up mainly of reservists called upon in necessary situations, and the VRM itself used mainly for small power projection and trade patrolling in the Arucian.

Economy

The Maracan economy is based upon socialist principles, and utilises heavy government intervention and a large planned economy, controlled mainly by the state. Much of Maracao's workforce is employed either directly or indirectly by the state. Maracao rates highly in worker's rights and is heavily unionised, being rated the second most worker-friendly country behind Chistovodia in the Asterias. Recently, the Maracan government has allowed expansion for citizens into the private sector, with entrepreneurs now being allowed to own small businesses, however these are usually limited to family-run business and are heavily regulated by the government. Popular sectors in Maracao include agriculture, tourism, mining and state-run manufacturing.

The currency of Maracao is the comor, and was introduced in 1936 following the Great War. Initially, the comor would be pegged to the Estmerish shilling until 1938, where it became an independent currency. It is a generally stable currency but is also one of the weakest of the Arucian and Asterian states. In 2018 the average annual wage in Maracao was around ₵305,000, roughly $19,856, making it an average economy based on per capita salary. In 2017, Maracao's nominal GDP stood at $54.8 billion, and its PPP GDP at $79.5 billion, making it the wealthiest state in the Arucian based on gross domestic product.

Resources

Maracao has small natural deposits of precious metals such as gold, diamond and copper, however they are becoming increasingly expensive to extract due to the introduction of stricter environmental policies, making it more difficult to employ miners at the scale seen in other Asterian states. Most of Maracao's modern-day exports stem from its history as a producer and exporter of exotic foods, and includes foodstuffs such as bananas, mangoes, sugar, cocoa and coffee. As well as being a source of agricultural profit, food plays a large role in the manufacturing industry, with processing and sanitation plants being found near many major farms.

Fishing is also a large source of income in Maracao, and historically the island has employed subsistence farming wish regards to fishing in many of its smaller coastal settlements as history. Fish is both a common food eaten within Maracao and one of its top exports, with fresh Maracan fish often making its way to markets in Asteria Superior.

Top 5 tourist arrivals in Maracao (2019)

Country		Tourists
1	Gaullica	897,005
2	Kirenia	761,585
3	Soravia	712,167
4	Chistovodia	591,827
5	Xiaodong	528,919

Tourism

Maracao has been a hub for tourism throughout its history, both through colonisation and independence.

Culture

Music

Gervásio Cordeira was one of estranova's pioneers and a Maracan cultural icon.

Compared to the rest of the Arucian states, the Maracan government has always placed a high emphasis on the promotion of diverse music within the country and the promotion of Maracan music abroad. Maracan music is influenced considerably by the country's cultural and ideological routes as well as worldwide music trends, especially those in other Iustophone states. While the island's more popular music acts release their work through state-owned distributors and labels, the island as a thriving and vibrant independent music scene, particularly in its cities.

Estranova was the first popular genre originating in Maracao to garner a worldwide fanbase. The genre, formed as a portmanteau of the words estranha, meaning "strange" and nova, meaning "new", combined aspects of already-popular genres such as blues, soul and jazz to create a unique blend of popular music that quickly gained a large following in the Asterias. Also sporting elements of funk and folk, the genre was extremely broad and allowed for a large amount of creativity. In the 1960s and 1970s, Maracan musician Gervásio Cordeiro refined the genre and became estranova's first global success story, and was Maracao's first global music star, eventually becoming a cultural icon for the country.

Following trends in Bahia, Djeli pop became widely popular in Maracao in the 1970s and 1980s. Especially popular were djeli pop's more sombre and mellow artists, including Fudzayi Godwin and The Muteza, who would influence acts in Maracao such as Sandro Menezes, Eusébio Amorim and Rebeca Aguiar. Djeli pop's revised aspects in grunge and punk later found their way into the Maracan mainstream in the 1990s, generally considered as the golden age for Maracan rock music as genres such as post-punk, post-rock, ambient as well as psychedelic and progressive rock. Much of Maracao's ambient and post-rock acts were considered avant-garde by contemporaries, including Sombríssima and Reis de Baçurão, regarded by some as post-rock pioneers. It enjoyed brief popularity in Maracao before pop music emerged in the 2000s, but still sports an expansive independent following. Throughout the 21st century, pop music has grown massively in popularity, with Maracao producing artists from all ranges of pop music, although Maracao's pop scene is not as internationally recognised as some of its other genres.