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{{Region_icon_Ajax}}
{{Region_icon_Ajax}}
{{wip}}
{{Infobox country
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Red Banner Tribunal
| conventional_long_name = United Zacapine Republics
| common_name            = Zacapican
| common_name            = Zacapican
| native_name            = 𐠚𐠅𐠒𐠰𐠭 𐠋𐠯𐠐𐠌𐠌𐠚𐠞<br/>Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan
| native_name            = Centic Tlacatlatocayome Zacapiyotl
| image_flag            = ZacaFlag.png
| image_flag            = File:AztaFlag.png
| image_coat            = Aztec_solar_disc.svg
| image_coat            = Aztec_solar_disc.svg
| symbol_type            = State Emblem
| symbol_type            = State Emblem
| national_motto        =  
| national_motto        = ''Nochitlaca, Otitocetilique''<br><small>"All peoples, united as one"</small>
| national_anthem        =  
| national_anthem        = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3IQC3HCg-w Zacapicaltepetlacuicatl]<br><small>"Zacapine National Anthem"</small>
| royal_anthem          =  
| image_map              =
| image_map              = Zaca_location_map.png
| map_width              = 275px
| map_width              = 275px
| capital = [[Tequitinitlan]]
| capital = [[Cechiuhnaucan]]  
| coordinates =  
| coordinates =  
| largest_city = [[Tecolotlan]]
| largest_city = [[Angatahuaca]]
| official_languages = {{wp|Nahuatl}}
| languages_type         = {{nowrap|National {{wp|lingua franca}}}}
|languages_type =  
| languages             = {{wp|Nahuatl}}
| ethnic_groups =  {{unbulleted list
| ethnic_groups =  [[Zacapican#Ethnicity and Language|See Ethnicity]]
  | {{nowrap|79% {{wp|Nahuas}}}}<br />{{nowrap|&nbsp;'''∟''' 49% {{wp|Central Nahuatl languages|Central Nahuas}}}}<br />{{nowrap|&nbsp;'''∟''' 16% {{wp|Huasteca Nahuatl|Northern Nahuas}}}}<br />{{nowrap|&nbsp;'''∟''' 9% {{wp|Eastern Peripheral Nahuatl|Eastern Nahuas}}}} <br />{{nowrap|&nbsp;'''∟''' 5% {{wp|Western Peripheral Nahuatl|Western Nahuas}} <br />{{nowrap|8% {{wp|Selk'nam people|Selk'nam}}}} <br />{{nowrap|5% {{wp|Mapuche people|Mapuche}}}}<br />4% {{wp|Yaghan people|Yaghan}}<br />2% {{wp|Guaraní people|Guarani}}<br />2% Other Groups
| ethnic_groups_ref =
}}}}
| demonym = Zacapine<br>''Zacapicatl''
|ethnic_groups_ref =
| government_type = {{wp|Federation|Federal}} {{wp|Presidential system|presidential}} {{wp|republic}}
| demonym = Zacapine<br />Zacapitec
| leader_title1    = Tepachoani
| government_type = {{wp|Federal state|Federal}} {{wp|Parliamentary system|parliamentary}} {{wp|constitutional monarchy}}
| leader_name1 = [[Zianya Xcaret]]
| leader_title1    = [[Monarchy of Zacapican|Cihuahuetlatoani]]
| legislature = Necentlatiloyan
| leader_name1 = [[Nochcalima II]]
| upper_house  =  
| leader_title2    = Chief Secretary
| lower_house  =  
| leader_name2 = [[Chicacua Xiomara]]
| sovereignty_type = [[Zacapine Revolution|Revolution]]
| leader_title3    = Cloud Speaker
| established_event1 = Red Banner Rebellion
| leader_name3 = Tachto Callcalan
| established_date1 = 4 December 1899
| leader_title4    = Earth Speaker
| established_event2 = Overthrow of [[Angatahuacan Republc|Angatahuaca]]
| leader_name4 = Queya Iluyollo
| established_date2 = 12 February 1904
| legislature = Popular Assembly
| established_event3 = Declaration of the United Republics
|upper_house  = House of Clouds
| established_date3 = 13 June 1914
|lower_house  = House of Earth
| area_km2 = 1,414,464
| sovereignty_type = Formation
| established_event1 = Pre-Dynastic Period
| established_date1 = 2,600-2000 BCE
| established_event2 = Old Empire
| established_date2 = 2000-119 BCE
| established_event3 = First Intermediate Period
| established_date3 = 119 BCE-21 CE
| established_event4 = Middle Empire
| established_date4 = 21-1534 CE
| established_event5 = Second Intermediate Period
| established_date5 = 1534-1599 CE
| established_event6 = Start of New Empire period
| established_date6 = 19 August 1599
| established_event7 = 1st Constitutional Reformation
| established_date7 = 22 February 1706
| established_event8 = [[Red Banner Revolution|Red Banner Uprisings]]
| established_date8 = 1756-1781
| established_event9 = 2nd Constitutional Reformation
| established_date9 = 13 November 1781
| area_km2 = 1,845,600
| area_rank =  
| area_rank =  
| area_sq_mi =  
| area_sq_mi =  
| percent_water =  
| percent_water = 2.1
| population_estimate = {{increase}} 76,558,935
| population_estimate =  
| population_census = 75,785,909
| population_census = 70,103,619
| population_estimate_year = 2021
| population_estimate_year =  
| population_estimate_rank =  
| population_estimate_rank =  
| population_census_year = 2019
| population_census_year = 2022
| population_census_rank =  
| population_census_rank =  
| population_density_km2 = 33.4
| population_density_km2 = 49.56
| population_density_sq_mi =  
| population_density_sq_mi =  
| population_density_rank =  
| population_density_rank =  
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| GDP_PPP_per_capita =  
| GDP_PPP_per_capita =  
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_nominal = $2.08 Trillion
| GDP_nominal = $2.105 trillion
| GDP_nominal_year = 2019
| GDP_nominal_year =  
| GDP_nominal_rank =
| GDP_nominal_rank =
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $27,474
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $30,031
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
| Gini =  
| Gini =  
| Gini_year =  
| Gini_year =  
| Gini_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_change =  
| Gini_ref =
| Gini_ref =
| Gini_rank =
| Gini_rank =
| HDI = 0.888  
| HDI = 0.888  
| HDI_year = 2019
| HDI_year = 2019
| HDI_change = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_change = increase
| HDI_ref =  
| HDI_ref =  
| HDI_rank =  
| HDI_rank =  
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| calling_code =  
| calling_code =  
| cctld =  
| cctld =  
|religion = }}
| religion =  
 
}}
'''Zacapican''', formally the '''Red Banner Tribunal''' ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: 𐠚𐠅𐠒𐠰𐠭 𐠋𐠯𐠐𐠌𐠌𐠚𐠞, ''Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan''), is an {{wp|Empire|Imperial}} {{wp|Federation}} located in southern [[Ajax#Oxidentale|Oxidentale]], bordering [[Kayahallpa]] to the north. It is a {{wp|constitutional monarchy}} in which power is shared between the monarchic ''Huetlatoani'' (lit. "Great Speaker", equivalent to the title of "Emperor") or the female equivalent ''Cihuahuetlatoani'' and the corresponding parliamentary authorities of the Popular Assembly which are the triumvirate formed by the Chief Secretary and the two House speakers. The wider Zacapine government is organized as a federation of city states called ''Atlepetl'', each formally ruled by a figurehead ''Tlatoani'' lord while the operations of the focal city, satellite towns and rural communities is generally left to the Calpolli, which function as democratic council governments in towns or wards within a city. Atlepetl tier governments therefore mirror the federal tier government with a hereditary noble executive balanced against a popular assembly, derived from nationwide voting districts on the federal level and from Calpolli representatives at the state level.
 
Modern Zacapican is considered to be the legitimate continuation of an ancient Nahua empire which has occupied the southern cone region of Oxidentale for over 4,000 years, as the Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan encompasses the 33rd dynasty within the New Empire period in Zacapine historiography. However many aspects of the traditional culture and political structure of the empire have changed dramatically since the early modern period, namely the First Constitutional Reformation which reorganized the feudal 30th dynasty into a crowned republic dominated by wealthy landowners and urban elites which sought to dismantle the ancient [[Calpolli system]], and then by the Red Banner Uprisings of the latter half of the 18th century along with the Second Constitutional Reformation, which again reshaped the national and local government systems according to the revolutionary principles of the rebel Red Banner peasants, re-establishing a revised version of the traditional Calpolli system and empowering the rural aristocracy to rule in the stead of the defunct 31st dynasty's crowned republic system.


Under the reformed Calpolli system and the revised constitutional monarchy, Zacapican has enjoyed prolonged periods of stability and relative prosperity. Although the acceptance of new agricultural and industrial techniques and methods has not been without some resistance, in general the nation has readily accepted and contributed to the advance of technology and its economic applications, allowing modern Zacapican to benefit from a fully developed {{wp|secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector}} and growing {{wp|tertiary sector of the economy}}. Zacapican is therefore considered to be a developed country with a diverse composition of agriculture, manufacturing and service industries. Zacapican is the third largest economy in Oxidentale, behind the economic powerhouses of [[Mutul]] and [[Sante Reze]] in northern Oxidentale.  
'''Zacapican''', formally the '''United Zacapine Republics''' ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Centic Tlacatlatocayome Zacapiyotl'', '''CTZ'''), is is a country located in western [[Ajax#Oxidentale|Oxidentale]] bordered to the north by the [[Mutul]], to the east by [[Sante Reze]], and to the west by the Makrian ocean. It is a {{wp|federation}} of nine constituent {{wp|republics}} and one federal district governing a population of 70 million across a territory of 1.4 million square kilometers. The largest city in Zacapican is [[Angatahuaca]], a coastal metropolis of 13 million inhabitants, while the national capital at [[Cechiuhnaucan]] is a modern {{wp|Planned community|planned city}} of 440,000 built on the slopes of the [[Mixtepemec mountains]]. Zacapican is a highly urbanized country, with more than three quarters of the population being urban and just under half of all Zacapines living in the ten largest urban centers. The [[Coyotl]] national identity of Zacapican is based on the mixed heritage of the present day Zacapine population, drawing from dozens of indigenous and immigrant cultures and ethnicities. Zacapican has no official language as is a nominally {{wp|Multilingualism|multilingual}}, but is linguistically unified by the use of {{wp|Nahuatl}} as the general {{wp|lingua franca}} of business, education and administration.


==Etymology==
Modern Zacapican is defined by the historical [[Angatahuaca (historical polity)|Angatahuacan hegemony]], a powerful {{wp|oligarchic}} {{wp|republic}} that dominated much of modern Zacapican and parts of southern [[Ajax#Malaio|Malaio]] between the 10th and 19th centuries. Angatahuaca emerged as a powerful city-state wielding considerable political and military influence over the Makrian coast of Oxidentale in the early medieval period, later expanding across the Makrian and Ooreqapi oceans as it became engaged in a colonial rivalry with the [[Mutulese Global Circuit]] lasting many centuries. Although Angatahuacan power on the global stage would eventually go into decline, it would leave an indelible mark on the cultures of the southern hemisphere. Angatahuaca lost what remained of its overseas territories on the eve of the 20th century after a series of bitter wars that deeply weakened the state, setting the stage for the [[Zacapine Revolution]] and the foundation of the United Republics.  
The common name ''Zacapican'' is derived from the nahuatl ''zacapi'', itself a truncated form of ''zacapiliztli'' meaning to harvest or collect grasses, maize or other crops, along with the suffix -''can''. Thus together Zacapican can be translated as "place where the grass is harvested", a term which may have been assigned to the area in which the ancient migratory nahuas settled as they are believed to have imported sedentary agriculture to the region. Historians believe this name was originally ascribed specifically to the [[Zacaco]] grassland region in which the nahuas originally settled, stretching across what is now central and eastern Zacapican, and was only later ascribed to the broader nahua empire which grew to dominate the southern cone of Oxidentale but was always based in the Zacaco plains.  


''Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan'', generally translated as Red Banner Tribunal, is the formal name of the current government and ruling system within the state. ''Panchichiltic'' is derived from the nahuatl ''Pantli'' meaning flag and ''Chichiltic'' denoting a red color, representing the red colored flags used as the rallying symbol of the Red Banner peasant rebellions which resulting in the overthrow of the previous dynasty and installation of the new regime. ''Tlahtoloyan'' is a more traditional designation, derived from the nahuatl ''Tlahto-'' meaning a ruling or decision, and the suffix ''-loyan'', and so translates roughly to "place where decisions are made", although it may be more loosely translated as Empire or Tribunal. Those who rule a ''Tlahtoloyan'' are termed Tlatoani or Heutlatoani, the former translating directly as "decision maker" but more commonly as "Arbiter" or "Speaker", and the latter simply adding the ''Hue-'' prefix meaning big, and so translating to "Great Speaker" (or "Great Arbiter"). In Zacapine culture, a hegemonic Tlatoani is considered equivalent to and may often be loosely translated as {{wp|King}} and thus the higher Huetlatoani is considered equivalent to can be translated as {{wp|Emperor}}. Female equivalents of both simply involve the addition of the prefix ''Cihua-'', meaning "woman", resulting in ''Cihuatlatoani'' and ''Cihuahuetlatoani'' translating directly to "Woman Speaker" and "Woman Great Speaker" respectively.  
The economy of the United Republics is [[List of countries by economic data (Ajax)|one of the largest in the world]]. Zacapican industrialized on the basis of the ''{{wp|Calpulli|calpolli}}'', the common unit of indigenous social organization that evolved into a form of {{wp|worker cooperative}}. Although variations of [[Calpollism]] can be found across the Nahuasphere, its Zacapine variant is notable for its high degree of centralization and state influence over the economy through the nationalization of {{wp|Investment (macroeconomics)|capital}}. A strong steel industry underpinned the rapid industrialization of Zacapican over the course of the 20th century, laying the groundwork for the {{wp|shipbuilding}}, {{wp|aviation industry|aviation}} and the {{wp|machine industry|machine industries}} that are dominant forces in the modern Zacapine economy. Extensive state investment into civil engineering and technological development nurtured a domestic {{wp|high tech|high technology}} sector, particularly in the fields of {{wp|aerospace engineering|aerospace}} and {{wp|nuclear engineering}}, which further advanced the position of Zacapine manufacturing in the global market. Zacapican has accomplished a high level of economic and social development at the cost of an increased dependence on imported raw materials and the international export markets, fostering an proactive foreign policy that has positioned Zacapican as one of the preeminent states of the multi-polar global system.  


==History==
==History==
Zacapican possesses an extremely long recorded and archeological history which is made all the more remarkable by its organization into a single cultural and political continuity, although this is in part the result of ancient and more recent {{wp|historical revisionism}} which sought to organized at times unrelated dynasties and regimes into a more standardized and rationalized format which fit the contemporary view of history. Nevertheless, it is generally acknowledged that the Zacapine civilization is a single continuum which has existed since at least 2,000 BCE and can be generally understood as being made up of one monolithic empire possessing three phases, the old, the middle and the new empire, which are distinguished from one another by the intervening periods of collapse and subsequent reunification. The period preceding the formation of the empire proper is termed the "predynastic period" as no imperial dynasty governed during this time. The present day is commonly understood to fall within the continuing New Empire period, although a dissenting opinion is that the Red Banner rebellions constitute a third intermediate period and thus the present day should fall within a fourth "Neo-Imperial" period. This view is generally contested and rejected by the academic establishment.
===Antiquity===
===Predynastic Period===
The first urban civilization to emerge south of the [[Xallipan desert]] was established in the central plateau region around 1000 BCE. Although agriculture had been practiced across much of Zacapican since the {{wp|chalcolithic}}, the combination of rich volcanic soil and regular pattern of floods based on seasonal melting of the mountain snow reserves allowed the ancient peoples of central Zacapican, the ancestors of the modern {{wp|Aymara}}, to establish a sophisticated agricultural economy at a large scale that would pave the way for the development of the oldest and largest urban centers of ancient Zacapican. For much of their history, the proto-Aymara civilization would be divided between a series of northern and southern dynasties, centered on the [[Machay river]] and [[Lake Yakuzonco]] respectively. The unification of the north and south occurred on two occasions, one in the 3rd century BCE and the other at the turn of the 1st millennium, giving rise to the superpowers of the ancient Zacapine world that fostered developments in art, architecture and the sciences as well as the growth of the inland cities through their concentration of wealth and political power in the imperial metropole.  
[[File:Aztec_Warriors_(Florentine_Codex).jpg|200px|thumb|right|16th century depiction of the legendary Zacapitec founders]]
Generally, the predynastic period is considered to encompass the entire history of the {{wp|Nahuas}} throughout all time prior to the ascension of the first Huetlatoani. This includes the period of pre-Imperial settled nahua civilization in the Zacoco grasslands as well as the preceding epoch of mass migration of the nahua people from [[Ajax#Norumbria|Norumbria]] and further back. However, there remains very little evidence of ancestral migratory Nahuas which would become the Zacapine Nahuas left anywhere outside of Zacapican. The only true evidence tying the ancestral migrators to the northern continent is simply their linguistic relationship to surviving {{wp|Uto-Aztecan languages}} which suggest that the migrators cross into Oxidentale prior to the breakup of the land bridge connecting the two regions or immediately thereafter when the crossing was still achievable through the use of primitive boats or rafts. The Nahuas may have been among the last human groups to migrate into Oxidentale and represent one of the newest groups present on the continent before the waves of invasion and migration that would occur in the 1st and 2nd millennium CE by oceangoing [[Ajax#Belisaria|Belisarians]], [[Ajax#Scipia|Scipians]] and [[Ajax#Ochran|Ochranites]]. Many cultural items of the modern and ancient Nahuas of Zacapican appear related to those of the region which would become modern day Mutul in northern Oxidentale, and may well be related practices. Some historians believe this relationship is indicative of a prolonged period in which the Nahua remained in northern Oxidentale and interacted with the groups which are today native to that region, before beginning a second period of migration towards the south of the continent where they reside today. This theory is not well supported by material evidence as the migration occurred prior to 5000 years ago and has left no appreciable archeological record to study, consigning the origins of the austral Nahuas and their relationship to the Norumbrian Uto-Aztecan groups to a permanent condition of vague speculation and mystery.  


After the arrival of the Nahuas into the [[Zacaco]] plain, archeological evidence begins to mount and evidence of large wooden and stone structures is in abundance. The remains of ancient pyramidal structures, based on earthworks rather than the complex masonry of later such structures, are generally used to indicate the beginning of what is sometimes called the "Zacapitec Kingdom". Around 2,600 BCE the first major settlements are found in the archeological record, along with the first well preserved {{wp|pictograms}} and primitive {{wp|Logogram|logograms}} and pictographic or glyph-based scripts develop, although these remain undecipherable in the modern day. Some of these scripts are believed to be the basis of the {{wp|logophonetic}} writing system used to record the {{wp|classical Nahuatl}} language in the Old Empire period. Zacaco remains to this day relatively fertile and amenable to agriculture, and the idea that Nahuas either introduced agriculture from another region through their migration or else invented their own means of agriculture after settled in the Zacaco grasslands is well supported. The first Nahua city states would emerge on the basis of growing crops on the grasslands, domesticating animals such as the {{wp|Cochineal}} beetle used in iconic red dyes, the {{wp|Fuegian dog|Zacapine dog}}, the {{wp|Greater rhea|Rhea}} as well as several species of {{wp|Camelidae|camelid}} native to Oxidentale. Evidence of wars between city states were common at this stage, as the lords of cities would take others as vassals and become the first hegemonic Tlatoani, leading to relatively small number of hegemonic cities dividing up the Zacaco plains among themselves and fighting over the productive lands of the region. Although fertile, the Zacaco lacks many other resources and much of these early civilization was built using wood, mud-bricks or stone with the nahua civilization being definitively in the stone age during this era.
The arid coastal zones, being much less amenable to large scale agriculture, were largely populated by semi-nomadic cultures as it had been since prehistory until the emergence of the {{wp|Purépecha}} civilization along the coast of the southwest in the 2nd or 1st century BCE. The emergence of the Purépecha city-states was founded on the development of sailing ships capable of traversing the open waters of the Makrian ocean for long distances. The port-colonies established all along the southern Zacapine coastline thanks to the innovations of sail and maritime navigation supplemented the meager agricultural production watered by dew collectors and small ephemeral streams with an ample supply of fish caught in coastal waters as well as the fisheries further out in the western Makrian. Politically, the younger coastal civilization was far less unified than its inland counterpart, thanks to the much smaller populations of its cities and their wide distribution along thousands of kilometers of coastline. Instead of large centralized kingdoms and empires, the city-states of the coast formed confederations and rival alliances that competed fiercely against one another for control of limited resources and the trade of valuable goods.  
 
===Colli period===
===Old Empire===
The Colli period was a time of significant political upheaval in the established order of Zacapine antiquity between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Due to climate change among other factors, numerous groups originating in what is now northern Zacapican migrated south and came into direct conflict with the ancient urban civilizations in their path. The Aymara states in particular suffered under the pressure of the migrations, directly contributing to the sudden collapse of the second and most powerful of the unified Aymara empires which set the stage for two centuries of internecine conflict as regional warlords and migratory nations fought to fill the vacuum of power. Much of the social and economic development of the previous centuries was undone by the period of constant warfare, while the technologies of weapons, armor, siegecraft and logistics saw many advancements in quick succession as the arms race between warring states accelerated. By the end of the Colli period, the {{wp|Quechua people|Kichwa}} [[Hatunsuyu]] state had emerged as the clear victor in central Zacapican, conquering the traditional Aymara homeland around the Yakuzonco basin and establishing a stable political order around itself as the new hegemon. The {{wp|Nahuas}}, originally a nomadic people of the Xallipan desert, displaced the Purépecha as the dominant culture of the Zacapine coast during this time, shifting the center of gravity of the coastal civilization northward from the traditional Purépecha homelands to what is now known as the ''Ayahuatenco'' or "Fog Coast". The city of Tula, also known as Tolan, established itself as the preeminent local power of this stretch of the coastline, establishing its own sphere of influence on the edges of Hatunsuyu's imperial order.  
[[File:Nezahualcoyotl.jpg|185px|thumb|left|Depiction of an early Old Empire warrior, sporting a {{wp|Macuahuitl}} obsidian weapon]]
===Acana war===
The advent of the first bronze tools and weapons revolutionized the Zacaco plains and the wider southern cone of Oxidentale. Tools fashioned of this metal were malleable and more useful than some of their stone counterparts, and while readily available stone weapons remained effective and were in no short supply, the appeal of bronze in weapons began to rise around 2000 BCE. Coinciding with this new feverish thirst for bronze implements, the hegemonic wars of the predynastic period had come to a head and resulted in the first unification of the Zacaco plains under a single lord, with many other lords arrayed beneath him as lesser nobles. This marks the beginning of the Zacapitec Empire, specifically the Old Empire period, with the ascension of the first Heutlatoani of the first dynasty of the first empire. In this unprecedented time, recourses were sought after more than anything else. The Zacaco grasslands were bountiful and could support several urban centers and a growing population, but the lack of many other recourses had always weighed on the early nahua civilization which had always been forced to trade for other materials with outsiders. This condition was exacerbated by the need for bronze derived from tin and copper, none of which could be found inside the first Huetlatoani's domains. This motivated a period of expansion which would take place over the next four centuries (2,000 - 1,600 BCE) which would lay out the foundation for what would be the Zacapitec empire for many centuries and millennia to come. While the territory captured by the early dynasties of the Old Empire would later be successively lost and regained by later dynasties and indeed later iterations of the same empire, the massive invasion and annexation of completely new territory to the empire which occurred during these 400 years has no parallels in any era of Zacapine history before or since.
{{main|Acana war}}
 
The 8th century conflict known as the Acana war, or the "Landing of the Boats" in some sources, is the generally agreed-upon starting point for what would become the [[Angatahuaca (historical polity)|Angatahuacan hegemony]].  
The scope of these conquests, especially considering the small size of the original territory of the Zacapican empire at the start of the process, was such that later historians of the late Old Empire and most of the Middle Empire did not believe that they had actually happened, designating the foundational four hundred years of their own empire as a mere legend or myth concocted to glorify and exaggerate a longer period of more gradual expansion. The relatively limited complexity of the early Old Empire, having only primitive cities and armed mostly with stone and wooden weapons, it was thought, simply could not have accomplished the feat of not only conquering such a massive amount of territory but more impressively managing to hold on to the acquired land and subjects for hundreds of years thereafter despite the instability brought about by such rapid expansion. However, mounting evidence from historical and archeological materials have increasingly suggested that the original account of the four hundred year expansion of the Zacapitec empire, long though to be a myth, indeed may be true or at least close to reality. The massive expansion of the Zacapitec empire has parallels in the histories of many other nations and empires all across the world and at different points in history, but it remains a singularly impressive and moreover pivotal feat which established the groundwork for the following 3,600 years of Zacapitec history. One of the more striking aspects which defined the Old Empire period was the effects of {{wp|metalurgy}} and bronze weapons on military technology and tactics. Most significantly, the propagation of bronze weapons led to the transition of the spear as a dueling and throwing weapon to a longer, more reliable armament that could be used by formations of infantry working together as opposed to a loosely organized mass of dueling combatants. Infantry trained to fight in tight {{wp|phalanx|pike wall}} formations virtually unassailable from the front became the core of the early imperial army, supported by {{wp|Skirmisher|skirmishers}} typically armed with {{wp|Javelin|throwing spears}} assisted by {{wp|spear thrower|''atlatl'' spear throwers}} which dramatically increased the velocity of such a missile, thus improving their range and penetration. Spears cast from an atlatl were often capable of penetrating {{wp|Ichcahuipilli|''Ichcahuipilli'' armor}} (cotton armor stuffed with gravel) which could readily defend against arrows from short bows. The military advantages of these formations, themselves enabled by bronze weapons most neighboring tribes could not replicate, gave the Old Empire a distinct military advantage that may have empowered it to rapidly expand from a very small central territory and conquer vast areas of the surrounding lands.
 
In many ways, the rest of the Old Empire and perhaps the remainder of the empire's history would remain overshadowed by its formative events and earliest dynasties. For the most part, those Huetlatoque that ruled after the great conquests served primarily as administrators and judges, somewhat removed from their foundational purpose as a warrior aristocracy. Nevertheless, the lower rungs of the noble ladder did remain active in martial affairs as an internal security force to keep order in the ancient Nahua cities and to defend them from outside threats, such as the antecedents of modern [[Kayahallpa]] to the northwest. The constantly activity of low level military tasks was important for political and social stability, as it maintained a fresh pool of noble blood through the ascension of new noble lines out of lowborn warriors, and the regular exercise of this hereditary warrior caste such that the empire would never lack a powerful warrior lord to take the reigns of leadership and ascend to the throne in case of disaster, unexpected death or incompetence of the current ruler. For this purpose, {{wp|Flower war|flower wars}} would emerge as a tradition of ritualistic warfare wages against internal rebels and disobedient vassals as well as outside threats and neighboring kingdoms and tribes, requiring little investment in military resources and thus carrying little risk unlike a full blown campaign, yet still offering ample opportunity for combat and the benefits this provided to the empire's ruling class. Although much of the population of central and eastern Zacapican would become assimilated into the Nahua culture, much of the empire remained under a state of native rule by local tribes which were subjugated as vassal states to the empire. Eventually, through the decades of the last dynasties of the Old Empire as well as a general decay of the robust systems put in place during the first four centuries, the system of vassal governance across the periphery of the empire broke down. Nevertheless, the consolidation of power under the Old Empire even in the outlying regions had left irreversible effects over the region. Rather than reverting to the pre-imperial state of disparate tribes, the Nahuas of Zacaco as well as the Nahuanized peoples they had left behind in their once-vassal states broke into a small number of large and powerful warring kingdoms, each of which vied for the legacy of the Old Empire in spite of its collapse, bringing about the First Intermediate Period.  
 
===First Intermediate Period===
[[File:Rajput_Khanda.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A ''Tepozmacahuitl'', a straight steel broadsword and the signature weapon of the [[Tiacautec people|Tiacauteca warrior caste]]]]
The First Intermediate Period was a 140 year period of internal conflict and civil war brought about by a general collapse of central power, a collapse which was perpetuated by a variety of outside reasons such as the revolutionary introduction of mounted cavalry on horses, steel weapons and armor and new military strategies into the region, as well as two disease outbreaks and a prolonged drought. Nevertheless, the Old Empire was ultimately brought down by fundamentally internal problems and animosity between noble factions which struggled and vied for power to the detriment of the peasantry. As the Zacaco city states turned to open conflict against one another, tributaries and vassal states on the outside edges of the empire simply allowed their pacts and treaties with the Zacapitecs to lapse and in some cases even turned on their former overlords to exact revenge or regain territory lost to the empire's advance in previous centuries. Beginning in 119 BCE, the 15th dynasty faced numerous challenges from its former vassal cities, including a rebellion which would soon solidify into the 16th dynasty. While the forces of the surviving 15th dynasty fought the cities in their vicinity in the south Zacaco, the new 16th dynasty consolidated the northern Zacaco and southeast Xallipan regions. The two developed a protracted standoff in their conflict over the Zacaco, falling to ceasefires and temporary peace multiple times as well as securing alliances among the former tributary states in the imperial periphery. Following the transition to the first millennium CE, hostilities between the 15th and upstart 16th dynasties resumed as they vied for unchallenged domination and restoration of the full empire. With their forces committed to the renewed conflicts in the central Zacaco the 16th dynasty was unable to quell an unexpected incursion of the [[Tiacautec people|Tiacauteca]], a caste of nahua colonists in the hostile semi-arid Xallipan region, which rapidly collapsed the northern garrisons of the 16th dynasty and overran their capital by the year 10. The Tiacauteca proved to be capable warriors, aided by their horses and innovative steel armors and weapons, and were able to rapidly reform themselves into a military caste of noble lineages ruling over the conquered territory of the 16th dynasty and their homelands in Xallipan, which served as a staging area for their assaults on the remnant of the 15th dynasty which fell as well, ushering in the reunification of the Zacaco and the formation of the Middle Empire under the 17th dynasty of mixed Old Empire nobles as well as new Tiacauteca lineages.
 
===Middle Empire===
[[File:Shotel,_BM.jpg|200px|thumb|right|''Tepozmatlatehuitl'' cavalry swords were used by horsemen in close combat]]
 
===Second Intermediate Period===
===New Empire===
[[File:Cortez_&_La_Malinche.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Foreign delegation meeting with New Empire officials]]
The re-consolidation of Zacapican into the New Empire opened up opportunities for reform and innovation on the long standing traditions of government that had stood for thousands of years by the end of the 16th century. Although Zacapican had never been particularly opposed to outside influence and exchange, the dynasties of the New Empire would prove to be by far the most involved in affairs not only in the immediate surroundings of the southerly nation but around the entire globe. Previous exploration of the surrounding seas and settlement of nearby islands which had taken place during the Middle Empire period would now serve as a springboard for a new naval power in the New Empire. Gunpowder weapons would be introduced and quickly adopted by the Zacapitecs, first in the form of canons and mortars and later in the form of both imported and indigenous man-portable firearms. The 1st and 2nd Dynasties of the New Empire were not necessarily distinct from those that had reigned in the latter days of the Middle Empire, but a distinct shift in their demeanor towards the broader world had developed. Since the turmoil of the recent collapse, ambitions of sweeping territorial expansion had long since died out and the borders of Zacapican generally settled into what they are today. The motive behind this more relaxed foreign policy is the subject of fierce debate, as some suggest that it is the result of more enlightened philosophy and worldly ideas, as well as a revival of classical Zacapitec philosophy and fundamental sciences as part of the [[Zacapine Renaissance]]. Others assert that, like the foundational dynasties of the Old and Middle Empires, the early New Empire dynasties had the fresh memories of the bloody intermediate period and were chiefly concerned with pacifying and consolidating the recently reunified Zacapine territories, and therefore would not entertain expansionistic ideas which would generally come to take hold in later dynasties. It is also suggested that the development of technology and the increasingly prosperous Zacapican had eroded the original motivations of the major Zacapine expansions of the past, as the central regions now had reliable access to a very diverse array of recourses for their economic activities, internal trade was prosperous, and the frontiers were well anchored and no longer significantly threatened by outside forces. The combination of these factors would therefore lead to a reduction in expansionism and a disappearance of the prime motivators for the Empire's past wars, resulting in prolonged state of relative peace which would only come to be significantly disturbed by internal social developments brought about by new foreign and domestic ideas and concepts coming into direct diametric conflict with established Zacapine traditions.
====First Constitutional Reformation====
[[File:Hacienda_of_Xcanchakan(1843).jpg|220px|thumb|left|Pochtec estates first arose in the Zacaco plains but were soon commonplace across the empire as the practices of enclosure and the resulting plantation economics spread across trading routes]]
 
While the development of {{wp|Mercantilism|mercantile capitalism}} was well established since long before the beginning of the New Empire period, the advent of {{wp|Capitalism#Industrial_Revolution|industrial capitalism}} proved to be a significant disruption to the political and economic order of the feudal Zacapine civilization of the time. {{wp|Pochteca}} merchants which had previously filled the role of traders of goods began to use their accumulating wealth to challenge and even eclipse the status of Zacapine nobility. The Pochteca most of all advocated the reorganization of Zacapine agriculture which was organized around the ancient Calpolli system and was primarily based on subsistence farming and food production, seeing the communal land holdings and agricultural methods as antiquated, inefficient and most importantly inefficient and thus unprofitable. This growing class of wealthy lowborn individuals and trading families became an increasingly powerful bloc relative to the aristocracy, and soon were influential enough to force the nobility to give concessions including extending privileges to the merchant caste which had previously been reserved to the nobility. This was overall met with little resistance, save from the most powerful nobles including the Huetlatoani, as these stood to loose the most to the rising merchant class while lesser and un-landed nobles were more amenable to working together and gaining from arrangements with the merchants. This dichotomy resulted in a palace coup and the unceremonious end of the 30th Zacapitec dynasty.
 
[[File:Nebel_Voyage_11_Hacendero.jpg|220px|thumb|right|''Pochtecatl'' plantation owner and his entourage]]
 
What followed was the First Constitutional Reformation which was ratified on the 22nd of February 1706, in which the 31st dynasty was installed under a system of constitutional monarchy which operated as a crowned republic. In effect, this new dynasty, sometimes called the Pochtec regime, was a limited democracy dominated by factions of the agrarian and urban upper class merchants which held stakes in agricultural and proto-industrial ventures, while the monarchs of the 31st dynasty were reduced to figureheads which legitimized the de-facto oligarchy which was beginning to replace the old feudal organization of the empire. In particular, the period following the 1st Reformation was characterized by the general destruction and dismantling of Calpolli towns which collectively owned the land in common. These lands would become privatized and consolidated in a process of {{wp|enclosure}} which began to rapidly convert lands which had previously been cultivated by a large number of community members utilized small plots into a small number of large plantations and {{wp|Hacienda|agricultural estates}} owned and operated by wealthy Pochtecatl. Following the consolidation of agriculture into the new plantation economy, agricultural yield began to shift towards cash crops intended for export.
 
In particular, crops which could be used to manufacture textiles in urban work-houses were preferred as this would generate profit upon being sold from the field, upon being sold from the work-house as textiles, and then again upon being transported and sold at a profit overseas. This early industrial economy generated a large amount of wealth for the upper classes of Zacapine society and brought an influx of foreign goods and improvements of technology into the country. However, it also brought about dissatisfaction with the nobility which found themselves increasingly sidelined by the merchant caste which they viewed as undeserving upstarts. Moreover, the agricultural policies of the Pochtec regime generated huge waves of landless peasants which emigrated into the cities looking for work, bringing mass poverty and disorder to these urban centers. Those who remained in the countryside found themselves working on land which was once theirs for poor wages, or simply out of work and facing poverty and starvation without access to the land needed to sustain themselves. While the Pochtec regime was considered a golden age by many due to the rapid advances in technology and wealth, it also brought an unprecedented level of poverty and unrest into the country, unrest which would inevitably boil over into rebellion.
 
====Red Banner Rebellions====
[[File:Quebec_Irregulars.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Red Banner rebels were often equipped with improvised or captured weapons]]
{{main|Red Banner Revolution}}
 
The Red Banners emerged gradually and in an organic, often chaotic fashion, but once they began in earnest the rebellions show of a pattern of three major waves. The first of these began slowly and was the most diffuse and poorly organized, occurring between 1756 and 1758 before it was put down by the military. However the unrest did not stop just because the fighters had been defeated, as rioting, disobedience and a nationwide low-level insurgency continued even in the "lulls" of relative peace between the major waves of rebellion. As such, the Red Banner Rebellions ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Panchichiltic Yaohuitl'', lit. "Red Banner Uprising") are generally treated as an continual process that did not disappear between the major waves of uprisings, and so it is treated as a single entity known as the Red Banner Revolution. As a concept, the "Red Banner" rebel was born in the turmoil of the 2nd Intermediate Period as an answer to the abuses of the warrior aristocracy during that time, and so by the time of the 18th century the archetype of the peasant rebel sporting a red battle flag was already well known even in the most isolated communities. Riots occurring across the burgeoning slums of the major cities however these were more easily quelled than the rural uprisings, which waged a guerilla war against the empire's military for nearly two years before being defeated in the field and seeing its members largely scatter but continue their attacks on plantations, shipments of merchandise and military installations. Banditry was observed to rise sharply around this period, both as acts of rebellion perpetrated by Red Banner fighters and as opportunistic crimes committed by common criminals taking advantage of the general collapse of law and order.
 
Peace was short lived after the end of the first wave of uprisings, as the army's heavy handed retaliation and the practice of collective punishment quickly engendered even greater ire among the peasantry and rallied many that had shied away from armed rebellion to the Red Banners, who rose up a second time now empowered by their new recruits. A renewed campaign of guerilla warfare raged across Zacapican from 1760 to 1766 around which time the Red Banners standing forces were once against defeated in the field and forced in hills and badlands from which they continued to harass their enemies and strike at Pochtec plantations within reach of their base areas. The third and final wave of Red Banner uprisings did not occur until 1774, by which point the Red Banners had fully transformed from a loose collection of disgruntled peasants and urban poor to a organized and complex militia which now had veteran fighters who had been practicing guerilla tactics against the government for years or decades. Simultaneously, support for the government was dropping rapidly as the effects of the unresolved civil war exacerbated many of the consequences of the Pochtec economic and political reforms, and the government's heavy handed repression further galvanized the cause of resistance against them. The final straw occurred when a series of major riots once again tore through the many citizens of eastern Zacapican, which the government responded to by attacking the populations of many urban slums with the army directly, pushing not only rioters but the general population out of these difficult to control slum areas of the cities. This proved to be a fatal mistake as a large portion of these now displaced slum residents traveled into the countryside and joined the cause of the Red Banners, triggering the third and final Red Banner uprising.
[[File:Boxer_Rebellion.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Rebel forces frequently outnumbered [[Western Monarchies|the well-trained Belisarian-inspired]] Pochtec military]]
 
Now armed with an experienced rebel army, the forces of the Red Banners quickly overran the hinterlands of the Zacaco plain and began to attack the major cities, including the capital Chicomoztoc (modern day [[Tequitinitlan]]) which fell to the rebels by 1775. The royal court and the government of the Pochtec regime was evacuated by sea to the western coast of the empire where a temporary capital was established at [[Tecolotlan]]. After a period of consolidating forces, a counter-attack began by government forces based in the mountainous western and southern regions against the Red Banners, who's rebel army had successfully captured the most populated regions and productive farmland concentrated on the Zacaco plain. The Pochtec regime was better trained and controlled the navy, maintaining access to high quality foreign weaponry. However, the rebels could now openly recruit in the streets of major cities, and had availed themselves of the contents of many municipal and rural armories as well as a portion of the imperial treasury which was left behind when the capital had been evacuated. Additionally, the Red Banners controlled the most productive agricultural land which they had immediately begun to redistribute to landless peasants and the urban poor as part of their overarching objective of sweeping land reform and the restoration of the [[Calpolli system]]. Control of the farmland made it easy for the rebels to supply their army, and furthermore denied the plantation owners among the Pochtecs the ability to raise more funds to pay for their war effort. In capturing the Zacaco region, the rebels had time on their side as the government's war effort could now no longer be sustained indefinitely.
[[File:SeymourTianjin.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Red Banners retreating with wounded through a ruined town]]
 
The Pochtec regime's forces remained superior in training and weaponry right up until the end of the war, and they held defensible terrain in the hills and mountains of southern and western Zacapican which made it very difficult to dislodge them and doomed the early Red Banner attacks against them to failure. However, because of the capture of the Zacaco plains the Red Banners no longer needed to completely defeat the regime's military forces in order to win the war. Indeed, while the Pochtec regime retained access to foreign sources of supplies and weapons, their quickly declining finances meant that they needed to recapture parts of rebel held territory if they had any hopes of outlasting the Red Banners. This led to the bloodiest period of the civil war, in which better trained and well equipped Pochtec troops faced off against the determined defense of the Red Banners in their rural garrisons and fortified towns around the edges of Zacaco. Holding a defensive advantage on their own lands, supported by the local population and bolstered by the manpower of the rebellion's cities to the east, the Red Banners maintained their defense for several years.
 
By 1779, the Pochtec situation had become desperate. Swathes of the army had deserted due to a lack of payment, and some had even defected to the Red Banners as the rebels could now offer more reliable compensation than the government. Exacerbating this problem, the endless attacks against the entrenched peasant armies across the Zacaco plain had brought about massive casualties in many of the best units of the Pochtec army, losses which they were not in a position to replace. In March of 1799, a series of probing attacks broke through the Pochtec lines, revealing major gaps in the government force's defenses. Many among the rebellion were taken aback by the state of the Pochtec army, which they had been massively overestimating as they did not anticipate the degree to which the Pochtec army had deteriorated from the elite and dangerous fighting force it had once been. During the winter of 1799 (June-August), the Red Banner generals prepared their offensives for the following year, stockpiling weapons and supplies. In the summer of 1779-1780, much of the south fell to their campaigning armies, and much of the west had also fallen. The remnant of the Pochtec army continued to fight, holding on to a pocket surrounding the interim Pochtec capital at Tecolotlan, however these forces too fell to the Red Banners by the end of 1780. By the beginning of 1781, all resistance to the forces of the peasant rebellion had been destroyed, and the Red Banners could now dictate their terms unopposed.  
====Second Constitutional Reformation====
Much of 1781 was spent in consolidation and deliberation between various sub factions of the Red Banners. In general, the military leaders and chief figures of the movement and the rebel army were of a poor, peasant background and most were semi-literate or had only recently become literate as part of the rebellion. Very few had interest in holding political power, and this sentiment was echoed by the rank and file of the army as well as the populace which had supported them. The primary aim of the Red Banners had always been land reform, which had now effectively been accomplished by the reformation and re-institution of the new [[Calpolli system]] which dissolved the plantations and returned the land to the peasants under a new, more democratic council-based local apparatus. While minor factions within the more educated wing of the Red Banners expressed republican leanings and a desire to implement a national democracy free of castes and old ideas, these movements saw very little support and effectively died out before they could come to be taken seriously. The majority of Red Banner leaders along with the public were content with handing over the rights and responsibilities of high level power back to the old aristocracy, as many nobles disdained the Pochtecs and their reforms and had even sided with the Red Banners in the conflict. Coexistence between a largely ceremonial warrior aristocracy and autonomous peasant communities was believed to be an achievable goal and was readily accepted by the general public and most of the Red Banners. However, concern remained that once the peasants disarmed, they would once again be put down and exploited by the ruling class and their professional military.
 
Under the proposed new government, power was to be shared between the peasants and the nobility in such a way that the nobility would be able to return to their traditional role at the head of society but the rights and daily lives of the peasantry and the common folk would not be trampled. A system of constitutional monarchy at the city-state and the imperial level was devised, with the new Popular Assembly drawn directly from the population ensuring that the nobles could not simply wield their newly restored powers unchecked and harm the victory of the Red Banners. Similarly, the Red Banner rebels never disarmed and simply reorganized into a National Guard organization that would allow them to re-mobilize should the rights of the peasants ever face a threat be it internal or external. This military force remains separate from the standard professional armed forces under the command of the monarchy to the present day, and represents a fail-safe measure to prevent abuses of power by the nobility. As part of the proposal, new noble lines were enthroned in various city states which had been stripped of nobility by the Pochtecs or placed under ad-hoc governance by rebel forces. Since the last of the 31st dynasty of the New Empire had been destroyed along with the Pochtec regime that supported it, a new noble line was raised to the imperial throne as the 33rd dynasty of Zacapican. The ratification of the proposed new government by the Red Banners and many noble delegates represents the founding moment of the Red Banner Tribunal, and of modern Zacapican.  


==Geography==
==Geography==
[[File:Sembrado_de_cebada_en_argentina.jpg|250px|thumb|right|A crop field in the Zacaco region]]
Zacapican is a highly diverse region in terms of physical geography thanks to the major mountain ranges and geographic barriers which divide its landmass into distinct climatic and ecological regions with a wide range of conditions. The northern and southern extremes of the country consists primarily of high altitude deserts with wildly fluctuating extreme temperatures, contrasting heavily with the highly fertile and biodiverse Zacaco, Meco and Aztaco regions in the eastern and western reaches of the territory. The west coast of Zacapican abuts the Makrian ocean and is reached by oceanic currents traveling north from the polar sea, bringing cold weather and seasonal storms along with nutrient rich waters supporting the local fish stocks. In the east, the confluence of these same cold currents and the warm Rezese waters flowing south from the equator creates the [[Matlayahualoyan]] off the coasts of Anamictlan, Aztaco and Mixincayoco island, which is one of the richest fisheries in the world and historically served as a linchpin for the economy and food supply of these eastern and south Zacapine communities.  
 
The territory of Zacapican is divided into four regions of distinct topographic, climatic and ecological character. These are the [[Zacaco]], Mixtepemec, Xallipan and Aztlacapallco which are situated roughly in the east, west, north and south of the country respectively. The varying environmental factors of these diverse regions of Zacapican inform aspects of human habitation and economic activity which shape the country, its internal politics and its role within the world.
 
* The '''Zacaco''' (lit. "land of grass") region refers to the flat lowlands which cover the eastern quarter of Zacapican, which are primarily covered in grassland with few trees. This region receives regular rainfall and enjoys temperate climate and temperature ranges in both summer and winter, making them fertile and well suited to agriculture. Farmland in the Zacaco region accounts for more than three quarters of the Zacapitec agricultural output and serve as the bread basket for the country and the wider region. This region's food supply as well as the flat, accessible terrain and temperate climate have contributed to the establishment of many urban and industrial centers within the Zacaco region, including the the Zacapitec capital [[Tequitinitlan]]. The Zacaco has also been the homeland of the Nahua people since the beginning of recorded history and has served as the social, political and economic center of the Zacapitec empire since its bronze age inception.
 
* The '''Mixtepemec''' (lit. "clouded mountains") is a region characterized and shaped by its mountainous terrain extending north to south along the western edge of Zacapican. Much of the Mixtepemec is composed of a mountain range of the same name with many steep sided snow capped mountains. As much of the Mixtepemec is unsuitable for living or working, the population of the region is highly concentrated in just a few locations along the coast which are relatively flat and have a more temperate {{wp|maritime climate}} compared to the colder and less hospitable climate of the mountaintops and isolated valleys. As a result of these factors, the majority of the region's population and economic activity is focused into a single metropolitan center, [[Tecolotlan]], which has grown to outstrip even Tequitinitlan and the other mid-sized cities of the Zacaco plain to become the largest city in Zacapican.
[[File:Ischigualasto02.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The Lion of Xallipan rock formation]]
 
* '''Xallipan''' (lit. "banner of sand") is the northern region of Zacapican with a small portion of Makrian coastline along the northern end of the nation's western shore. It ranges from sub-tropical climate in the east close to the Zacaco plains to a more semi-arid, hilly environment of many {{wp|badlands}} along the border with [[Kayahallpa]]. The sources of many Zacapine rivers flowing through the Zacaco to the southeast originate in vast canyon systems in this northerly region. Xallipan is the second least inhabited of the four geographic regions of Zacapican, and is primarily known for mining activities which are often criticized for the disruption they pose to the delicate ecosystems of the dry hills. Historically, Xallipan has been the frontier of the Zacapitec empire with its rivals to the north, and has been the site of many struggles against those rival powers in centuries past. Because of its history, the region is now home to many monuments and museums exploring the complicated past of these lands as a borderland of empires for many centuries stretching into antiquity. The region's largest urban centers are located in its wetter and more hospitable eastern edge, which also contributes some agricultural activities to the region's economy.
 
* The '''Aztlacapallco''' (lit. "land of the bird's wing") region is covered by cold {{wp|steppe}} as well as localized desert biomes, mountains and glaciers such as the large and iconic Xotlatlauhqui (lit. "red legged") glacier. It is also known as the Whale's Fluke because of its two peninsulas resembling the tail fluke of a diving whale. Aztlacapallco occupies the southern portion of Zacapican and is sparsely populated compared to the other regions, having few urban centers. The relatively small economy of this region is based primarily on eco-tourism, and is an internationally renowned vacation destination because of its pristine natural environments.
 
Besides the four regions of the mainland, Zacapican possesses portions of an archipelago in the south Thalassan ocean known to the Zacapitecs as '''Michnamanalco''' (lit. "land of fish selling beyond the water") which has been the subject of past territorial disputes and naval conflicts with [[Sante Reze]] and has served as a key port of call in the Zacapitec trans-thalassan trade with [[Ajax#Malaio|Malaio]]. The climate and biodiversity varies from island to island, from a cold temperate climate in northern islands to an outright {{wp|polar climate}} in the southernmost islands of the archipelago. The warmer islands have limited tree cover and host thriving island ecosystems with many unique species that have evolved in isolation, while the colder more southerly islands are typically devoid of trees and covered in snow for much of the year, serving only as important nesting sites for oceangoing birds and marine wildlife. The few human settlements on the Michnamanalco archipelago are civilian ports dedicated to fishing and whaling or military harbors used by the Zacapine navy. The oceanic region of [[Matlayahualoyan]] is located between the archipelago and the Whale's Fluke and is a vital region of the country's {{wp|Exclusive economic zone|EEZ}} as it contributes significantly to the local economies.  


The geological activity of Zacapican is significant, with a prevalence of earthquakes and volcanic activity along the western edge of the country. An uplift which occurred relatively recently in the geologic timescale resulted in the formation of the Mixtepemec mountain range which runs through the entire country from north to south, dividing the eastern and western coasts into distinct sub-regions of the country. A large number of these mountains are also volcanic in nature. The tallest peak in Zacapican, [[Itzamixtiani]], is a dormant {{wp|stratovolcano}} with a summit reaching 7 kilometers above sea level. The volcanic ash which results from the activity of these mountains contributes to the biodiversity, specifically to the soil fertility, of the surrounding lowlands as meltwater and precipitation wash these rich sediments down the slopes of the Mixtepemec into the major Zacapine watersheds of the Zacaco valley in the west and Meco basin in the north and east, creating the "black soil" on which the high agricultural yields of these regions is founded.
===Biodiversity===  
===Biodiversity===  
[[File:Magellanic_penguin,_Valdes_Peninsula,_e.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The {{wp|Magellanic penguin|''Ahuatetz''}}, a penguin species unique to Zacapican's Aztlacapallco region.]]
[[File:Magellanic_penguin,_Valdes_Peninsula,_e.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The {{wp|Magellanic penguin|''Ahuatetz''}}, a penguin species unique to southern Zacapican]]
The varied environments of Zacapican house an abundance of life including many unique species found nowhere else. Zacapican is a {{wp|Megadiverse countries|megadiverse country}} with an myriad of ecosystems and biomes ranging from sub-tropical forest, wetlands, temperate, dry and cold steppes, mountains, semi-arid and even polar climate regions. The Zacaco region boasts a tremendous degree of diversity in fauna including the {{wp|Capybara}}, {{wp|Marsh deer|Zacaco deer}}, {{wp|Maned wolf}} and {{wp|Rhea_(bird)|Ñandu}}. Mixtepemec is home to the {{wp|Spectacled bear}}, the {{wp|Cougar|Puma}} and the {{wp|Guanaco}} while Xallipan is known for its many species of scorpions and the {{wp|Vicuña}} which often used as a mascot by Zacapine children's media. Aztlacapallco is better known for the species of the surrounding waters, but is nevertheless recognized for such unique species as the {{wp|Southern river otter}} and varied avian species such as the {{wp|Magellanic woodpecker|Aztlacapalltli woodpecker}}. Much of the Zacaco, Xallipan and Aztlacapallco regions posses little forest cover and are mostly grasslands, with very few tree species, such as the native {{wp|Phytolacca dioica|Ombu}} or imported {{wp|Platanus occidentalis|Norumbrian sycamore}}. The mountainsides and valleys of Mixtepemec are heavily forested by pines and other evergreens such as the native {{wp|Araucaria araucana|Araucaria}} tree, and are the main site of {{wp|logging}} activities in Zacapican.  
The varied environments of the United Zacapine Republics house an abundance of life including many unique species found nowhere else. Zacapican is a {{wp|Megadiverse countries|megadiverse country}} with a large number and variation of distinct ecosystems and biomes ranging from sub-tropical forest, wetlands, temperate, dry and cold steppes, mountains, semi-arid and even polar climate regions. The eastern [[Ayomazaco Republic|Ayomazaco]] and [[Xochicuahuico Republic]] boast a tremendous degree of diversity in fauna including the {{wp|Capybara}}, {{wp|Marsh deer|Zacaco deer}}, {{wp|Maned wolf}} and {{wp|Rhea_(bird)|Ñandu}}. Central and western regions of the [[Cuauhtlaco Republic|Cuauhtlaco]] and [[Zacaco Republic]] are home to the {{wp|Spectacled bear}}, the {{wp|Cougar|Puma}} and the {{wp|Guanaco}} while [[Xallipan Republic]] is known for its many species of scorpions and the {{wp|Vicuña}} which often used as a mascot by Zacapine children's media. The Fishtail peninsula is better known for the species of the surrounding waters but is nevertheless recognized for such unique species as the {{wp|Southern river otter}} and varied avian species such as the {{wp|Magellanic woodpecker|Aztlacapalltli woodpecker}}. The Zacaco Valley at the heart the Zacaco Republic is a flat grassland with little forest cover which is naturally sparse in native tree species. One of these few tree varieties native to the valley is the {{wp|Phytolacca dioica|Ombu}} now common as an ornamental species across the United Republics in urban centers prized for its rapid growth and wide canopy providing ample shade. {{wp|Platanus occidentalis|Norumbrian sycamore}} and a number of coniferous species have been introduced into the valley from other regions of Zacapican and from abroad in order to provide a local supply of wood, as the native Ombu has a soft, spongy trunk and does not produce true wood. The many mountain ranges, plateaus and hills found all across Zacapican are heavily forested by pines and other evergreens such as the native {{wp|Araucaria araucana|Araucaria}} tree with such regions as [[Tlaximallico Republic|Tlaximallico]] becoming centers of {{wp|logging}} to meet the economic need for good timber.  


In addition to terrestrial life, Zacapican is known for its abundant maritime biology sustained by highly fertile polar waters. An abundance of {{wp|plankton}} and {{wp|krill}} in Zacapine waters and parts of the surrounding ocean sustains not only a tremendous number and variety of fish species, but also larger and iconic marine species including penguins, seals and whales. The {{wp|Killer whale|Orca}}, a common sight on Zacapine shores, is particularly prevalent in local cultures and is regarded as a Zacapitec national symbol. The extremely rich marine ecosystem of Zacapican's waters has sustained an extensive fishing industry particularly within the world-renowned [[Zacapine Sea Fishery]] off the country's eastern shore. This fishery specifically has suffered from overfishing historically, but is considered to be in the process of recovering its normal fish stocks thanks to fishing restrictions put in place by the Zacapine government for the express purpose of regenerating the economically important Zacapine Sea Fishery. Historically, many Zacapitec mariners undertook {{wp|whaling}} as a means to exploit the abundance of {{wp|Minke whale|Minke}}, {{wp|Humpback whale|Humpback}}, {{wp|Sei whale|Sei}} and {{wp|Sperm whale|Cachalot}} whales. In response to the depletion of these species and the decline in economic demands for {{wp|baleen}} and {{wp|whale oil}}, whaling of any type has been strictly prohibited by federal law since 1910.
In addition to terrestrial life, Zacapican is known for its abundant maritime biology sustained by highly fertile polar waters. An abundance of {{wp|plankton}} and {{wp|krill}} in Zacapine waters and parts of the surrounding ocean sustains not only a tremendous number and variety of fish species, but also larger and iconic marine species including penguins, seals and whales. The {{wp|Killer whale|Orca}}, a common sight on Zacapine shores, is particularly prevalent in local cultures and is regarded as a Zacapitec national symbol. The extremely rich marine ecosystem of Zacapican's waters has sustained an extensive fishing industry particularly within the world-renowned [[Zacapine Sea Fishery]] off the country's eastern shore. This fishery specifically has suffered from overfishing historically, but is considered to be in the process of recovering its normal fish stocks thanks to fishing restrictions put in place by the Zacapine government for the express purpose of regenerating the economically important Teeming Sea Fishery. Historically, many Zacapitec mariners undertook {{wp|whaling}} as a means to exploit the abundance of {{wp|Minke whale|Minke}}, {{wp|Humpback whale|Humpback}}, {{wp|Sei whale|Sei}} and {{wp|Sperm whale|Cachalot}} whales. In response to the depletion of these species and the decline in economic demands for {{wp|baleen}} and {{wp|whale oil}}, whaling of any type has been strictly prohibited by federal law since 1910.
===Conservation===
The preservation of the natural beauty and diversity of life in Zacapican has been of great concern for many years. The expansion of human activity, particularly during the rapid industrialization process of the 20th century, placed significant areas of wilderness under threat as the negative environmental effects of mining, logging and industrial activity have ramped up through the decades. Efforts to reverse the negative effects of industrial expansion and human activity have increased in recent decades, but have not yet been centralized into a national organ to coordinate environmental protection and ecological conservation. The main vehicle through which ecosystems receive protections from the government is through the various land use commissions at the level of the constituent republic and the local altepetl. Because all land in Zacapican is property of the state, these councils and committees governing the allocation of land to various calpolli for any number of practical uses also have the power to prevent land from being used for agriculture, mining or human habitation. According to the national land registry of the [[Tlalnemachtilli Cuatotonilia Cepan Tlacatlatocayomeyotl|United Republics Geological Survey]], there are 64 separate tracts of land in Zacapican that have been specifically marked as a region not to be used or exploited for economic purposes. 52 of these have been designated as recreational parks where {{wp|outdoor recreation}} is permitted, while the remaining 12 are treated as {{wp|Nature reserve|nature reserves}} where visitation is permitted by explicit permission only. Designated nature reserves are generally only accessible to scientists and state employees for the purposes of scientific study and conservation.  


===Conservation===
Zacapican also has two zones of alienation, which are not counted as nature preserves but are also highly restricted areas. These are the zones of {{wp|Radioactive contamination|radiological contamination}} surrounding the sites of the [[Zacatlilco disaster|Zacatlilco]] and [[Xochitlalpan disaster|Xochitlalpan]] nuclear disasters where the danger of adverse health effects and the spread of radioactive contaminants remains high. The zones of alienation are imposed by the national government and enforced by the [[Zacapine Armed Forces|Zacapine military]]. Although their purpose is not conservation, they are monitored by scientists interested in the ecological developments of these depopulated zones as well as those monitoring the long term radiation levels and radionuclide pollution.  
[[File:Umatilla_National_Forest,_salvage_thinning_Badger_TS_(36044553064).jpg|300px|thumb|left|Forestry workers harvesting lumber in Umatlacan National Forest]]
The relationship of the peasants and city-dwellers with the land is the single most important political question in the Red Banner Tribunal, thus placing a high importance on the matter of conservation and the management of natural ecosystems. Matters of {{wp|forestry}} and resource management regarding wood, pelts, and other goods derived directly from the natural environment have been present in Zacapitec policy long before the Red Banner revolutions, since at least the Middle Empire period. Part of the reforms undertaken by the Red Banners upon taking power was the restoration of Middle Empire era institutions providing for the protection and sustainable exploitation of Zacapican's forests in order to ensure a stable supply of wood for fuel, building and manufacturing in the long term. Restrictions on {{wp|clearcutting}} as well as the imposition of a national policy for {{wp|reforestation}} and sustainable harvesting practices such as {{wp|thinning|thinning trees for lumber}} were reinstated in the early 18th century by the Red Banner government and remain in place to this day. Other clear {{wp|Ecosystem service|ecological services}} such as hunted meat, pelts and valuable furs as well as less immediate services such as pollination of crops and fruiting trees by bees have all led to similar protections of specific aspects of the ecosystem which a portion of the peasantry rely on to extract recourses for human benefit. Some of these conservation laws, such as those designed to maintaign a stable population of pelt-bearing animals for reliably lucrative hunts year after year, are regionally specific and are usually implemented at the calpolli level by the very communities which rely on that aspect of the ecosystem for their own sustenance or economic well-being. Others, such as those protecting pollinating insects affect large sections of agriculture or the preservation of important detritovores such as dung beatles or large carrion eating {{wp|Andean condor|vultures}}, forestry or other human activities and so are implemented on a national level by federal authorities of the Empire. In both cases, the conservation of the natural environment when it comes to an aspect of the environment that is exploitable for human gain is generally spearheaded and upheld by elements of the public directly affected by the status of those natural recourses who benefit from long term stability and conservation intended to foster continuous long term exploitation of those recourses.  


Unlike the conservation of directly beneficial ecological services which has a long history in Zacapican, the preservation of other aspects of the biosphere which are not directly beneficial to humans is less well established particularly where the steps required for natural preservation conflict with technological or infrastructural developments to benefit humans. In particular, attitudes of naturalists and vocal conservationists where highly opposed by public opinion during the period of Zacapitec industrialization in the latter half of the 19th century, during which industrial expansion of the major cities and across the country led to significant damage being inflicted on the surrounding biosphere and ecosystem. The revitalization of some damaged ecosystems deemed salvageable, particularly in and around urban regions, is now considered a priority and has gained in popularity in the 21st century Zacapitec public, along with the general cause of conservation and "good stewardship" over the lands and waters of Zacapican. This has generally led to a number of federal level policies which protect endangered species from being directly hunted or killed off, as well as addressing the problems of habitat destruction. Many nature reserves and national parks have been established by the government in the last 60 years years for the purposes of closing off vulnerable ecosystems and important habitats from any kind of development or anthropogenic disruption, while also creating new tourist attractions out of areas known for their natural beauty.  
Marine conservation is the purview of the [[Ilhuica Atl Cuatotonilia Cepan Tlacatlatocayomeyotl|United Republics Oceanographic Survey]], a major state organization under the Science Secretariat concerned with the study of the worlds oceans as well as the preservation of marine life. This organization clashes with the [[Cenyacanaliztli Cualantme Hueayotl|Maritime Affairs Authority]], an agency of the Agriculture Secretariat responsible for overseeing the fishing industry and monitoring the major Zacapine fisheries.  


==Government and Politics==
==Government and Politics==
[[File:Casa_Rosada-ART.JPG|300px|thumb|right|The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Tequitinitlan, built in a Belisarian architectural style. Diplomacy with foreign countries is considered one of the central roles of the nobility in the Red Banner government of Zacapican.]]
===Government===
The government of the Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan of Zacapican is a {{wp|parliamentary}} {{wp|constitutional monarchy}} in which the [[Monarchy of Zacapican|monarchs of the royal dynasties]] serve as {{wp|head of state|heads of state}}, representing the nation to the outside world through diplomacy and military leadership, while the democratically elected legislature and lower tiers of local government effectively governs the internal affairs of the country under the auspices of the [[Chief Secretary of Zacapican|Chief Secretary]] who is formally appointed by the monarch to serve as {{wp|head of government}}. Cihuahuetlatoani [[Nochcalima II]] is the reigning Empress of Zacapican since her coronation in 2008, having served as Tlatoani of [[Tecolotlan]] for 23 years prior. The current Chief Secretary is [[Chicacua Xiomara]], who served briefly under Nochcalima's predecessor as Secretary of Intelligence before returning to his parliamentary career and being elected Chief Secretary for Nochcalima's government for the term beginning in 2015 and has been re-elected in 2020. Under the 1781 constitution of the Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan, the Chief Secretary is vested with the powers and responsibilities of leading the cabinet and appointing ministers with the approval of the monarch. As such, he is largely responsible for holding executive authority on the federal level and effectively undertakes the day to day administration of the nation in the monarch's stead. Nevertheless, the monarch retains a significant amount of power both as ''de jure'' powers which are delegates to elected or appointed officials such as the Chief Secretary and as powers which are still practiced by the monarch, such as command of the military and legislative veto power. The degree to which royal power is exercised varies from monarch to monarch as the monarch wielding authority falls into a number of constitutional grey areas and typically depends on their own personal influence and power base within the government and among the general public. Although young for her station and considered inexperienced, Cihuahuetlatoani Nochcalima II is a popular and well supported figure with many allies in the legislature, making her a relatively powerful monarch and one of the more politically active such figures in recent history.  
{{main|Government of Zacapican}}
[[File:Kavanagh Building (6476172975).jpg|175px|thumb|left|The ''Huei Tecpanchan'' tower in Quitzapatzaro serves as the seat of the national administration]]
The United Zacapine Republics are a {{wp|federation}} of {{wp|democracy|democratic}} {{wp|republicanism|republics}} with a {{wp|presidential system|presidential}} central government in which the legislative and executive powers are divorced from one another. The constitution of the state lays out four levels of administration, these being the federal level across the whole of the union of republics, the constituent level of the individual republics, the municipal level of the ''altepetl'' and finally the individual ''calpolli'' ward within the municipal district. The upper three echelons of the state are required by the constitution to hold a republican, democratic tri-partite government consisting of a legislature, an executive administration and an independent judiciary. The governing system of the wards is not mandated by the constitution and varies across the union according to local principles and traditions of self-government in each region. Each level of the state is held under the authority of the entity it is a part of, such that the federal courts, legislature and executive are able to override those of the republics, which in turn may override the altepetl municipal entities within their borders. The only locality which diverges from this tiered system laid out in the constitution is the capital, which functions as a fusion of a municipal and constituent authority. The federal district of Quitzapatzaro functions primarily as a municipal level authority but is granted some privileges normally reserved for full fledged constituent republics, such as representation in the federal legislature, but does not hold the full suite of powers a normal republic would benefit from, such as the power to form a paramilitary republican guard or to independently manage economic planning. Instead, the federal district relies on the federal level authorities to manage its economic planning, security needs and other functions normally carried out by the constituent republican governments.  


Legislative authority is vested in the {{wp|bicameral}} {{wp|parliament}} known as the ''Tlacacallique'' (lit. "Houses of the People") or as the Popular Assembly, consisting of an upper house in the [[House of Clouds|House of Clouds (Mixcalli)]] and a lower house in the [[House of Earth|House of Earth (Tlallcalli)]]. A total of 3 Cloud Deputies are assigned to each Atlepetl, totaling 111 deputies in the House of Clouds. The selection process of Cloud Deputies varies from state to state depending on local laws, usually involving an election of a pool of candidates from which the state's Tlatoani selects 3 to send to the capital as representatives of that state's interests. Conversely, Earth Deputies are elected by a nationwide general election according to centrally organized voting districts and a {{wp|ranked choice voting|ranked choice}} voting system, all of which is administered by an independent federal agency known as the [[Bureau of Elections]]. These deputies are elected directly by the voting public and the number of deputies assigned to each district is dependent on population statistics of a given voting district. It is not required the national voting districts align with state borders, however the Bureau of Elections has maintained this policy of its own volition for purposes of avoiding confusion and conflicting interests, such that a group of Earth Deputies will always directly correspond to a specific group of Cloud Deputies. Per the census which informed the round of elections that same year, 619 Earth Deputies were assigned to all voting districts across Zacapican. Proceedings in each House of the Popular Assembly are led by their respective speaker, who is elected by their corresponding House to hold a ceremonial Tlatoani title. The ''Tlatoani Mixcalli'' ("Speaker of the House of Clouds") and the ''Tlatoani Tlallcalli'' ("Speaker of the House of Earth") are the only official Tlatoani titles which are elected democratic offices.
The Necentlatiloyan, the federal legislative body, is unicameral as are the republican and municipal legislatures. A representative or ''ixiptlatl'' is elected from within a electoral district within a republic, usually consisting of one large or a number of small municipalities, to serve a single five year term which once completed will bar that ixiplatl from running for the federal legislature in that or any other electoral district. It is common for lower government officials, members of lower legislatures or ambitious members of the public to view a potential term in the Necentlatiloyan as transitional move through which to gain more widespread political notoriety with which to secure a long term position in the federal or republican administration. Occasionally deputies fail to accomplish anything of note or tarnish their reputations while serving their single term at the national level, causing them to either retire from politics or return to lower echelons of political activity with less stringent term limitations. The legislature deliberates on the passage and content of bills, voting on legislation and holding a check on executive power by providing a vehicle for the impeachment and removal of the executive, although this requires a supermajority of the Necentlatiloyan.  


===Administrative Subdivisions===
The Tepachoani is the single federal executive of the United Republics, being elected through a nationwide vote using a {{wp|First-past-the-post voting|first past the post}} system in which the candidate with a {{wp|Plurality (voting)|plurality}} of the vote wins the election. The term of office for the Tepachoani is two years. Unlike the Necentlatiloyan, there are no term limits of any kind imposed on the executive elections, allowing incumbents to be re-elected for an indeterminate number of consecutive or non-consecutive terms provided they are able to maintain a plurality come the day of the election. The Tepachoani appoints the members of the cabinet and the leaders of various federal agencies, only some of which must be approved by a special hearing of the Necentlatiloyan such as the secretaries of justice and of defense. The main power of the Tepachoani stems from their power over the Secretariats and their daily function, which encompasses the whole of the Zacapine state administration as it supersedes and encompasses the activities of the lower echelons of the state. The Tepachoani also holds veto power over bills which pass the lesgislature's voting process.
Zacapican is a {{wp|Federation|federal state}} made up of [[Atlepetls of Zacapican|37 Atlepetls]] operating as the principal political subdivisions within the federal structure of the country, each possessing a state level authority based in the focal (capital) city of that state. The atlepetls are grouped into five overarching [[Regions of Zacapican|regions]], which are based on geographic and climate factors and have no administrative or political purpose as they are used largely for the purposes of statistics and other organizational factors on the federal level.  


===Armed Forces===
===Politics===
{{main|Zacapitec Armed Forces|Zacapitec Ground Force|Zacapitec Air Force|Zacapitec Navy|Military Intelligence Group (Zacapican)|Red Banner Guards}}
National and local politics in Zacapican are dominated by three major parties, the ''Tiachcaume'' ("Elder Brothers"), the ''Tlayacanques'' ("Progressors"), and the ''Macehualques'' ("Popular Ones"). The Tiachcaume and the Tlayacanques correspond to the conservative and progressive factions of the Xolotecate era Centiliztli party, the party encompassing all factions of the Zacapine Revolution which ruled the nation under a one party system until the death of Xolotecatl Acuixoc in 1938. These two parties splintered and formed competing groups after the fall of the Xolotecate, the Tiechcaume forming a [[Cozauism|Cozauist]]-{{wp|conservatism|conservative}} bloc with a base of support among the clergy and the rural population while the Tlayacanques formed a {{wp|secularism|secular}} {{wp|progressivism|progressive}} party supported by the urban intelligentsia and a number of business and development interests that had emerged during the Xolotecate modernization and industrialization program. The Macehualques had no legacy in the Xolotecate or the defunct Centiliztli party, emerging spontaneously from unrest in the rapidly growing urban centers of the country which crystalized into a movement of the {{wp|Proletariat|industrial workers}}. Macehualque politicians are often accused of {{wp|Demagogue|demagoguery}} due to the overwhelming {{wp|populism|populist}}, {{wp|anti-establishment}} and anti-elitist philosophy and rhetoric.  
[[File:Tanque_TAM.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Tlalliyaoquizque armored vehicles undertaking training exercises in the Zacaco region]]
The Zacapitec Armed Forces ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Yaoquizquemeh Zacapiyotl'', lit. "Zacapitec State Armies"), know by its Nahuatl acronym ''YQZY'' or informally by the corrupted term "the Ikzi", are made of the Ground Army ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Tlalliyaoquizque'' or ''TYQ''), Air Army ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Ihuicayaoquizque'' or ''IYQ'') and the Zacapitec Navy ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Acalchimaltica Yaoquizque'' or ''AYQ'') and the Military Intelligence Group ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Yaotlapixque Olochtli '' or ''YPO''). The YQZY and its four branches recognize the [[Monarchy of Zacapican|Huetlatoani or Cihuahuetlatoani]] of Zacapican as their {{wp|Commander in chief}} and operate under the Secretariat of Defense. These forces are considered to be the professional military body of Zacapican, acting as a standing army in peacetime. YQZY personnel live and work in special military calpolli communities on the grounds of military installations and barracks complexes, and are formally forbidden to practice any other profession for the duration of their service in order to restrict them to training activities and military functions. However, in practice YQZY personnel and recourses are often used by the federal government for civilian functions such as engineering projects, public works and disaster response. In peacetime and under most wartime conditions, the YQZY consist almost entirely of active duty or active reserve personnel.  


The Red Banner Guards ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Quitlapiallimeh Panchichiltic'' or ''QPC'') are a paramilitary force organized around calpolli militias and operate with a command structure entirely separate from the YQZY. The QPC command structure and organization are directly descended from the rebel army of peasants, the eponymous Red Banners, which demobilized at the end of the [[Red Banner Revolution]]. The two House Speakers of the Tlacacallique function as the co-commanders in chief of the QPC, while the organization and daily operation of the force is left to the calpolli governing bodies. The QPC function as the main reserve force of the Zacapitec military and double as a {{wp|gendarmerie}} in peacetime to serve as law enforcement and security forces for their respective calpolli. Guardsmen of the QPC do not loose their QPC status if they join the YQZY forces, allowing the QPC to be mobilized and lend their manpower to the YQZY during wartime and then returning to their separate QPC status upon the cessation of hostilities to resume their normal duties to the calpollis. Because of this system, the QPC are often considered a part of the Zacapitec military despite their function as a distinct organization with a separate chain of command and leadership.
In the recent history of Zacapican, the the Xolotecate was followed by the Occanquizqui or bi-partite era of the Tiachcaume and Tlayacanques alone holding power from 1938 through 1949, the first major electoral victory of the Macehualques as their movement began to mature. This would usher in a period of tension in which the Tiachcaume and Tlayacanques began to collaborate against the powerful political threat of the Macehualques sweeping the national and state elections, a period known as the Excanquizqui or tri-partite era. In 1966, the tripartite era would come to an end with the defeat of a Tiachcaume-Tlayacanque coalition by the Macehualque party which for the first time secured a majority across the Necentlatiloyan and controlled the office of the Tepachoani. This electoral sweep would usher in a time known as the Macehualtlatollo, the Rule of the Masses, in which the Macehualques would maintaign uninterrupted control of the executive and legislative branches, governing unopposed for 25 years. The defeat of the Macehualques in 1991 and the end of the Macehualtlatollo returned the political situation to a state resembling the Excanquizqui in which all three parties would freely compete against one another, a state of affairs preserved into the present day.  


Due to the nature of the first past the post voting system using in the elections for Tepachoani, the broadly popular Macehualques almost always win a plurality and secure the seat of the Tepachoani. In the decades since the end of the Macehualtlatollo era, there have only been four non-Macehualque Tepachoanis for a total of eight years of any administration other than a Macehualque one. However, the more stringent parallel voting used to assign the seats of the Necentlatoloyan has frequently denied the Macehualques the ability to secure a majority themselves since the end of the Macehualtlatollo. In the case of a Macehualque Tepachoani, the Necentlatiloyan may either be controlled by a supporting coalition of the Macehualques and one other party which will collaborate with the Tepachoani to advance a legislative agenda agreed upon by both parties, or else an opposing coalition will form of the Tiachcaumes and Tlayacanques forming a united front to stall and restrict the Tepachoani and the Macahualques in the legislature as much as possible.
===Foreign Relations===
The foreign relations of the United Zacapine Republics are generally non-ideological, following a tradition of {{wp|Realpolitik|''realpolitik''}} rooted in {{wp|Realism (international relations)|realist}} and {{wp|Pragmatism|pragmatic}} principles. Zacapican instead pursues bilateral partnerships on the basis of economic, technological and academic cooperation that affords a mutual beneficence to both parties. As an independent {{wp|Great power|great power}}, it is not aligned with the principal power bloc of [[Ajax#Oxidentale|Oxidentale]] consisting of the [[Sante Reze|Rezese]], [[Kayahallpa|Kayan]] and [[Mutul|Mutulese]] powers, nor is it generally affiliated with the [[Latium|Latin sphere]] or the opposing [[Kiso pact|Kiso sphere]]. Instead, Zacapican has resumed the policy of its predecessor states and pursued the development of an expansive cooperation pact of its own known as the [[Transoceanic Co-Prosperity Sphere|Transoceanic Co-Prosperity Sphere (TOCPS)]] with the developing nations of southern [[Ajax#Scipia|Scipia]] and [[Ajax#Malaio|Malaio]]. Outside these immediate regions of interest, Zacapican maintaigns a partnership with [[Wazheganon]] and an interest in the Periclean basin, particularly eastern [[Ajax#Belisaria|Belisaria]].
===Military===
{{main|Zacapine Armed Forces}}
[[File:Collins class submarine with the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in May 2019.jpg|220px|thumb|right|{{wp|Carrier-based aircraft|Carrier aviation}} forms the basis of Zacapine military strength and power projection]]
The Zacapine military consists of the [[Zacapine Army]], the [[Zacapine Air Force]], and the [[Zacapine Navy]]. In many respects the Zacapine Navy, or "the Armada" as it is known, functions as an independent military force unto itself through the integration of ground combat units, amphibious assault forces and its own naval aviation wing in addition to its maritime combat units. This force represents the power projection capabilities of the Zacapine military, built on the framework of a {{wp|blue-water navy}} the core of which is a pair of {{wp|Nuclear marine propulsion|nuclear-powered}} {{wp|Fleet carrier|fleet carriers}} and their associated fleets of supporting ships. This powerful navy enables the United Zacapine Republics to intervene militarily across the world, with the Armada centralizing all of these capabilities within its own command structure. By comparison, the Army and Air Force are largely restricted to operations within the Zacapine homeland and are organized according to a defensive doctrine. The Army consists of a small peacetime skeleton force and a large body of reservists with a wartime mobilization-based structure designed to cut costs during peacetime yet still raise a significant force to resist any direct invasion or security threat to Zacapican should such an occasion arise. The Army reserves are mainly members of the Republican Guard forces of the constituent republics of Zacapican, who preform law enforcement and civil disaster response duties in their respective areas while not under military mobilization. The Zacapine Air Force operates an inventory made up mainly of bombers and strike craft as well as aerial interceptors intended to support any ground operation by the Zacapine Army, with the more high risk operations requiring the most advanced equipment largely being taken up by the Naval Aviation units of the Navy. The result is a Zacapine military force with a homeland defense force consisting of the Army and Navy, and a largely separate global military force consisting of the Navy and its accumulation of capabilities through its various combat arms subdivisions.
==Economy==
==Economy==
===Agriculture===
===Agriculture===
[[File:Autódromo_Eusebio_Marcilla.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Agricultural staples such as cereal grains are produced in large volumes on the fertile Zacaco plain]]
[[File:Campos_de_Maíz.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Industrial cultivation of maize in eastern Zacaco]]
The economic and political significance of agriculture in Zacapican is of central importance despite the increasing role of modern industrial activities, thanks in no small part to the central role of agricultural communities in the political system since the Red Banner uprisings.  An estimated 9 million Zacapitecs, roughly 15% of the population, are farmers or belong to a farming household according to the 2019 census. All land in Zacapican is publically owned and held by the state, which subsequently divides lands designated for farming into individual parcels which form {{wp|Ejido|agricultural calpolli}}. Under the Zacapitec [[Calpolli system]], {{wp|usufruct}} rights for portions of the publically held land are granted to individuals and households to use exclusively or in common. While most often these small family operated farms are held exclusively by that household, the land is owned by the federal state and administered by committee under the local calpolli. A plot of farmland which falls into disuse for a certain period or is voluntarily given up by the rights holder returns as state property to be reissued again to peasants applying for their own rights to use the land. Under the Red Banner constitution, it is illegal for any tax or free to be charged to registered land users for their farmland, however profits from agricultural activities may be taxed by the calpolli, the Atlepetl and the federal government. Because only monetary profits from sale may be taxed, portions of an agricultural calpolli's land may be used to produce food for the farmers' own subsistence for free not accounting for any labor costs. Land use rights once granted do not expire and cannot be revoked so long as the land remains in agricultural use except by criminal penalty for misuse of the land or a separate conviction rendering the rights holder unable or unfit to exercise their use rights. Land rights can be inherited, particularly within the same farming household typically living on the granted lands allowing for inherited multi-generational farms without the need for private land ownership. Direct contribution of agriculture to the GDP has fallen to less than 15% since the waves of industrialization in the 1960s and the rapid expansion of other areas of the national economy and today contributes roughly the equivalent of [[Latin solidus|$247 billion]]. However, agricultural products both raw and processed make up a significant portion of national exports. These exports have arguably served as the catalyst for the growth and modernization of the Zacapitec economy. Agriculture which considered to include {{wp|pastoral farming}} as well as fishing is overseen nationally by the Secretariat of Agriculture, which also oversees the National Agrarian Registry responsible for issuing usufruct rights to farmers.
{{wp|Maize}} and {{wp|potato}} agriculture is the basis of Zacapine agriculture, with the country being internally divided between highland areas in the interior which depend on the potato as their staple and the coastal plains and foothills regions as well as the Zacaco Valley where extensive maize agriculture can be found. Crops found alongside these staples include {{wp|beans}}, {{wp|tomato|tomatoes}}, {{wp|Chili pepper|chilies}}, {{wp|cassava}} and {{wp|Cucurbita|squash}}. All of these crops are indigenous to Oxidentale and were either domesticated in or introduced to Zacapican over the course of thousands of years of history and migration, and remain the principle staples of the Zacapine diet and the myriad local cuisines found across the country. Much of the agricultural activities aimed at food production are based on the system of the {{wp|Calpulli|traditional communal farm}}, which over time evolved into ownership and labor model today known as [[Calpollism]]. Under this system, the land is held in common and {{wp|usufruct}} rights are granted to members of the local community to cultivate sectors of this common land. This traditional ''calpulli'' is found primarily in the rural regions of the country, while the industrial Calpollist model is employed to modern mass agriculture in the country's more intensively cultivated arable land such as the central Zacaco Valley. In the most intensely cultivated lands these is high production of maize as well as {{wp|sunflowers}}, {{wp|soybeans}}, {{wp|flax}} and {{wp|sorghum}} which are used to produce edible oils and for the production of biofuels on an industrial scale. Livestock such as chickens, pigs, cattle and sheep are also raised in the hills of northern and central Zacapican using the industrially produced oilseed plants as well as available pasture for animal feed. A minor component of the agricultural sector is the production of wood and paper products through logging, which was originally based on the dense forests in the [[Xochicuahuico Republic]] and [[Tlaximallico Republic|Tlaximallico Republics]] but has since largely transitioned to {{wp|tree plantations}} operated on land already cleared of natural woodlands. Intensive cultivation of monocultures of specially selected species, generally of coniferous tree varieties, allows these plantations to produce a large quantity of timber for wood and paper products in a short amount of time and is considered more sustainable as well as more economically sound than the continued harvesting of the now limited regions of natural old growth forests.  
 
Agriculture in Zacapican is primarily based on {{wp|Cereal crop|cereals}} but includes a variety of other crops to maximize yields across Zacapican's many climate regions and soil types. In particular, {{wp|maize}}, {{wp|wheat}} and {{wp|barley}} form the common crops and are used to produce most of the staple foods of the Zacapitec diet. {{wp|Sunflower seeds}}, {{wp|soybeans}}, {{wp|sugar cane}} and {{wp|grapes}} are also cultivated both for food and as the base elements of processed goods such as {{wp|Sunflower oil|sunflower}} and {{wp|Soybean oil|soybean oil}}, {{wp|refined sugar}} and {{wp|wine}}. Orchards of {{wp|lemon}}, {{wp|orange (fruit)|orange}} and {{wp|apple}} trees are also common particularly in the Zacaco region. Zacapican is the world's largest producer of {{wp|Yerba mate|Ca'a tea}}, which is a culturally significant beverage in the country but has also become popular in foreign markets. A significant portion of the agricultural sector in Zacapican is devoted to livestock, especially in less fertile {{wp|steppe}} ecosystems such as those found in the Aztlacapallco region which are poorly suited for crop cultivation. {{wp|Cattle}} are the primary livestock in Zacapican and are raised primarily for {{wp|beef}}, desired as a dietary staple across much of the country as well as an important export since the advent of {{wp|refrigeration}}. {{wp|Poultry}} such as {{wp|chicken}} and {{wp|turkey}} are also raised, typically alongside crop fields as part of the average farmstead, for both {{wp|Egg as food|eggs}} and {{wp|Poultry#Poultry_as_food|meat}}. Historically, the pastoral regions of Zacapican also hosted large herds of {{wp|sheep}} which produced wool for export. This aspect of pastoral agriculture has largely faded, as sheep are now far less common in Zacapican and are raised primarily for {{wp|mutton}}.  


Fishing, which is considered a part of the agricultural sectors, is a major industry in Zacapican and contributes to nearly one third of all food production within the United Republics. Much of this fishing takes place in the [[Matlayahualoyan|Teeming Sea]] fishery off the eastern coast of the country, although Zacapine fishing vessels have ventured further and further afield across the Makrian and Ooreqapi oceans in response to declining fish stocks of the Teeming Sea and the corresponding government restrictions. {{wp|Sardinops|Sardines}} and {{wp|Anchovy|anchovies}} are fished, while {{wp|Illex argentinus|shortfin squid}} and {{wp|Merlucciidae|hake}} are approaching status as overfished. The Teeming Sea {{wp|Trachurus|Saurel}} is overfished. {{wp|Southern bluefin tuna|Southern bluefin}} and {{wp|Yellowfin tuna}} are highly sought after by those fishing vessels that venture into the open oceans beyond the coastal fisheries of Zacapican. The average Zacapine consumes around 25 kilograms of fish every year, making it one of the largest per capita consumers in the world. Increasingly, even the well-developed Zacapine fishing industry is not able to meet mounting demand and fish as well as other seafood such as crustaceans must be imported from other countries or fishing contracted out to foreign fishing firms. The fishing industry makes up three quarters of the economic contribution of the agricultural sector and is far more lucrative relative to the size of its labor force than the cultivation and tending activities taking place on the mainland.
===Manufacturing===
===Manufacturing===
[[File:Vacuum_Column.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Chemical plant in [[Amegatlan]], western Zacapican]]  
[[File:Blast Furnace - Alto-Forno.jpg|220p|thumb|right|A blast furnace and steel production facility outside [[Angatahuaca]], [[Aztaco Republic]]]]
{{wp|Heavy industry}} and industrial manufacturing has been the cornerstone of the Zacapitec economy since a wave of modernization and industrialization swept the country in the 1960s. The manufacturing sector is the product of a massive and ongoing investment by the state and the national treasury, which has been focused not on any particular finished product or process, but rather on the general capability to establish industries in new and varied sectors as they emerge or become relevant. This has led to a focus on industrial production of machinery and other industrial equipment, defined by influential Zacapitec economist [[Calcui Xipil]] as "machines to build machines", alongside the industries for the processing and mass production of {{wp|steel}} and other key materials required for many kinds of manufacturing and construction such as {{wp|glass}}, {{wp|plastic}}, {{wp|concrete}} and {{wp|cement}}. As a result of this industrial policy, Zacapican lacks many world renowned producers of finished goods but is well a well established exporter of components used in almost all industries, securing Zacapican a spot in the global {{wp|supply chain}}. {{wp|Aircraft industry|Aerospace}}, {{wp|Automotive industry|automotive}}, {{wp|Electronics industry|elecronics}} and {{wp|Pulp and paper industry|paper}} industries are represented in the Zacapitec economy, but are either local subsidiaries of {{wp|Multinational corporation|international companies}} or are domestic firms which largely confined to markets within Zacapican as they rely on {{wp|protective tariffs}} to operate.  
Production of manufactured goods makes up the bulk of the Zacapine economy by GDP and percentage of the national workforce employed in these {{wp|secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector}}. Development of industrial manufacturing in the United Republics began in the early 20th century with the expansion of steel production and subsequent diversification of machine producing factories and mechanical works through the 1910s and 1920s. The mainstay of the manufacturing sector remains the production of mechanical components, metal products and machines used in other industrial sectors and factories. Much of the industrial equipment used in Zacapican is itself manufactured in the United Republics, while such products are also widely exported to the industrial economies of the wider world. Simple assembly has for the most part been replaced across country by more complex manufacturing, particularly of engines, vehicles, aircraft and ships. In particular, Zacapican is one of the world leaders in the manufacturing of oceangoing vessels by large shipyard facilities employing tens of thousands of calpolli workers. Many Zacapine shipyards employ a streamline production line taking advantage of the {{wp|economies of scale}}, producing ships in prefabricated sections to be transported to a building dock to be assembled into a completed ship. This technique allows industrial shipbuilders such as the [[AAAA|4A Yards]] faster and at lower cost than the international competition. The United Republics produce {{wp|Container ship|container}}, {{wp|bulk carrier}}, {{wp|Tanker (ship)|tanker}} and {{wp|roll-on/roll-off|ro-ro}} ships that are sold to shipping companies across the world. There are 17 major port cities in Zacapican, all of which are home to a shipbuilding industry of some descrtibtion, be it a large scale manufacturer exporting finished vessels to the global markets or smaller scale shipyards which primarily service the large domestic shipping and fishing industries. With most of Zacapican's largest cities invested in the shipbuilding industry to one extent or another, the industry represents one of the central economic interests of Zacapican.  


Under the Calpolli systems, factories, workhouses and other manufacturing facilities operate in a similar system to that of the agricultural calpolli, with some minor differences. All industrial facilities remain publically owned, but cannot be individually granted for use to each worker or worker's household due to {{wp|economies of scale}} and their effect on the workplace, putting the facility under the control of the calpolli community the workers belong to which holds and exercises their use rights on their behalf. Because the industrial calpolli is no longer based on the management of individual use rights for fixed assets which can be revoked or granted to others freely, manufacturing assets as well as other enterprises of a non-agricultural nature are effectively the property of the local calpolli or in some cases the atlepetl above the calpolli which uses it. In this way, the Calpolli system when applied beyond the agricultural context creates communities specialized in a particular industry or more often a particular element of an industry, in which all or most of the working adults of that community participate in that specialized economic role by way of the publically owned factory or work facility which forms the economic centerpiece of the community. These calpolli units often serve as individual links in a supply chain, with multiple adjacent calpolli entities each operating facilities which compliment each other or add complexity and value to a product in a linear sequence from one calpolli to the next. The industrial aspects of these communities, such matters concerning the output, technical processes or quality of a manufactured product, or broader economic concerns affecting the factories held by industrial calpolli are governed by the Secretariat of Trade and Industry. Human aspects of the manufacturing process, such as workplace safety, working conditions and requirements or duties regarding the workers are governed by the Secretariat of Labor. These two government bodies, along with the Secretariat of Transportation, are known as the "Industrial Trifecta" and are responsible for administering the bulk of the Zacapitec economy.  
The rest of the Zacapine manufacturing sector is itself focused primarily on products related to industry in some way, such as tools, industrial machinery, and components needed for other finished products. While, shipbuilding and the production of finished vehicles and aircraft for export forms some of the major pillars of the industrial economy, most of the products produced in the United Republics are intermediate components or machinery to be exported and used by foreign industrial firms. The most notable example of this is the auto industry. Zacapican has no domestic automobile manufacturer, yet the country is home to many factories producing automotive components for foreign auto manufacturers. Another large section of the manufacturing industries in Zacapican is metallurgical, producing the necessary steel and other metal alloys to be used in the manufacturing process, while specific strategic resources such as lithium, coltan and nickel are imported from other countries to facilitate industrial processes. A small but lucrative subsector of manufacturing in Zacapican is high tech manufacturing, in particular the {{wp|semiconductor industry}} consolidated under the [[Centlaxotlaltica|Centlaxotlaltica corporation]] chip foundries. While the costs of entry into high tech manufacturing are too high for many industrial calpolli to be able to afford, the high profitability of the semiconductor and other high technology industries is expected to draw larger calpolli conglomerates into these sectors in the near future.


===Energy===
===Energy===
[[File:Obra_de_la_Central_Nuclear_Atucha_II.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Ahuizotzi Power Plant, Zacapican's first nuclear power station]]
{{Pie chart
The energy infrastructure of Zacapican has undergone several transformative processes since the electrification of the country at the turn of the 20th century. Initially, the nascent national power grid was supplied entirely by {{wp|coal power plants}}, although in a short amount of time minor rivers were being dammed for {{wp|hydroelectric power}}. This status quo remained in place until the massive industrialization of the country in the 1960s, shortly after which federal authorities began experimenting with alternative sources of power in response to the generally negative view of the public towards coal power which was somewhat exacerbated by the proliferation of factories and other heavy industrial centers. Hydroelectric power was expanded first, with new dams built and many old ones undergoing retrofits or in some cases being completely rebuilt. In the following decades of the late 20th century, domestically manufactured {{wp|wind turbines}} were being installed in {{wp|wind farms}} across the country. Early solar power initiatives consisted of {{wp|Concentrated solar power|thermal solar plants}}, which have been largely discontinued in favor of solar plants based on {{wp|Photovoltaic system|photovoltaic cells}} as the technology has become cheaper and contrasts favorably with the costlier and technically complex thermal solar plants. The most recent addition to the Zacapitec energy sector is {{wp|nuclear power}} which has been introduced recently and is not yet widespread in the country. Only two nuclear power stations exist in Zacapican, the first being the large Ahuizotzi power plant completed in 2014 which serves the considerable energy demands of the [[Tecolotlan]] metropolitan area, while Yatlaxapan power plant intended to serve the [[Tequitinitlan]] area is still under construction. Electric power is considered a public service nationwide guaranteed by the government and provided by the Secretariat of Energy and its subsidiary organizations. Power plants and other electric infrastructure are operated by the federal government and provided directly to the individual users bypassing the atlepetl and calpolli tiers of government. A controversial electricity tax is levied at the federal level, and contributes directly to the national treasury. This tax charges a flat rate to each household connected to the national grid rather than charging per kilowatt hour, although tax exemptions have been implemented to provide relief under certain conditions to the moderately high tax rate charged for electricity. These exemptions were put in place in response to criticism of the tax which claimed that it would disproportionally affect poorer households which typically use less electricity in their daily lives, while officials have stated in defense of the tax that when adjusted for {{wp|purchasing power}} and {{wp|inflation}}, the monetary cost of the tax for a Zacapitec would still be less than the electricity bills paid to private companies for the same amount of power usage in foreign countries, arguing that even with the tax being levied power is still cheaper in Zacapican than in most other developed countries.  
|other = yes
|value1 = 81
|label1 = {{wp|Nuclear power|Nuclear}}
|value2 = 15
|label2 = {{wp|Hydroelectricity|Hydroelectric}}
|value3 = 2
|label3 = {{wp|Solar power|Solar}}
}}
Electric power generated in the United Republics is a valuable local export in southern Oxidentale, where it is sold across the northern border to Kayahallpa and in particular Yadokawona. Electricity generation in Zacapican is centralized under [[Cenikpitikayotl|Cenikpitikayotl corporation]], an {{wp|S.A. (corporation)|anonymous limited company}} under majority ownership by the government of Zacapican. Cenikpitikayotl does not have a total monopoly in the energy sector in Zacapican but remains the largest energy corporation by far in part thanks to government subsidies for its operations. Electricity arrived in Zacapican relatively late, first appearing in the 1890s and still not reaching many rural regions of the mountainous interior until the mid 1930s. When it finally began to expand, the electrification of the country was accomplished using many coal burning power stations clustered around the major industrial centers on the coasts. The detrimental effects of burning coal were relatively well understood early on during the Zacapine industrialization process, although few viable alternatives existed in this era. Hydroelectric dams were built in many areas to reduce the need for coal power stations to provide power to the country's growing industrial cities. Public pressure to reduce air pollution by eliminating coal power built up during the 1940s and 50s, culminating in the "nuclear decade" of the 1960s. Nuclear was favored as a stable, year-round source of energy which could increase or reduce production based on market conditions rather than being reliant on environmental conditions like other renewables, and so was considered to be a true alternative to coal as a means of powering Zacapican's heavily industrialized economy. The first nuclear reactor, the now famous Angatahuaca-Chapulco Power Station, began operation in 1961 and would soon be joined by dozens more supplying the enormous energy demands of the large coastal urban centers of the United Republics as part of a nationwide nuclearization initiative directed at the level of the federal government. Today, there are a total of 61 nuclear reactors in Zacapican providing four fifths of all electricity in the country. Hydroelectricity takes up the position of distant second in terms of power generation in Zacapican and is especially common in the north and interior regions where it is based on small hydroelectric dams in the high-altitude valleys which supply power to otherwise isolated regions. Many of these dams were built prior to the nuclearization and so were built as an alternative to coal power stations rather than nuclear reactors. Additionally, the northern highland dams provide important reservoirs used to provide water for human consumption, irrigation and industrial purposes in the arid regions of the country.  


===Infrastructure===
Electricity from the grid is widely used to power transportation systems such as metros, trams and both passenger and freight trains which have undergone sweeping conversion from diesel to electric over efficiency concerns. A majority of the Zacapine freight rail network has been electrified over the last few decades, enabling most of the rail system to operate on the supply of low cost electric power provided by the nation's array of nuclear power stations. Zacapican is an outlier of Oxidentale in that its private motor vehicles, namely cars and trucks, continue to operate gasoline and diesel engines as opposed to the electric vehicles commonplace elsewhere on the continent. This is primarily due to the high cost of lithium which makes the powerful batteries of electric vehicles prohibitively expensive for the Zacapine market. Vehicle owners in Zacapican continue to show preference to gas and diesel-powered personal vehicles due to their low cost and longevity compared to expensive electric vehicles which often have a shorter shelf life. Because of this, the scheme of energy used for transport is a mixture of electric powered freight, passenger rail and urban public transportation, contrasted with urban and rural personal transportation which relies more on hydrocarbon fuels. Due in part to this latter demand, some domestic companies have emerged to supply biodiesel produced from sorghum, corn and miscellaneous plant matter produced by the agricultural sector. Biodiesel has in the past served as an attractive and domestically made alternative to foreign petroleum fuels, particularly when market disruptions cause international oil prices to fluctuate. The biofuels sector also serves to meet demand for heating, which has remained largely based on gas or gas-alternative biofuel rather than the more expensive electric heating alternative.
[[File:StatenIsland-13_(36416067785).jpg|300px|thumb|left|Calaxima Narrows Bridge, [[Tecolotlan]]]]
In Zacapican, there are 179 airports with paved runways including 22 international airports, out of over 1000 airports and local airfields across the country. Air travel is the primary means to transportation to and from many Zacapitec territories such as the outlying islands of the Aztlacapallco region, the islands of the Michnamanalco archipelago and many particularly isolated locations in the inaccessible mountains and highlands across Aztlacapallco, Xallipan and the Mixtepemec. [[Itzcoatl International Airport]] serving the Tequitinitlan metropolitan area is the largest and busiest of Zacapican's airports since its opening in 1941. Tequitinitlan serves as the central hub for a network of roadways consisting of 71,361 km (44,342 miles) of paved roads out of roughly 255,000 km (158,450 miles) of total roadways. A large number of expressways were established in the mid 20th century connecting many of the major Atlepetl capital cities, the national capital and several sub Atlepetl grade urban centers especially across the Zacaco region and along the coastal strip of western Mixtepemec. The inadequacy of these expressways and modern road systems has been noted, specifically citing poorly maintained roads, which may have contributed to the increasing demand for rail transportation particularly between major urban centers.  


The Zacapitec public transportation system is organized around the [[National Transportation Service]] ({{wp|Nahuatl}}: ''Cecnitlacayoh Tlacazazacalo Atlepetequipanoliztli'') known by the nahuatl acronym ''CTA'' which serves as the standardized national transportation system governing most forms of rail transit as well as some bus services particularly those in the major cities. CTA was formed in the year 1960 through the unification of over 200 individual {{wp|light rail}}, {{wp|commuter rail}}, {{wp|heavy rail}}, {{wp|inter-city rail}}, {{wp|Tram-train|tram}} and {{wp|bus}} networks which existed within and between numerous Atlepetl level transit authorities. While many mid-sized cities had in the previous decades developed extensive public transportation systems of their own to keep up with a growing population and more interconnected economy, the federal government found that such systems in very large cities such as Tecolotlan and Tequitinitlan were underdeveloped, and moreover that connectivity between city-state level territories was in a poor state. Under the CTA, all levels of a city's transportation scheme are integrated with one another and linked into regional and national transportation networks, allowing for seamless transition from local light rail and bus systems to city-wide and regional heavy rail as well as the national {{wp|high-speed rail}} network. CTA fares vary depending on the number and type of connecting services involved in any one journey and are usually specific to the atlepetl, but are typically flat fares for subway, light rail and bus systems within a city or town, switching to a distance based fare for regional, inter-regional and national systems such as the high speed rail network. With maintenance and extensive network expansions as well as heavily subsidized fares, the NAT has operated at a net loss since its inception and requires a yearly subsidy from the national treasury to balance its internal budget. Public transportation and specifically the massive expansion and integration of transit systems under the CTA is correlated with the so called Second Wave of the 1970s, an period of explosive economic growth in the cities of Zacapican which occurred several years after the initial economic boom of the industrialization years of the 1960s had slowed down, particularly leading to great stimulation and growth of the economy in previously isolated suburban areas which became connected to metropolitan transit networks. The CTA operates as a subordinate organization to the Secretariat of Transportation and is considered a part of the federal government.  
===Transportation===
[[File:Russian_TV_tower_(Penza).JPG|thumb|right|150px|TV Tower in the southern Aztlacapallco region]]  
{{main|Transportation in Zacapican}}
Communication law in Zacapican generally follows the trend of nationally operated and regulated public services. Internet services operates under a public option system, in which residents or visitors in Zacapican have the option of using the Zacapitec state {{wp|Internet service provider|ISP}}, the [[National Public Telecommunicatins Service]] also known as ''Cecnitlacayoh Nuhhuian Macho Huehcacaquiztli Atlepetequipanoliztli'' or ''CNMHA'' or their choice of alternatives including community owned local providers or even domestic subsidiaries of foreign providers. CNMHA operates as the state owned {{wp|telecommunications}} company and is also the sole provider of {{wp|Landline|fixedline}} and {{wp|Mobile phone|mobile}} telephone service in Zacapican, in addition to providing much of the communications infrastructure used in {{wp|Digital television|digital}} and {{wp|Analog television|analog}} TV broadcasting. As such, major Zacapitec TV networks such as the news network [[Tzatzihua]] broadcast using CNMHA's telecoms infrastructure. A majority, however not a totality, of Zacapican's communications infrastructure is owned and operated by CNMHA, which itself operates under the auspices of the Secretariat of Communication. CNMHA has been accused of carrying out {{wp|Internet censorship|censorship of the internet}} on behalf of the Zacapitec government, however accusations of censorship do not extend to CNMHA's other services which are considered to critics to be more openly run and lacking apparent censorship. Spokespeople of CNMHA and the government have independently asserted the state owned company's adherence to the principle of {{wp|net neutrality}}, claiming that the ISP does not block or restrict access to content of any kind except in collaboration with the government when shutting down access to sites that are in clear violation of criminal law. Similar to its transportation counterpart in the CTA, CNMHA has rarely seen a year of net profit and generally looses money due to its low prices on the user end and high costs of relatively high end infrastructure. Both CTA and CNMHA as state owned companies are considered to be maintaining public infrastructure at a loss using tax revenue to make up the difference, with the understanding that the vital services these companies provide in the name of the state foster economic growth and prosperity that, if quantified, would be greater than the subsidy paid by the national treasury to each of these companies in a given year.  
[[File:2014-05-07 16 27 05 View of the New Jersey Turnpike mainline from an airplane heading for Newark Liberty International Airport.JPG|220px|thumb|left|National Route 30 traversing Amegatlan Seaport and the Amegatlan-Angatahuaca international airport]]
The transportation scheme found across the United Republics is heavily influenced by the Calpollist development model that has shaped the expansion of its urban and industrial centers. Zacapine urbanism is highly industrial in its nature, with most cities having a nucleus of industrial plants and factories that form the economic basis of the surrounding calpolli communities. Widespread and rapid urbanization in the 20th century saw the emergency of {{wp|rapid transit}}, {{wp|light rail}} and electric {{wp|Motor omnibus|omnibus}} transit networks all across the largest Zacapine cities as new districts were built up in a matter of months around the ever expanding manufacturing industries and millions of people began to move into the major cities from across rural Zacapican and the rest of the world. In general, the sustained outward expansion of the typical Zacapine city relies on new Calpolli being added to the periphery which is typically accompanied by the extension of roads and rail transit lines to move inputs and end products to and from those new calpolli factories, as well as transit lines to move the workers to and from the rest of the city. The largest cities in Zacapican rely heavily on the rapid transit train network due to its great efficiency in moving vast volumes of passengers which makes it optimal for closely packed, dense urban cores. Less dense and less developed cities in Zacapican rely more on busses traveling on the surface streets, which are typically electic busses powered by overhead lines.
 
Overall, the road network across the United Republics has an extent of 377,195 km (234,378 mi) of which 216,822 km (134,726 mi) are paved. Roughly 7% of the total length of roadways in the country consists of multi lane expressways and major arteries for the automotive transportation system which plays a significant role to the overall transit system of the country. Both the roads and railways are nationalized in Zacapican. Most expressways operate on a system of tolls which help to finance their upkeep, while the railways permit the passage of trains owned by private companies on their rail network for a fee for the same purpose. In general, the state ownership model for these means of transportation is regarded as most efficient. Because of the mountainous terrain of the Zacapine interior, the development of these vital overland transport networks has been somewhat impaired. For much of the modern history of Zacapican, the road and rail networks were in disjointed fragments isolated to the flat and densely populated zones and did not form a cohesive network until the 21st century when expensive cross-mountain bridges and tunnels could be built to unify the system.
[[File:Veresk_bridge%2C_Tehran_-_Sari_Railway.jpg|220px|thumb|right|Ximahk bridge along the Tzopilopan-Quitzapatzaro railway]]  
The most extensive network of railways and roadways are the coastal avenues which travel along the relatively flat and densely populated eastern and western coasts. Of the 21 national expressways in Zacapican, 15 are found in the north and west coast regions, with the remainder primarily traversing east to west to connect the two traveling through mountain routes over central and southern Zacapican and the rugged Fishtail peninsula. These expressways are the main means of regional and interregional passenger transportation. The railways are primarily used for freight purposes and serve as the main arteries of non-passenger industrial tranportation, with effectively all Zacapine goods traveling at some point in their production or distribution through the freight cars of the national rail corporation [[Tepozcoatl]]. Two high speed rail lines exist in Zacapican disconnected from one another, these being the east and west coast lines which interlink the major metropolitan centers on each coast and are able to remain financially viable due to the high traffic between these destinations. However, due to much lower density of demand in the interior as well as terrain making it difficult to lay rail for high-speed trains, high speed rail has not yet been able to establish itself between the coasts of the country in the interior regions which remain the domain of conventional passenger rail and the motorway system.  
 
Sea links have historically been the lifeblood of the Zacapine state and its precursors, due to the difficulty of the interior which made overland travel generally unforgiving. In the modern day, both sea and air links are grouped in the same non-terrestrial transport category in the United Republics and remain in regular use for travel along the densely populated coasts and between these regions. Air travel in Zacapican is closely regulated by the government but is entirely controlled by private firms making up many dozens of national and regional airlines. There are nearly 1,400 airports in Zacapican and every city above 400,000 inhabitants have a dedicated and modern airport for its service, with domestic air travel making up another large category of passenger travel in Zacapican. However, the eight largest airports in the country corresponding to the five largest cities handle around 90% of all air traffic in the country. By comparison there are 79 seaports in Zacapican, 49 along the west coast and 30 along the eastern coast. Roll on-roll off cargo shipping is commonly used for short range maritime transportation of goods, while major ferry terminals exist in every port city in Zacapican to connect to other ports as well as many smaller terminals along the waterfronts of the same city. Smaller coastal cities and towns are connected by these same maritime passenger and freight transit connections to each other and the major hubs, and in some port cities a portion of commuting workers enter the city from nearby towns or outer wards of the city itself by way of ferry transport rather than rail or road transportation.
 
===Communications===
The majority of Zacapine {{wp|Telecommunications|telecommunication infrastructure}} is owned by the state corporation [[CNMHA|Cecnitlacayoh Nuhhuian Macho Huehcacaquiztli Atlepetequipanoliztli (CNMHA)]], a public utility corporation which enjoyed a total monopoly status between 1925 and 1961 when the sector was liberalized and deregulated to allow private competitors for the first time to establish their own telecoms and broadcasting networks. CNMHA in the modern day has retained its near total monopoly on communications infrastructure in the country, however, and operates using a business model of renting its established equipment out to private networks for a fee which covers the equipment maintenance costs. Zacapican has a state owned {{wp|internet service provider}}, [[Nahuanet]], which provides free internet access across the country and operates as a subsidiary of CNMHA. While many private competitors also offer commercial internet services which are generally faster and of a higher quality, the Nahuanet internet service which is publicly available to all residents in the country is considered an indispensable public asset despite its annual losses subsidized by the state treasury. CNMHA telephone, telegraph, facsimile and television infrastructure services however are not free to use and the fees the corporation is able to charge to media networks and private companies to use its equipment enables it to generate revenue and effectively cover many of its own expenses without state subsidization while keeping the fees and costs down for the average citizen for basic services as the costs are absorbed by neither CNMHA nor the individual user but rather the private firms paying for the privilege of service on the public system. This model has remained in place for decades thanks in large part to the extensive network of public infrastructure owned by CNMHA the construction of which was paid for by the state, making it more affordable for most private firms to pay the fee to use this network rather than finance and establish their own parallel private networks for their own use. Nevertheless, limited broadcasting stations, especially for radio and television, have been established in large cities like Angatahuaca and Quitzapatzaro where the high density of customers can make the investment into private infrastructure financially sound in the long term.


==Demographics==
==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
Zacapican is considered a medium to large nation relative to the world standard, playing host to a variety of unique ethnic groups and populations. There are 70,103,619 people living in Zacapican according to the 2022 census carried out by the [[Tlecopatl Tlapouhtme Cepan Tlacatlatocayomeyotl|United Republics Office of Statistics]] within the Secretariat of Internal Affairs. 63.6% of the recorded population, roughly 44,585,901 people, is between the ages of 15 and 64 while 24.2% (approximately 16,965,076 people) are under 14 while only 12.2% or 8,552,641 people were recorded as being over 64 years of age. In general, the population has a mostly balanced sex ration averaging 0.98 males to females across all ages, with a surplus of males under 15 at a ratio of 1.05 males to females in that cohort, compared to a ratio of 0.72 males to females 65 and over. The average life expectancy is 77.14 years at birth. Less than 30% of Zacapitecs identify as Nahua ethnically, while 88.9% speak Nahuatl as a first language compared to 97.9% of the population which are proficient in Nahuatl. 99.6% of those aged over 15 can read and write in at least one language. Over the past 40 years, Zacapican has maintained a relatively stable rate of population growth averaging at a 2.1% increase every 5 years. The nation experienced its most precipitous growth in the past hundred years between 1914 and 1947, a period of Zacapitec history marked by industrialization and urbanization, following which the growth rate stabilized towards its current norm.  
|type =
|footnote =
|1919 | 33124894
|1924 | 33974251
|1929 | 35025002
|1934 | 36084261
|1939 | 36820675
|1944 | 38354870
|1949 | 39541104
|1954 | 41188651
|1959 | 43817714
|1964 | 46172513
|1969 | 48348182
|1974 | 50362690
|1979 | 51760216
|1984 | 53361048
|1989 | 54729281
|1994 | 55960411
|1999 | 56986162
|2004 | 57853972
|2009 | 58438356
|2014 | 59630976
|2019 | 60785909
}}
Zacapican is considered a medium to large nation relative to the world standard, playing host to a variety of unique ethnic groups and populations. There are 60,785,909 people living in Zacapican according to the 2019 census carried out by the [[Statistics and Data Collection Agency]] within the Secretariat of Internal Affairs. 63.6% of the recorded population, roughly 38,659,838 people, is between the ages of 15 and 64 while 24.2% (aproximately 14,710,189 people) are under 14 while only 12.2% or 7,415,880 people were recorded as being over 64 years of age. In general, the population has a mostly balanced sex ration averaging 0.98 males to females across all ages, with a surplus of males under 15 at a ration of 1.05 males to females in that cohort, compared to a ratio of 0.72 males to females 65 and over. The average life expectancy is 77.14 years at birth. More than 80% of Zacapitecs identify as Nahua ethnically, while 88.9% speak Nahuatl as a first language compared to 97.9% of the population which are proficient in Nahuatl. 99.6% of those aged over 15 can read and write in at least one language. Over the past 40 years, Zacapican has maintained a relatively stable rate of population growth averaging at a 2.1% increase every 5 years. The nation experienced its most precipitous growth in the past hundred years between 1954 and 1964, a period of Zacapitec history marked by industrialization and urbanization, following which the growth rate stabilized towards its current norm.  
===Ethnicity and Language===
===Ethnicity and Language===
{{Bar box
{{Bar box
|float = left
|float = left
|title = Ethnic Composition of Zacapican
|title = Ethnic Composition of the United Zacapine Republics
|titlebar = #ddd
|titlebar = #ddd
|bars =
|bars =
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Central Nahuatl languages|Central Nahua}}|red|49.08}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Nahuas|Nahua}}|red|27.5}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Huasteca Nahuatl|Northern Nahua}}|Orange|16.19}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Purépecha}}|Orange|9.9}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Eastern Peripheral Nahuatl|Eastern Nahua}}|yellow|8.85}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Tswana people|Tzhuana}}|yellow|6.1}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Selk'nam people|Selk'nam}}|blue|8.51}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Pame people|Xi'oi}}|Brown|5.7}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Western Peripheral Nahuatl|Western Nahua}}|Brown|5.98}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Maya peoples|Chaan}}|purple|5.2}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Mapuche people|Mapuche}}|cyan|5.10}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Otomi}}|purple|4.9}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Yaghan people|Yaghan}}|purple|2.1}}
{{Bar_percent|{{wp|Caxcan}}|red|4.8}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Guaraní people|Guarani}}|purple|1.9}}
{{Bar_percent|{{wp|Yaghan people|Iakan}}|green|4.6}}
{{Bar_percent|{{wp|Quechua peoples|Quechua}}|red|1.1}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Zacateco}}|blue|3.9}}
{{Bar_percent|{{wp|Maya peoples|Mutulese}}|green|0.8}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Cochimí}}|cyan|3.4}}
|caption = Values represent self identification  
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Quechua people|Kayan}}|cyan|3.3}}
{{Bar percent|[[Ludvosiya#Demographics|Ludics]]|Orange|3.2}}
{{Bar percent|[[Biele]]|blue|3.1}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Selk'nam people|Ona}}|yellow|2.9}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Mapuche people|Mapuche}}|blue|2.4}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Guaycura people|Guaycura}}|Brown|2.2}}
{{Bar percent|[[Ethnicities in Drevstran#Lushyods|Lushyods]]|red|2.1}}
{{Bar percent|[[Jin]]|blue|2.0}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Maori people|Onekawan}}|cyan|1.4}}
{{Bar percent|{{wp|Mixtec|Nuu Savi}}|blue|1.1}}
{{Bar percent|Other|red|0.3}}
|caption = Values represent self-identification  
}}
}}
Zacapican is not officially an ethnically oriented state despite its strong nahuatl affiliation and history, as the Red Banner constitution defines a “Zacapitec” person as "any person born within the territories and possesions of the Panchichiltic Tlatoloyan, or any person having naturalized into the Panchichiltic Tlatoloyan by legal and social processes". Consequently, the term Zacapitec does not officially carry any ethnic connotation as a person so described could be of any number of ethnic inclinations which may or may not be nahua in character. The stance of the Zacapitec government is that nationality and ethnicity should not be equated in the contect of Zacapican, and that therefore the many peoples native to Zacapican as well as those who have migrated into the country should be considered by others and should consider themselves as members of the Zacapitec nation without conflicting with any ethnic identity they may hold. However, Zacapican is a heavily Nahua-inclined nation with an almost unbroken history of rule by Nahua groups as well as the historical and allegedly ongoing Nahuanization (assimilation into the Nahua ethnicity) of non-Nahuas.


Cultural assimilation is a controversial topic in Zacapican, which is claimed to have been resolved in the 1980s with a number of protections particularly preserving regional languages and enabling their public use to prevent their disuse and extinction. Statistics of self-reported ethnic identity show the proportion of Nahua groups growing relative to the whole. Disputed claims suggest this trend could be the result of higher population growth rates in majority Nahua areas, or ongoing processes of assimilation on non-Nahuas into the Nahua identity despite national intervention to halt this. Roughly 20% of the Zacapitec population self reported affiliation with a non-Nahua ethnic identity in 2019, including at least two groups considered to be non-native immigrant communities. However the majority of the non-Nahua population of Zacapican represent native cultures which have existed in the region for centuries or millennia and have become entrenched within their local communities to resist assimilation.  
The United Zacapine Republics is an ethnically diverse nation inhabited by more than two dozen recognized groups, eighteen of which exceed one million members. The ethnicities present in Zacapican can be divided into the categories of ''Huecachane'' or those who immigrated into the country within the last 200 years, and those who have inhabited the country for more than 200 years. The latter group can be further subdivided into ''Huitztecame'' or peoples originating in southern or central Zacapican, and the ''Mictecame'' or peoples originating in northern Zacapican, broader Oxidentale or Norumbia. The Mictecame cultures are the most prevalent in the recorded history and modern-day society of Zacapican, with such influential peoples as the historically significant Purépecha and the widespread and culturally dominant Nahuas being Mictecame of northern origins. Together, all Mictecame groups make up a simple majority of the Zacapine population, while the Huecachane narrowly surpass the Huitztecame in the modern day. However, no single ethnic group approaches a majority of the population, with the most numerous being the ethnic Nahuas making up slightly more than one quarter of the population. There is a strong distinction between ethnicity and nationality in Zacapican. Ethnic classifications describe the heritage of any given person, even those who may be mostly nahuanized and may no longer speak the language or keep the cultural practices of their ancestors. Zacapine nationality, on the other hand, describes a persons sense of belonging within the Zacapine national identity which is based on {{wp|Civic nationalism|civic}} rather than {{wp|ethnic nationalism}}. Nationality corresponds to a legal status as a citizen or a Zacapine national, whereas ethnicity confers no legal status one way or another.  


{{wp|Nahuatl}} is the official language of Zacapican and is taught across all communities uniformly, irrespective of any secondary recognized language. Many regional dialects and variations of nahuatl are present in politics, within the workplace and in everyday social life and are nominally mutually intelligible with one another and the national standard verion. The [[Nahuatl League]] is an independent academic body endorsed by the federal government which serves as the pre-eminent authority on the Nahuatl language in both spoken and written aspects. ''Nahuatl Zacapiyotl'', also called ''Zacapiyotl'' or "standard nahautl", is the state sanctioned dialect of the nahuatl language which is used in all official government documentation, is taught as a standard part of the curriculum in schools, and is utilized by most national and local publications. The council of the Nahuatl League advises the government as well as dictionary publishers on changes and updates to the standard nahuatl lexicon to be accounted for and acknowledged as an accepted common use of the national language.  
====Mictecame====
The Nahua groups in Zacapican are not only the most numerous but also the most geographically widespread ethnic group across the country. The Proto-Nahua peoples originate in what is now the Xallipan Republic in northern Zacapican, migrating into the more hospitable central and southern territories some time in the 1st millennium BCE. Being a widely dispersed and numerous group the Nahuas are divided into many regional variations and subgroups which are grouped together into {{wp|Western Peripheral Nahuatl|western Nahuas}} inhabiting coastal Cuauhtlaco and Zacaco Republic, {{wp|Central Nahuatl languages|central Nahuas}} inhabiting the Zacaco Valley and the Mixtepemec mountains, and {{wp|Eastern Peripheral Nahuatl|eastern Nahuas}} primarily inhabiting Xochicuahuico, Aztaco and eastern Tlaximallico Republics. Nahuatl became the {{wp|lingua franca}} of the entire region following the Nahua migration as nearly every tribe and kingdom across all of what is now Zacapican had some contact with the Nahua diaspora, making the Nahuatl tongue a convenient and nearly universal bridge language for commerce and diplomacy between any two groups.  
 
Of the non-Nahua Mictecame, the Purépecha are the most notable and well documented historically. They originate in Norumbia in what is now [[Belfras]] where they were documented by the [[Kayamuca Empire|Kayamuca]] as a technologically advanced seafaring people. Very little remains of the Purépecha migration by sea in modern day [[Mutul]] or [[Kayahallpa]] as the only documented post migration Purépecha colonies can be found in western Zacapican and are first recorded in the late 1st millenium CE. The Purépecha remained a significant presence in the Zacapine west coast, establishing a number of sea-faring city states and even establishing outposts around the south and east of the Fishtail peninsula including the settlement of [[Angatahuaca]]. Other Mictecame originating in interior Oxidentale are the Zacatecatl, Otomi, the Pame and Caxcan peoples, all of whom migrated southwards into the Zacapine region in the centuries between the Nahua and Purépecha migrations.
 
====Huitztecame====
The least numerous and most sporadically dispersed of the three categories of Zacapine ethnies are the Huitztecame. In the modern day, these groups are primarily found within ethnic enclave regions in the Mixtepemec mountains in the Ayomazaco, Xochicuahuico and Zacaco Republics, as well as the other isolated and rugged regions such as the interior of the Aztaco and Anamictlan peninsulas. The most accepted definition of a Huitztecatl tribe or ethnicities are those which were already inhabiting the region during the time of the Nahua migration, as many groups of the region can only be attested through archeological means and are only documented in contemporary history by the first recorded accounts in {{wp|Aztec script|Classical script}}. Many of the ancient Huitztecame lacked any indigenous writing system, making their histories prior to the arrival of the Nahuas difficult to verify. The Cochimí as well as the smaller Guaycura originally inhabited the fertile Zacaco valley but were largely displaced by the Nahuas and other Mictecame tribes in ancient times and now inhabit the highlands of the eastern Zacaco Republic and western Xochicuahuico and Ayomazatl Republics in concentrated ethnic enclaves.  
 
The Mapuche, who inhabit the Cuauhtlaco Republic, have achieved periods of independence from the dominant Zacapine polity miltiple times in history with the most recent being a short lived breakway state during the Zacapine Revolution. Significant numbers of the Mapuche people reside on the Kayahallpan side of the border, further exaserbating the general suspicion and hostility between the Zacapine government and the leaders of the Mapuche. Consequently, the Mapuche enclaves in Cuauhtlaco are among the most economically depressed regions in all of Zacapican and have become a hotbed of Mapuche seperatist sentiment which has contributed to further deterioration in the living conditions of Zacapine Mapuche. The opposite is true of the Ona and Iakan people, native to the southern Fishtail peninsula in what is now the Anamictlan Republic. These peoples of the far south have enjoyed preferential treatment by the Nahua-Purépecha Zacapine polity for most of modern and medieval history and have partially assimilated into the dominant cultural institutions of Zacapican.
 
====Huecachane====
The majority of the Huecachane migrated to Zacapican in the decades following the [[Zacapine Revolution]], during the modernization and industrialization phase of the [[Xolotecate]] which rapidly raised the standard of living for many Zacapines and introduced many new industries to the country which demanded more laborers than could be made available from the native workforce. This was particularly pronounced during the decade of the 1910s as the steel industry boomed in Zacapican, prompting many steel producing companies to begin appealing for workers in foreign countries with full approval of Tepachoani Xolotecatl who would implement a citizenship path for those migrating to Zacapican to work. The earliest contingents of such migrant laborers were the Biele, a persecuted group originating in [[Drevstran]] which had already begun to flee the country into neighboring states in Belisaria. Due to the economic hardship experienced in the country and the ongoing [[Drevstranese Civil War]] other Drevstranese demographics, the Lushyods in particular, were drawn to the option of emigration to Zacapican by the same efforts of the Zacapine industries to draw on Biele migrants. The success of these early efforts to attract migrants triggered a ripple effect and popularized the growing United Zacapine Republics as a destination for those living in poor conditions and seeking a better life. This reputation alone proved a major factor in drawing other ethnicities including the Chaan, Ben Zaa and Nuu Savi originating in the Mutul or the Onekawans and Tzhuana originating in Malaio to relocate to the growing Zacapine industrial centers and establishing themselves in the growing immigrant enclaves being established in the major Zacapine cities such as Angatahuca and Quitzapatzaro. The Kayan and Aymara contingents of the Huecachane are the most recent major migration wave to come to Zacapican and the only major wave to arrive after the Xolotecate era, primarily coming to Zacapican in flight of the political instability and persecution experienced in Kayahallpa throughout the mid 20th century.
 
Most of the Huecachane have resided in Zacapican for at least two generations and have generally assimilated into Zacapine society and some aspects of the local cultures. The most prominent of these forms of assimilation is linguistic. Taken as a group, Huecachane have a higher rate of proficiency and greater literacy and fluency rates in Nahuatl than any other non-Nahua contingent be they Mictecame or Huitztecame. Moreover, the majority of every Huecachane ethnicities have seen declining rates of proficiency in their ancestral languages as the successive new generations more often speak Nahuatl as their first language than their own ethnic mother tongue. This effect is more pronounced with the earlier Huecachane immigrants such as the modern descendants of the Drevstranese and Mutulese immigrants whose families have now inhabited Zacapican for 100 years. The native cuisine and religion of Huecachane groups has proved far more resistant to assimilation than the language, as the latter becomes easily ingrained by the public school system in Zacapican which may teach a Mictecame or Huitztecame language in addition to the required Nahuatl, but rarely offer any lessons in Huecachane languages. Nahuatl proficiency is frequently reinforced in successive generations born in Zacapican who are educated in the Zacapine school system and whose proficiency is reinforced by a lifetime of participation in the Nahuatl speaking social institutions and business world.


Under the No True Foreigner Act (''Huecachane Iztlaca Itlatlalil'' Tl.Itl 339) put into place in 1984, regional languages and the languages of recognized immigrant enclaves are protected from state repression and discriminatory treatment. As a result of this law a variety of local and federal government offices are required to offer documents and forms in multiple languages and to provide interpreter services at courthouses, hospitals and certain schools. Officially, language recognition and protections are applied at the calpolli level, allowing small minority enclaves to enjoy language protections within their neighborhood. Informally, large regions where a minority language is prevalent may form atlepetl and inter-atlepetl level organizations to standardize the status and treatment of the local language. In these regions, the recognized local language may be taught in schools alongside nahuatl through the calpolli level control over schooling, as well as used in public signage and government announcements. Publications in any language are freely permitted anywhere in the country under the constitutional documents of Zacapican since the 1780s.
===Urbanization===
===Urbanization===
Zacapican is a urbanized nation with close to 50% of the nation's population living within the city limits of the country's twenty largest urban centers. However, it is not uniformly urbanized across all regions. Most Zacapitecs live on the Zacaco plains and on the coastal strip of the Mixtepemec. These areas boast the most concentrated and densely packed population centers, as the Mixtepemec coast plays host to almost no rural communities although such towns and villages may still be sound in some quantity across the Zacaco. Conversely, the Mixtepemec highlands as well as the Xallipan, Aztlacapallco and Michnamanalco regions play host to few significant urban centers and host a widely dispersed rural population. According to the 2019 census, 82% of the Zacapitec population live in urban zones, whether inside city limits or within urbanized satellite communities.  
Zacapican is an urbanized nation with roughly 47% of the nation's population living within the city limits of the country's twenty largest urban centers. However, it is not uniformly urbanized across all regions. Most Zacapitecs live on the plains of the Zacaco Valley and on the coastal regions of the eastern and western seaboards. The most populated regions relative to their land area are the Autonomous Federal District almost completely filled by the city of Quitzapatzaro and its suburbs, followed by the Zacaco Republic with its populated Zacaco valley, then the Aztaco peninsula with major coastal cities including Angatahuaca offsetting the sparsely populated mountainous interior of the peninsula. According to the 2019 census, 82% of the Zacapitec population live in urban zones, whether inside city limits or within urbanized satellite communities. Many of the cultures inhabiting the Zacapine territory have a historically urban culture, living and working in concentrated municipalities rather than dispersed across the countryside.  
{{Largest cities
{{Largest cities
| name        = Largest cities in Zacapican
| name        = Largest cities in the United Zacapine Republics
| country      = Zacapican
| country      = Zacapican
| stat_ref    = [[Statistics and Data Collection Agency]]
| stat_ref    = Office of Statistics  
| list_by_pop  =  
| list_by_pop  =  
| class        = nav
| class        = nav
| div_name    = Atlepetl
| div_name    = State
| div_link    =
| div_link    =


|city_1 = Tecolotlan
|city_1 = Angatahuaca
|div_1 = Tecolotlan
|div_1 = Aztaco Republic
|pop_1 = 9,209,944
|pop_1 = 8,054,830
|img_1 = Santiago_from_sky_costanera_2018.jpg
|img_1 =  


|city_2 = Tequitinitlan
|city_2 = Tequitinitlan
|div_2 = Tequitinitlan
|div_2 = Zacaco Republic
|pop_2 = 4,310,645
|pop_2 = 4,706,097
|img_2 = Skyline_de_Córdoba_2009-09-25_05.jpg
|img_2 =  


|city_3 = Acazacatlan
|city_3 = Quitzapatzaro
|div_3 = Acazacatlan
|div_3 = Autonomous Federal District
|pop_3 = 2,943,123
|pop_3 = 4,111,215
|img_3 = La_parte_más_moderna_de_la_Ciudad_de_Mendoza..jpg
|img_3 =  


|city_4 = Tzopilopan
|city_4 = Tecolotlan
|div_4 = Tzopilopan
|div_4 = Zacaco Republic
|pop_4 = 1,493,909
|pop_4 = 2,663,301
|img_4 = La_Reina_desde_Las_Condes,_Chile.jpg
|img_4 =  




|city_5 = Cuauhquecholan
|city_5 = Iztachihualoyan
|div_5 = Cuauhquecholan
|div_5 = Anamictlan Republic
|pop_5 = 1,157,220
|pop_5 = 2,505,132
|img_5 =  
|img_5 =  


|city_6 = Tzinacantlan
|city_6 = Xumacheri
|div_6 = Tzinacantlan
|div_6 = Cuauhtlaco Republic
|pop_6 = 1,170,003
|pop_6 = 1,800,880
|img_6 =  
|img_6 =  


|city_7 = Tlatlauhquitepec
|city_7 = Tzopilopan
|div_7 = Tlatlauhquitepec
|div_7 = Xallipan Republic
|pop_7 = 1,001,332
|pop_7 = 1,715,296
|img_7 =  
|img_7 =  


|city_8 = Cuahuacan
|city_8 = Xoti
|div_8 = Cuahuacan
|div_8 = Mixincayoco Republic
|pop_8 = 955,375
|pop_8 = 1,490,200
|img_8 =  
|img_8 =  


|city_9 = Xocotlan
|city_9 = Aquillican
|div_9 = Xocotlan
|div_9 = Xochicuahuico Republic
|pop_9 = 913,997
|pop_9 = 1,150,410
|img_9 =  
|img_9 =  


|city_10 = Onatlan
|city_10 = Nocheztlitlan
|div_10 = Onatlan
|div_10 = Aztaco Republic
|pop_10 = 911,000
|pop_10 = 794,477
|img_10 =  
|img_10 =  


|city_11 = Tequenitlan
|city_11 = Tenamicalli
|div_11 = Tequenitlan
|div_11 = Ayomazaco Republic
|pop_11 = 870,611
|pop_11 = 703,921
|img_11 =  
|img_11 =  


|city_12 = Zolatepec
|city_12 = Amegatlan
|div_12 = Xochimixtlan
|div_12 = Aztaco Republic
|pop_12 = 813,852
|pop_12 = 501,022
|img_12 =  
|img_12 =  


|city_13 = Huitzilopochco
|city_13 = Cuauhcectlan
|div_13 = Tecolotlan
|div_13 = Tlaximallico Republic
|pop_13 = 800,802
|pop_13 = 440,610
|img_13 =  
|img_13 =  


|city_14 = Xochimixtlan
|city_14 = Ezcuauhco
|div_14 = Xochimixtlan
|div_14 = Tlaximallico Republic
|pop_14 = 775,127
|pop_14 = 421,500
|img_14 =  
|img_14 =


|city_15 = Mazapan
|city_15 = Acalquixoayan
|div_15 = Mazapan
|div_15 = Zacaco Republic
|pop_15 = 691,111
|pop_15 = 419,106
|img_15 =  
|img_15 =  


|city_16 = Acalhuatlan
|city_16 = Temallacayo
|div_16 = Acalhuatlan
|div_16 = Xochicuahuico Republic
|pop_16 = 640,536
|pop_16 = 333,725
|img_16 =  
|img_16 =  


|city_17 = Coyoacan
|city_17 = Necuchiuhpan
|div_17 = Tequitinitlan
|div_17 = Zacaco Republic
|pop_17 = 612,002
|pop_17 = 279,040
|img_17 =  
|img_17 =  


|city_18 = Tlamatzinco
|city_18 = Cuauhuatzal
|div_18 = Tlamatzinco
|div_18 = Xallipan Republic
|pop_18 = 401,104
|pop_18 = 255,026
|img_18 =  
|img_18 =  


|city_19 = Xochicalco
|city_19 = Aichcuallco
|div_19 = Xochicalco
|div_19 = Cuauhtlaco Republic
|pop_19 = 300,011
|pop_19 = 224,980
|img_19 =  
|img_19 =  


|city_20 = Yopico
|city_20 = Teocehuiloc
|div_20 = Xochicalco
|div_20 = Anamictlan Republic
|pop_20 = 271,358
|pop_20 = 205,485
|img_20 =  
|img_20 =  
}}
}}


==Culture==
==Culture==
The culture of modern Zacapican is built on the foundations of ancient indigenous practices and the multitudes of external influences brought to the home country by decades of sustained immigration and centuries of intercontinental trade and exchange. The central pillar of Zacapine culture is the mélange of the native south Oxidental peoples who have intermingled with one another for millennia and integrated several ancient migrants such as the Nahuas and the Purépecha, some of the most prominent native peoples in the country. Ancient and medieval literary works, philosophy, religious tradition, cuisine and visual arts created through the centuries by these native cultures form the basis of the south Oxidental culture into which many external influences have been integrated over the years. The centuries of prosperity and interconnectivity under the rule of Aztapamatlan fostered intercontinental cultural exchange with some of the greatest civilizations from across the world, such as the [[Tahamaja Empire|Tahamaja]] of the Ozeros Sea, the [[Kayamuca Empire|Kayamuca]] of northern Oxidentale and Norumbia, and the [[Latium|Latins]] of Belisaria and northern Scipia, further enriching the culture of Aztapamatlan with their contributions and innovations.
After two decades of civil war, post-Revolutionary Zacapican began its meteoric industrialization and rise to global significance, which brought waves upon waves of immigration into the country on an unprecedented scale. During the first half of the 20th century, millions of immigrants from eastern Belisaria, southern Malaio, Ochran and northern Oxidentale arrived in the ports of Angatahuaca and Quitzapatzaro, living in close proximity to one another and to the further millions of indigenous Zacapine peoples migrating from their isolated homelands in the interior to the burgeoning industrial cities. This created the conditions for a multicultural explosion of new genres of art, music, style and cuisine as dozens of ethnic groups from all over the world introduced one another to their own traditions and philosophies in these thriving {{wp|melting pot}} cities. Through generations of cultural exchange and intermarriage, the cultures of Zacapican have blended together in the melting pot into a new distinctly Zacapine culture which is not fully homogenous but is no longer heterogenous either. Nahuatl has become the dominant language spoken by all Zacapine peoples and has largely displaced minority languages as the prime medium of communication even in their own communities. However, myriad local dialects have emerged replete with {{wp|Loanword|loanwords}} from various foreign and indigenous languages. Cuisine likewise has both diversified and homogenized simultaneously as many foreign cuisines have become popular across Zacapican while incorporating ingredients and presentations more familiar to the native Zacapine palette. This phenomenon can be seen across all aspects of modern Zacapine society, which is increasingly made up of {{wp|Multiracial people|mixed-heritage}} peoples.
===Architecture===
[[File:Monumento_a_la_revolución2017.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The ''{{wp|Art Deco|art deco}}'' style is common in Zacapican, especially in monuments, public buildings and prestige projects from the first half of the 20th century]]
Zacapican is the heir to a rich history of urbanism and monumental construction going back thousands of years which has fostered the developments of unique styles of architecture as well as many local variations of international styles. Sturdy stone complexes and pyramids dating back as far as the 7th century BCE have been found in the territory of modern Zacapican, many of which still stand to this day. The styles of these ancients were adopted by later arrivals to the region such as the diasporic Nahuas, whose integration into the culture of southern Oxidentale can be measured by their adoption of the local architectural methods and the creation of their own variations of the common styles of pyramid, pillar, wall and rooftop. The distinctive style of what is known today as classical Zacapine architecture was established by Aztapamatlan, which spread their unique style far and wide across their territory through their endless prestige projects and public works all across the landscape. However, as with many other aspects of Zacapine culture, architecture in Zacapican would undergo great upheaval after the Zacapine Revolution.
The Xolotecate era saw the introduction of the Belisarian neoclassical style in Zacapican, where it became influenced by indigenous architectural motifs of the Aztapaman classical style. This became notable across much of Zacapican in the 1910s and 1920s as much of the destruction brought by the Revolution and the subsequent civil war was being rebuilt in the new styles which included the imported neoclassical style which was propagated throughout the country by foreign-trained Zacapine building engineers such as [[Matiak Seti]]. However, by far the most prominent style of the Xolotecate era was the art deco style, which was adopted early by the regime for use in public buildings and infrastructure projects due to its sleek and modern appearance. Art deco became synonymous with new construction for decades. Thousands of apartment buildings, monuments, and public projects have been built over the years in this style. It would be replaced in some aspects by the brutalist style of the 1960s and 70s widely propagated by the building boom of that era. The most recent trend in Zacapine architecture is a deco-classical revivalist movement, incorporating aspects of sleek modernist architecture, classic art deco and the old classical Zacapine style.
===Art===
===Sports===
===Cuisine===
[[File:Asadito.jpg|220px|thumb|left|A Zacapine ''tlaxquitl'' with pork sausage, blood sausage and assorted cuts of beef]]
Zacapine cuisine is a reflection of the country's diversity of ethnic groups, terrains and climates which manifest a different combination of local tastes and available ingredients in every region and many unique variations on common dishes. The trends of cuisine are however broadly divided into two general spheres, that of maize and that of the potato. Maize is the dominant crop of the coasts and generally overlaps with the most fish consuming regions of the country, whereas the interior mountainous territories where potatoes are most common are where meat from livestock such as sheep or beef which were introduced in the mid 16th century are more common. Belisarian and Ochranian dishes which traditionally use wheat flour, especially pasta and noodles, are typically modified for the Zacapine palette by substituting corn flour in its stead. This is a defining feature of Zacapine Latin and Jin cuisines.
Prior to any strong exchange with the eastern continents, the staple meats of Zacapican were rabbit, llama or guanaco meat and fish. While rabbit remains popular in some regions, by and large the introduced livestock such as chicken, cattle and sheep have replaced the indigenous livestock in the Zacapine diet. Zacapican is one of the biggest fish consuming countries in the world, especially in its densely populated coastal regions where fresh fish is readily available and consumed in large quantities, while it is less common in the interior. Beef, pork, mutton and chicken however are popular both in the interior and on both coasts, and is the focus on the traditional {{wp|asado|''tlaxquitl''}} barbeque which is only occasionally done with fish. In almost all cases, meats are necessarily accompanied in flavorful sauces made with various combinations chilis, tomatoes, garlic, onions and herbs. Hundreds of different varieties of sauces exist in Zacapican and often serve to  characterize a specific local cuisine.
[[File:Chicha Morada 2017.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Brown {{wp|chicha}}, a popular beverage in northern Zacapican]]
The {{wp|Tortilla|''tlaxcalli''}} made of {{wp|Nixtamalization|nixtamalized}} corn flower is the universal staple and is the basis for the most common street food and popular dishes most often eaten by every day Zacapines. The simple tlaxcalli can be filled with spices, cheese, any type of meat or fish, and various vegetables or mushrooms and serves as a versatile genre of dish which is both exceedingly common among street vendors and is also widely prepared at home for breakfast, lunchtime or as a dinner for the family.
{{wp|Ceviche|Xihuichi}}, a dish of marinated raw fish and herbs. {{wp|Tamales}} are another versatile and popular dish based on nixtamalized maize flour that may have various fruit, vegetable, meat or fish filling and are widely popular and have been liberally modified to fit the diverse tastes of a wide number of Zacapine immigrant communities.
A wide variety of flavored, thickened, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are found in Zacapine cuisine. Among the most common is {{wp|Agua fresca|Cececatl}} flavored with fruits, flowers and seeds blended into the beverage to produce flavors such as {{wp|tamarind}}, {{wp|lemon}} and {{wp|horchata}}. An alchaholic variant of Cececatl is {{wp|Chicha}}, which uses {{wp|corn beer}} rather than simple water as the base substance of the beverage but follows similar flavoring patterns and is often sold in the same places as Cececatl. {{wp|Pulque|Octli}} is a favorite alcoholic drink made of {{wp|maguey}} sap, and is the base form and byproduct of the brewing of the sacred beverage ''Xiuhatl'' which is a stronger liquor made of the same substance. In colder months, warm beverages thickened with maize flour such as {{wp|Champurrado|chocolate atole}} are popular, and are sold widely in local cafes year round. More recent additions to the culture of beverages such as coffee have been adapted to the local tastes in the form of {{wp|Café de olla|Xoctlicape}}, coffee brewed in an earthen pot which gives the beverage a unique flavor.


Chocolate in Zacapican is not sweet but is instead usually unsweetened, typically bitter, and often flavored with spices such as many varieties of chili. The Zacapine traditional chocolate is closely related to [[Mutulese Chocolate|Mutulese ''Kakaw'']], having many aspects in common as both far predate the spread of chocolate to the rest of the world. Indeed most chocolate for the Zacapine market is imported from the Mutul. Sweet deserts are usually based on {{wp|Dulce de leche|''tzopetlapazcalli''}}, litteraly "sweet milk", prepared as its name suggests by heating a mixture of sugar and milk together. Tzopetlapazcalli is used as a sweet spread on {{wp|potato bread}} or tlaxcallis, but is also used to make candy and as a filling in many Zacapine pastries. Candied fruits and fruit flavors are also used as fillings and as sweet deserts.


[[Category:Zacapican]]
[[Category:Zacapican]]
[[Category:Monarchies]]
[[Category:Monarchies (Ajax)]]
[[Category:Constitutional monarchies]]
[[Category:Federal constitutional monarchies]]
[[Category:MT]]
[[Category:MT]]
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Countries (Ajax)]]
[[Category:Countries (Ajax)]]
[[Category:Federal states]]
[[Category:Federal states]]

Latest revision as of 15:03, 16 July 2024

United Zacapine Republics
Centic Tlacatlatocayome Zacapiyotl
Flag of Zacapican
Flag
State Emblem of Zacapican
State Emblem
Motto: Nochitlaca, Otitocetilique
"All peoples, united as one"
Anthem: Zacapicaltepetlacuicatl
"Zacapine National Anthem"
CapitalCechiuhnaucan
Largest cityAngatahuaca
National lingua francaNahuatl
Ethnic groups
See Ethnicity
Demonym(s)Zacapine
Zacapicatl
GovernmentFederal presidential republic
• Tepachoani
Zianya Xcaret
LegislatureNecentlatiloyan
Revolution
• Red Banner Rebellion
4 December 1899
• Overthrow of Angatahuaca
12 February 1904
• Declaration of the United Republics
13 June 1914
Area
• Total
1,414,464 km2 (546,128 sq mi)
• Water (%)
2.1
Population
• 2022 census
70,103,619
• Density
49.56/km2 (128.4/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)estimate
• Total
$2.105 trillion
• Per capita
$30,031
HDI (2019)Increase 0.888
very high
CurrencyAmatl
Driving sideright

Zacapican, formally the United Zacapine Republics (Nahuatl: Centic Tlacatlatocayome Zacapiyotl, CTZ), is is a country located in western Oxidentale bordered to the north by the Mutul, to the east by Sante Reze, and to the west by the Makrian ocean. It is a federation of nine constituent republics and one federal district governing a population of 70 million across a territory of 1.4 million square kilometers. The largest city in Zacapican is Angatahuaca, a coastal metropolis of 13 million inhabitants, while the national capital at Cechiuhnaucan is a modern planned city of 440,000 built on the slopes of the Mixtepemec mountains. Zacapican is a highly urbanized country, with more than three quarters of the population being urban and just under half of all Zacapines living in the ten largest urban centers. The Coyotl national identity of Zacapican is based on the mixed heritage of the present day Zacapine population, drawing from dozens of indigenous and immigrant cultures and ethnicities. Zacapican has no official language as is a nominally multilingual, but is linguistically unified by the use of Nahuatl as the general lingua franca of business, education and administration.

Modern Zacapican is defined by the historical Angatahuacan hegemony, a powerful oligarchic republic that dominated much of modern Zacapican and parts of southern Malaio between the 10th and 19th centuries. Angatahuaca emerged as a powerful city-state wielding considerable political and military influence over the Makrian coast of Oxidentale in the early medieval period, later expanding across the Makrian and Ooreqapi oceans as it became engaged in a colonial rivalry with the Mutulese Global Circuit lasting many centuries. Although Angatahuacan power on the global stage would eventually go into decline, it would leave an indelible mark on the cultures of the southern hemisphere. Angatahuaca lost what remained of its overseas territories on the eve of the 20th century after a series of bitter wars that deeply weakened the state, setting the stage for the Zacapine Revolution and the foundation of the United Republics.

The economy of the United Republics is one of the largest in the world. Zacapican industrialized on the basis of the calpolli, the common unit of indigenous social organization that evolved into a form of worker cooperative. Although variations of Calpollism can be found across the Nahuasphere, its Zacapine variant is notable for its high degree of centralization and state influence over the economy through the nationalization of capital. A strong steel industry underpinned the rapid industrialization of Zacapican over the course of the 20th century, laying the groundwork for the shipbuilding, aviation and the machine industries that are dominant forces in the modern Zacapine economy. Extensive state investment into civil engineering and technological development nurtured a domestic high technology sector, particularly in the fields of aerospace and nuclear engineering, which further advanced the position of Zacapine manufacturing in the global market. Zacapican has accomplished a high level of economic and social development at the cost of an increased dependence on imported raw materials and the international export markets, fostering an proactive foreign policy that has positioned Zacapican as one of the preeminent states of the multi-polar global system.

History

Antiquity

The first urban civilization to emerge south of the Xallipan desert was established in the central plateau region around 1000 BCE. Although agriculture had been practiced across much of Zacapican since the chalcolithic, the combination of rich volcanic soil and regular pattern of floods based on seasonal melting of the mountain snow reserves allowed the ancient peoples of central Zacapican, the ancestors of the modern Aymara, to establish a sophisticated agricultural economy at a large scale that would pave the way for the development of the oldest and largest urban centers of ancient Zacapican. For much of their history, the proto-Aymara civilization would be divided between a series of northern and southern dynasties, centered on the Machay river and Lake Yakuzonco respectively. The unification of the north and south occurred on two occasions, one in the 3rd century BCE and the other at the turn of the 1st millennium, giving rise to the superpowers of the ancient Zacapine world that fostered developments in art, architecture and the sciences as well as the growth of the inland cities through their concentration of wealth and political power in the imperial metropole.

The arid coastal zones, being much less amenable to large scale agriculture, were largely populated by semi-nomadic cultures as it had been since prehistory until the emergence of the Purépecha civilization along the coast of the southwest in the 2nd or 1st century BCE. The emergence of the Purépecha city-states was founded on the development of sailing ships capable of traversing the open waters of the Makrian ocean for long distances. The port-colonies established all along the southern Zacapine coastline thanks to the innovations of sail and maritime navigation supplemented the meager agricultural production watered by dew collectors and small ephemeral streams with an ample supply of fish caught in coastal waters as well as the fisheries further out in the western Makrian. Politically, the younger coastal civilization was far less unified than its inland counterpart, thanks to the much smaller populations of its cities and their wide distribution along thousands of kilometers of coastline. Instead of large centralized kingdoms and empires, the city-states of the coast formed confederations and rival alliances that competed fiercely against one another for control of limited resources and the trade of valuable goods.

Colli period

The Colli period was a time of significant political upheaval in the established order of Zacapine antiquity between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Due to climate change among other factors, numerous groups originating in what is now northern Zacapican migrated south and came into direct conflict with the ancient urban civilizations in their path. The Aymara states in particular suffered under the pressure of the migrations, directly contributing to the sudden collapse of the second and most powerful of the unified Aymara empires which set the stage for two centuries of internecine conflict as regional warlords and migratory nations fought to fill the vacuum of power. Much of the social and economic development of the previous centuries was undone by the period of constant warfare, while the technologies of weapons, armor, siegecraft and logistics saw many advancements in quick succession as the arms race between warring states accelerated. By the end of the Colli period, the Kichwa Hatunsuyu state had emerged as the clear victor in central Zacapican, conquering the traditional Aymara homeland around the Yakuzonco basin and establishing a stable political order around itself as the new hegemon. The Nahuas, originally a nomadic people of the Xallipan desert, displaced the Purépecha as the dominant culture of the Zacapine coast during this time, shifting the center of gravity of the coastal civilization northward from the traditional Purépecha homelands to what is now known as the Ayahuatenco or "Fog Coast". The city of Tula, also known as Tolan, established itself as the preeminent local power of this stretch of the coastline, establishing its own sphere of influence on the edges of Hatunsuyu's imperial order.

Acana war

The 8th century conflict known as the Acana war, or the "Landing of the Boats" in some sources, is the generally agreed-upon starting point for what would become the Angatahuacan hegemony.

Geography

Zacapican is a highly diverse region in terms of physical geography thanks to the major mountain ranges and geographic barriers which divide its landmass into distinct climatic and ecological regions with a wide range of conditions. The northern and southern extremes of the country consists primarily of high altitude deserts with wildly fluctuating extreme temperatures, contrasting heavily with the highly fertile and biodiverse Zacaco, Meco and Aztaco regions in the eastern and western reaches of the territory. The west coast of Zacapican abuts the Makrian ocean and is reached by oceanic currents traveling north from the polar sea, bringing cold weather and seasonal storms along with nutrient rich waters supporting the local fish stocks. In the east, the confluence of these same cold currents and the warm Rezese waters flowing south from the equator creates the Matlayahualoyan off the coasts of Anamictlan, Aztaco and Mixincayoco island, which is one of the richest fisheries in the world and historically served as a linchpin for the economy and food supply of these eastern and south Zacapine communities.

The geological activity of Zacapican is significant, with a prevalence of earthquakes and volcanic activity along the western edge of the country. An uplift which occurred relatively recently in the geologic timescale resulted in the formation of the Mixtepemec mountain range which runs through the entire country from north to south, dividing the eastern and western coasts into distinct sub-regions of the country. A large number of these mountains are also volcanic in nature. The tallest peak in Zacapican, Itzamixtiani, is a dormant stratovolcano with a summit reaching 7 kilometers above sea level. The volcanic ash which results from the activity of these mountains contributes to the biodiversity, specifically to the soil fertility, of the surrounding lowlands as meltwater and precipitation wash these rich sediments down the slopes of the Mixtepemec into the major Zacapine watersheds of the Zacaco valley in the west and Meco basin in the north and east, creating the "black soil" on which the high agricultural yields of these regions is founded.

Biodiversity

The Ahuatetz, a penguin species unique to southern Zacapican

The varied environments of the United Zacapine Republics house an abundance of life including many unique species found nowhere else. Zacapican is a megadiverse country with a large number and variation of distinct ecosystems and biomes ranging from sub-tropical forest, wetlands, temperate, dry and cold steppes, mountains, semi-arid and even polar climate regions. The eastern Ayomazaco and Xochicuahuico Republic boast a tremendous degree of diversity in fauna including the Capybara, Zacaco deer, Maned wolf and Ñandu. Central and western regions of the Cuauhtlaco and Zacaco Republic are home to the Spectacled bear, the Puma and the Guanaco while Xallipan Republic is known for its many species of scorpions and the Vicuña which often used as a mascot by Zacapine children's media. The Fishtail peninsula is better known for the species of the surrounding waters but is nevertheless recognized for such unique species as the Southern river otter and varied avian species such as the Aztlacapalltli woodpecker. The Zacaco Valley at the heart the Zacaco Republic is a flat grassland with little forest cover which is naturally sparse in native tree species. One of these few tree varieties native to the valley is the Ombu now common as an ornamental species across the United Republics in urban centers prized for its rapid growth and wide canopy providing ample shade. Norumbrian sycamore and a number of coniferous species have been introduced into the valley from other regions of Zacapican and from abroad in order to provide a local supply of wood, as the native Ombu has a soft, spongy trunk and does not produce true wood. The many mountain ranges, plateaus and hills found all across Zacapican are heavily forested by pines and other evergreens such as the native Araucaria tree with such regions as Tlaximallico becoming centers of logging to meet the economic need for good timber.

In addition to terrestrial life, Zacapican is known for its abundant maritime biology sustained by highly fertile polar waters. An abundance of plankton and krill in Zacapine waters and parts of the surrounding ocean sustains not only a tremendous number and variety of fish species, but also larger and iconic marine species including penguins, seals and whales. The Orca, a common sight on Zacapine shores, is particularly prevalent in local cultures and is regarded as a Zacapitec national symbol. The extremely rich marine ecosystem of Zacapican's waters has sustained an extensive fishing industry particularly within the world-renowned Zacapine Sea Fishery off the country's eastern shore. This fishery specifically has suffered from overfishing historically, but is considered to be in the process of recovering its normal fish stocks thanks to fishing restrictions put in place by the Zacapine government for the express purpose of regenerating the economically important Teeming Sea Fishery. Historically, many Zacapitec mariners undertook whaling as a means to exploit the abundance of Minke, Humpback, Sei and Cachalot whales. In response to the depletion of these species and the decline in economic demands for baleen and whale oil, whaling of any type has been strictly prohibited by federal law since 1910.

Conservation

The preservation of the natural beauty and diversity of life in Zacapican has been of great concern for many years. The expansion of human activity, particularly during the rapid industrialization process of the 20th century, placed significant areas of wilderness under threat as the negative environmental effects of mining, logging and industrial activity have ramped up through the decades. Efforts to reverse the negative effects of industrial expansion and human activity have increased in recent decades, but have not yet been centralized into a national organ to coordinate environmental protection and ecological conservation. The main vehicle through which ecosystems receive protections from the government is through the various land use commissions at the level of the constituent republic and the local altepetl. Because all land in Zacapican is property of the state, these councils and committees governing the allocation of land to various calpolli for any number of practical uses also have the power to prevent land from being used for agriculture, mining or human habitation. According to the national land registry of the United Republics Geological Survey, there are 64 separate tracts of land in Zacapican that have been specifically marked as a region not to be used or exploited for economic purposes. 52 of these have been designated as recreational parks where outdoor recreation is permitted, while the remaining 12 are treated as nature reserves where visitation is permitted by explicit permission only. Designated nature reserves are generally only accessible to scientists and state employees for the purposes of scientific study and conservation.

Zacapican also has two zones of alienation, which are not counted as nature preserves but are also highly restricted areas. These are the zones of radiological contamination surrounding the sites of the Zacatlilco and Xochitlalpan nuclear disasters where the danger of adverse health effects and the spread of radioactive contaminants remains high. The zones of alienation are imposed by the national government and enforced by the Zacapine military. Although their purpose is not conservation, they are monitored by scientists interested in the ecological developments of these depopulated zones as well as those monitoring the long term radiation levels and radionuclide pollution.

Marine conservation is the purview of the United Republics Oceanographic Survey, a major state organization under the Science Secretariat concerned with the study of the worlds oceans as well as the preservation of marine life. This organization clashes with the Maritime Affairs Authority, an agency of the Agriculture Secretariat responsible for overseeing the fishing industry and monitoring the major Zacapine fisheries.

Government and Politics

Government

The Huei Tecpanchan tower in Quitzapatzaro serves as the seat of the national administration

The United Zacapine Republics are a federation of democratic republics with a presidential central government in which the legislative and executive powers are divorced from one another. The constitution of the state lays out four levels of administration, these being the federal level across the whole of the union of republics, the constituent level of the individual republics, the municipal level of the altepetl and finally the individual calpolli ward within the municipal district. The upper three echelons of the state are required by the constitution to hold a republican, democratic tri-partite government consisting of a legislature, an executive administration and an independent judiciary. The governing system of the wards is not mandated by the constitution and varies across the union according to local principles and traditions of self-government in each region. Each level of the state is held under the authority of the entity it is a part of, such that the federal courts, legislature and executive are able to override those of the republics, which in turn may override the altepetl municipal entities within their borders. The only locality which diverges from this tiered system laid out in the constitution is the capital, which functions as a fusion of a municipal and constituent authority. The federal district of Quitzapatzaro functions primarily as a municipal level authority but is granted some privileges normally reserved for full fledged constituent republics, such as representation in the federal legislature, but does not hold the full suite of powers a normal republic would benefit from, such as the power to form a paramilitary republican guard or to independently manage economic planning. Instead, the federal district relies on the federal level authorities to manage its economic planning, security needs and other functions normally carried out by the constituent republican governments.

The Necentlatiloyan, the federal legislative body, is unicameral as are the republican and municipal legislatures. A representative or ixiptlatl is elected from within a electoral district within a republic, usually consisting of one large or a number of small municipalities, to serve a single five year term which once completed will bar that ixiplatl from running for the federal legislature in that or any other electoral district. It is common for lower government officials, members of lower legislatures or ambitious members of the public to view a potential term in the Necentlatiloyan as transitional move through which to gain more widespread political notoriety with which to secure a long term position in the federal or republican administration. Occasionally deputies fail to accomplish anything of note or tarnish their reputations while serving their single term at the national level, causing them to either retire from politics or return to lower echelons of political activity with less stringent term limitations. The legislature deliberates on the passage and content of bills, voting on legislation and holding a check on executive power by providing a vehicle for the impeachment and removal of the executive, although this requires a supermajority of the Necentlatiloyan.

The Tepachoani is the single federal executive of the United Republics, being elected through a nationwide vote using a first past the post system in which the candidate with a plurality of the vote wins the election. The term of office for the Tepachoani is two years. Unlike the Necentlatiloyan, there are no term limits of any kind imposed on the executive elections, allowing incumbents to be re-elected for an indeterminate number of consecutive or non-consecutive terms provided they are able to maintain a plurality come the day of the election. The Tepachoani appoints the members of the cabinet and the leaders of various federal agencies, only some of which must be approved by a special hearing of the Necentlatiloyan such as the secretaries of justice and of defense. The main power of the Tepachoani stems from their power over the Secretariats and their daily function, which encompasses the whole of the Zacapine state administration as it supersedes and encompasses the activities of the lower echelons of the state. The Tepachoani also holds veto power over bills which pass the lesgislature's voting process.

Politics

National and local politics in Zacapican are dominated by three major parties, the Tiachcaume ("Elder Brothers"), the Tlayacanques ("Progressors"), and the Macehualques ("Popular Ones"). The Tiachcaume and the Tlayacanques correspond to the conservative and progressive factions of the Xolotecate era Centiliztli party, the party encompassing all factions of the Zacapine Revolution which ruled the nation under a one party system until the death of Xolotecatl Acuixoc in 1938. These two parties splintered and formed competing groups after the fall of the Xolotecate, the Tiechcaume forming a Cozauist-conservative bloc with a base of support among the clergy and the rural population while the Tlayacanques formed a secular progressive party supported by the urban intelligentsia and a number of business and development interests that had emerged during the Xolotecate modernization and industrialization program. The Macehualques had no legacy in the Xolotecate or the defunct Centiliztli party, emerging spontaneously from unrest in the rapidly growing urban centers of the country which crystalized into a movement of the industrial workers. Macehualque politicians are often accused of demagoguery due to the overwhelming populist, anti-establishment and anti-elitist philosophy and rhetoric.

In the recent history of Zacapican, the the Xolotecate was followed by the Occanquizqui or bi-partite era of the Tiachcaume and Tlayacanques alone holding power from 1938 through 1949, the first major electoral victory of the Macehualques as their movement began to mature. This would usher in a period of tension in which the Tiachcaume and Tlayacanques began to collaborate against the powerful political threat of the Macehualques sweeping the national and state elections, a period known as the Excanquizqui or tri-partite era. In 1966, the tripartite era would come to an end with the defeat of a Tiachcaume-Tlayacanque coalition by the Macehualque party which for the first time secured a majority across the Necentlatiloyan and controlled the office of the Tepachoani. This electoral sweep would usher in a time known as the Macehualtlatollo, the Rule of the Masses, in which the Macehualques would maintaign uninterrupted control of the executive and legislative branches, governing unopposed for 25 years. The defeat of the Macehualques in 1991 and the end of the Macehualtlatollo returned the political situation to a state resembling the Excanquizqui in which all three parties would freely compete against one another, a state of affairs preserved into the present day.

Due to the nature of the first past the post voting system using in the elections for Tepachoani, the broadly popular Macehualques almost always win a plurality and secure the seat of the Tepachoani. In the decades since the end of the Macehualtlatollo era, there have only been four non-Macehualque Tepachoanis for a total of eight years of any administration other than a Macehualque one. However, the more stringent parallel voting used to assign the seats of the Necentlatoloyan has frequently denied the Macehualques the ability to secure a majority themselves since the end of the Macehualtlatollo. In the case of a Macehualque Tepachoani, the Necentlatiloyan may either be controlled by a supporting coalition of the Macehualques and one other party which will collaborate with the Tepachoani to advance a legislative agenda agreed upon by both parties, or else an opposing coalition will form of the Tiachcaumes and Tlayacanques forming a united front to stall and restrict the Tepachoani and the Macahualques in the legislature as much as possible.

Foreign Relations

The foreign relations of the United Zacapine Republics are generally non-ideological, following a tradition of realpolitik rooted in realist and pragmatic principles. Zacapican instead pursues bilateral partnerships on the basis of economic, technological and academic cooperation that affords a mutual beneficence to both parties. As an independent great power, it is not aligned with the principal power bloc of Oxidentale consisting of the Rezese, Kayan and Mutulese powers, nor is it generally affiliated with the Latin sphere or the opposing Kiso sphere. Instead, Zacapican has resumed the policy of its predecessor states and pursued the development of an expansive cooperation pact of its own known as the Transoceanic Co-Prosperity Sphere (TOCPS) with the developing nations of southern Scipia and Malaio. Outside these immediate regions of interest, Zacapican maintaigns a partnership with Wazheganon and an interest in the Periclean basin, particularly eastern Belisaria.

Military

Carrier aviation forms the basis of Zacapine military strength and power projection

The Zacapine military consists of the Zacapine Army, the Zacapine Air Force, and the Zacapine Navy. In many respects the Zacapine Navy, or "the Armada" as it is known, functions as an independent military force unto itself through the integration of ground combat units, amphibious assault forces and its own naval aviation wing in addition to its maritime combat units. This force represents the power projection capabilities of the Zacapine military, built on the framework of a blue-water navy the core of which is a pair of nuclear-powered fleet carriers and their associated fleets of supporting ships. This powerful navy enables the United Zacapine Republics to intervene militarily across the world, with the Armada centralizing all of these capabilities within its own command structure. By comparison, the Army and Air Force are largely restricted to operations within the Zacapine homeland and are organized according to a defensive doctrine. The Army consists of a small peacetime skeleton force and a large body of reservists with a wartime mobilization-based structure designed to cut costs during peacetime yet still raise a significant force to resist any direct invasion or security threat to Zacapican should such an occasion arise. The Army reserves are mainly members of the Republican Guard forces of the constituent republics of Zacapican, who preform law enforcement and civil disaster response duties in their respective areas while not under military mobilization. The Zacapine Air Force operates an inventory made up mainly of bombers and strike craft as well as aerial interceptors intended to support any ground operation by the Zacapine Army, with the more high risk operations requiring the most advanced equipment largely being taken up by the Naval Aviation units of the Navy. The result is a Zacapine military force with a homeland defense force consisting of the Army and Navy, and a largely separate global military force consisting of the Navy and its accumulation of capabilities through its various combat arms subdivisions.

Economy

Agriculture

Industrial cultivation of maize in eastern Zacaco

Maize and potato agriculture is the basis of Zacapine agriculture, with the country being internally divided between highland areas in the interior which depend on the potato as their staple and the coastal plains and foothills regions as well as the Zacaco Valley where extensive maize agriculture can be found. Crops found alongside these staples include beans, tomatoes, chilies, cassava and squash. All of these crops are indigenous to Oxidentale and were either domesticated in or introduced to Zacapican over the course of thousands of years of history and migration, and remain the principle staples of the Zacapine diet and the myriad local cuisines found across the country. Much of the agricultural activities aimed at food production are based on the system of the traditional communal farm, which over time evolved into ownership and labor model today known as Calpollism. Under this system, the land is held in common and usufruct rights are granted to members of the local community to cultivate sectors of this common land. This traditional calpulli is found primarily in the rural regions of the country, while the industrial Calpollist model is employed to modern mass agriculture in the country's more intensively cultivated arable land such as the central Zacaco Valley. In the most intensely cultivated lands these is high production of maize as well as sunflowers, soybeans, flax and sorghum which are used to produce edible oils and for the production of biofuels on an industrial scale. Livestock such as chickens, pigs, cattle and sheep are also raised in the hills of northern and central Zacapican using the industrially produced oilseed plants as well as available pasture for animal feed. A minor component of the agricultural sector is the production of wood and paper products through logging, which was originally based on the dense forests in the Xochicuahuico Republic and Tlaximallico Republics but has since largely transitioned to tree plantations operated on land already cleared of natural woodlands. Intensive cultivation of monocultures of specially selected species, generally of coniferous tree varieties, allows these plantations to produce a large quantity of timber for wood and paper products in a short amount of time and is considered more sustainable as well as more economically sound than the continued harvesting of the now limited regions of natural old growth forests.

Fishing, which is considered a part of the agricultural sectors, is a major industry in Zacapican and contributes to nearly one third of all food production within the United Republics. Much of this fishing takes place in the Teeming Sea fishery off the eastern coast of the country, although Zacapine fishing vessels have ventured further and further afield across the Makrian and Ooreqapi oceans in response to declining fish stocks of the Teeming Sea and the corresponding government restrictions. Sardines and anchovies are fished, while shortfin squid and hake are approaching status as overfished. The Teeming Sea Saurel is overfished. Southern bluefin and Yellowfin tuna are highly sought after by those fishing vessels that venture into the open oceans beyond the coastal fisheries of Zacapican. The average Zacapine consumes around 25 kilograms of fish every year, making it one of the largest per capita consumers in the world. Increasingly, even the well-developed Zacapine fishing industry is not able to meet mounting demand and fish as well as other seafood such as crustaceans must be imported from other countries or fishing contracted out to foreign fishing firms. The fishing industry makes up three quarters of the economic contribution of the agricultural sector and is far more lucrative relative to the size of its labor force than the cultivation and tending activities taking place on the mainland.

Manufacturing

A blast furnace and steel production facility outside Angatahuaca, Aztaco Republic

Production of manufactured goods makes up the bulk of the Zacapine economy by GDP and percentage of the national workforce employed in these secondary sector. Development of industrial manufacturing in the United Republics began in the early 20th century with the expansion of steel production and subsequent diversification of machine producing factories and mechanical works through the 1910s and 1920s. The mainstay of the manufacturing sector remains the production of mechanical components, metal products and machines used in other industrial sectors and factories. Much of the industrial equipment used in Zacapican is itself manufactured in the United Republics, while such products are also widely exported to the industrial economies of the wider world. Simple assembly has for the most part been replaced across country by more complex manufacturing, particularly of engines, vehicles, aircraft and ships. In particular, Zacapican is one of the world leaders in the manufacturing of oceangoing vessels by large shipyard facilities employing tens of thousands of calpolli workers. Many Zacapine shipyards employ a streamline production line taking advantage of the economies of scale, producing ships in prefabricated sections to be transported to a building dock to be assembled into a completed ship. This technique allows industrial shipbuilders such as the 4A Yards faster and at lower cost than the international competition. The United Republics produce container, bulk carrier, tanker and ro-ro ships that are sold to shipping companies across the world. There are 17 major port cities in Zacapican, all of which are home to a shipbuilding industry of some descrtibtion, be it a large scale manufacturer exporting finished vessels to the global markets or smaller scale shipyards which primarily service the large domestic shipping and fishing industries. With most of Zacapican's largest cities invested in the shipbuilding industry to one extent or another, the industry represents one of the central economic interests of Zacapican.

The rest of the Zacapine manufacturing sector is itself focused primarily on products related to industry in some way, such as tools, industrial machinery, and components needed for other finished products. While, shipbuilding and the production of finished vehicles and aircraft for export forms some of the major pillars of the industrial economy, most of the products produced in the United Republics are intermediate components or machinery to be exported and used by foreign industrial firms. The most notable example of this is the auto industry. Zacapican has no domestic automobile manufacturer, yet the country is home to many factories producing automotive components for foreign auto manufacturers. Another large section of the manufacturing industries in Zacapican is metallurgical, producing the necessary steel and other metal alloys to be used in the manufacturing process, while specific strategic resources such as lithium, coltan and nickel are imported from other countries to facilitate industrial processes. A small but lucrative subsector of manufacturing in Zacapican is high tech manufacturing, in particular the semiconductor industry consolidated under the Centlaxotlaltica corporation chip foundries. While the costs of entry into high tech manufacturing are too high for many industrial calpolli to be able to afford, the high profitability of the semiconductor and other high technology industries is expected to draw larger calpolli conglomerates into these sectors in the near future.

Energy

  Nuclear (81%)
  Hydroelectric (15%)
  Solar (2%)
  Other (2%)

Electric power generated in the United Republics is a valuable local export in southern Oxidentale, where it is sold across the northern border to Kayahallpa and in particular Yadokawona. Electricity generation in Zacapican is centralized under Cenikpitikayotl corporation, an anonymous limited company under majority ownership by the government of Zacapican. Cenikpitikayotl does not have a total monopoly in the energy sector in Zacapican but remains the largest energy corporation by far in part thanks to government subsidies for its operations. Electricity arrived in Zacapican relatively late, first appearing in the 1890s and still not reaching many rural regions of the mountainous interior until the mid 1930s. When it finally began to expand, the electrification of the country was accomplished using many coal burning power stations clustered around the major industrial centers on the coasts. The detrimental effects of burning coal were relatively well understood early on during the Zacapine industrialization process, although few viable alternatives existed in this era. Hydroelectric dams were built in many areas to reduce the need for coal power stations to provide power to the country's growing industrial cities. Public pressure to reduce air pollution by eliminating coal power built up during the 1940s and 50s, culminating in the "nuclear decade" of the 1960s. Nuclear was favored as a stable, year-round source of energy which could increase or reduce production based on market conditions rather than being reliant on environmental conditions like other renewables, and so was considered to be a true alternative to coal as a means of powering Zacapican's heavily industrialized economy. The first nuclear reactor, the now famous Angatahuaca-Chapulco Power Station, began operation in 1961 and would soon be joined by dozens more supplying the enormous energy demands of the large coastal urban centers of the United Republics as part of a nationwide nuclearization initiative directed at the level of the federal government. Today, there are a total of 61 nuclear reactors in Zacapican providing four fifths of all electricity in the country. Hydroelectricity takes up the position of distant second in terms of power generation in Zacapican and is especially common in the north and interior regions where it is based on small hydroelectric dams in the high-altitude valleys which supply power to otherwise isolated regions. Many of these dams were built prior to the nuclearization and so were built as an alternative to coal power stations rather than nuclear reactors. Additionally, the northern highland dams provide important reservoirs used to provide water for human consumption, irrigation and industrial purposes in the arid regions of the country.

Electricity from the grid is widely used to power transportation systems such as metros, trams and both passenger and freight trains which have undergone sweeping conversion from diesel to electric over efficiency concerns. A majority of the Zacapine freight rail network has been electrified over the last few decades, enabling most of the rail system to operate on the supply of low cost electric power provided by the nation's array of nuclear power stations. Zacapican is an outlier of Oxidentale in that its private motor vehicles, namely cars and trucks, continue to operate gasoline and diesel engines as opposed to the electric vehicles commonplace elsewhere on the continent. This is primarily due to the high cost of lithium which makes the powerful batteries of electric vehicles prohibitively expensive for the Zacapine market. Vehicle owners in Zacapican continue to show preference to gas and diesel-powered personal vehicles due to their low cost and longevity compared to expensive electric vehicles which often have a shorter shelf life. Because of this, the scheme of energy used for transport is a mixture of electric powered freight, passenger rail and urban public transportation, contrasted with urban and rural personal transportation which relies more on hydrocarbon fuels. Due in part to this latter demand, some domestic companies have emerged to supply biodiesel produced from sorghum, corn and miscellaneous plant matter produced by the agricultural sector. Biodiesel has in the past served as an attractive and domestically made alternative to foreign petroleum fuels, particularly when market disruptions cause international oil prices to fluctuate. The biofuels sector also serves to meet demand for heating, which has remained largely based on gas or gas-alternative biofuel rather than the more expensive electric heating alternative.

Transportation

National Route 30 traversing Amegatlan Seaport and the Amegatlan-Angatahuaca international airport

The transportation scheme found across the United Republics is heavily influenced by the Calpollist development model that has shaped the expansion of its urban and industrial centers. Zacapine urbanism is highly industrial in its nature, with most cities having a nucleus of industrial plants and factories that form the economic basis of the surrounding calpolli communities. Widespread and rapid urbanization in the 20th century saw the emergency of rapid transit, light rail and electric omnibus transit networks all across the largest Zacapine cities as new districts were built up in a matter of months around the ever expanding manufacturing industries and millions of people began to move into the major cities from across rural Zacapican and the rest of the world. In general, the sustained outward expansion of the typical Zacapine city relies on new Calpolli being added to the periphery which is typically accompanied by the extension of roads and rail transit lines to move inputs and end products to and from those new calpolli factories, as well as transit lines to move the workers to and from the rest of the city. The largest cities in Zacapican rely heavily on the rapid transit train network due to its great efficiency in moving vast volumes of passengers which makes it optimal for closely packed, dense urban cores. Less dense and less developed cities in Zacapican rely more on busses traveling on the surface streets, which are typically electic busses powered by overhead lines.

Overall, the road network across the United Republics has an extent of 377,195 km (234,378 mi) of which 216,822 km (134,726 mi) are paved. Roughly 7% of the total length of roadways in the country consists of multi lane expressways and major arteries for the automotive transportation system which plays a significant role to the overall transit system of the country. Both the roads and railways are nationalized in Zacapican. Most expressways operate on a system of tolls which help to finance their upkeep, while the railways permit the passage of trains owned by private companies on their rail network for a fee for the same purpose. In general, the state ownership model for these means of transportation is regarded as most efficient. Because of the mountainous terrain of the Zacapine interior, the development of these vital overland transport networks has been somewhat impaired. For much of the modern history of Zacapican, the road and rail networks were in disjointed fragments isolated to the flat and densely populated zones and did not form a cohesive network until the 21st century when expensive cross-mountain bridges and tunnels could be built to unify the system.

Ximahk bridge along the Tzopilopan-Quitzapatzaro railway

The most extensive network of railways and roadways are the coastal avenues which travel along the relatively flat and densely populated eastern and western coasts. Of the 21 national expressways in Zacapican, 15 are found in the north and west coast regions, with the remainder primarily traversing east to west to connect the two traveling through mountain routes over central and southern Zacapican and the rugged Fishtail peninsula. These expressways are the main means of regional and interregional passenger transportation. The railways are primarily used for freight purposes and serve as the main arteries of non-passenger industrial tranportation, with effectively all Zacapine goods traveling at some point in their production or distribution through the freight cars of the national rail corporation Tepozcoatl. Two high speed rail lines exist in Zacapican disconnected from one another, these being the east and west coast lines which interlink the major metropolitan centers on each coast and are able to remain financially viable due to the high traffic between these destinations. However, due to much lower density of demand in the interior as well as terrain making it difficult to lay rail for high-speed trains, high speed rail has not yet been able to establish itself between the coasts of the country in the interior regions which remain the domain of conventional passenger rail and the motorway system.

Sea links have historically been the lifeblood of the Zacapine state and its precursors, due to the difficulty of the interior which made overland travel generally unforgiving. In the modern day, both sea and air links are grouped in the same non-terrestrial transport category in the United Republics and remain in regular use for travel along the densely populated coasts and between these regions. Air travel in Zacapican is closely regulated by the government but is entirely controlled by private firms making up many dozens of national and regional airlines. There are nearly 1,400 airports in Zacapican and every city above 400,000 inhabitants have a dedicated and modern airport for its service, with domestic air travel making up another large category of passenger travel in Zacapican. However, the eight largest airports in the country corresponding to the five largest cities handle around 90% of all air traffic in the country. By comparison there are 79 seaports in Zacapican, 49 along the west coast and 30 along the eastern coast. Roll on-roll off cargo shipping is commonly used for short range maritime transportation of goods, while major ferry terminals exist in every port city in Zacapican to connect to other ports as well as many smaller terminals along the waterfronts of the same city. Smaller coastal cities and towns are connected by these same maritime passenger and freight transit connections to each other and the major hubs, and in some port cities a portion of commuting workers enter the city from nearby towns or outer wards of the city itself by way of ferry transport rather than rail or road transportation.

Communications

The majority of Zacapine telecommunication infrastructure is owned by the state corporation Cecnitlacayoh Nuhhuian Macho Huehcacaquiztli Atlepetequipanoliztli (CNMHA), a public utility corporation which enjoyed a total monopoly status between 1925 and 1961 when the sector was liberalized and deregulated to allow private competitors for the first time to establish their own telecoms and broadcasting networks. CNMHA in the modern day has retained its near total monopoly on communications infrastructure in the country, however, and operates using a business model of renting its established equipment out to private networks for a fee which covers the equipment maintenance costs. Zacapican has a state owned internet service provider, Nahuanet, which provides free internet access across the country and operates as a subsidiary of CNMHA. While many private competitors also offer commercial internet services which are generally faster and of a higher quality, the Nahuanet internet service which is publicly available to all residents in the country is considered an indispensable public asset despite its annual losses subsidized by the state treasury. CNMHA telephone, telegraph, facsimile and television infrastructure services however are not free to use and the fees the corporation is able to charge to media networks and private companies to use its equipment enables it to generate revenue and effectively cover many of its own expenses without state subsidization while keeping the fees and costs down for the average citizen for basic services as the costs are absorbed by neither CNMHA nor the individual user but rather the private firms paying for the privilege of service on the public system. This model has remained in place for decades thanks in large part to the extensive network of public infrastructure owned by CNMHA the construction of which was paid for by the state, making it more affordable for most private firms to pay the fee to use this network rather than finance and establish their own parallel private networks for their own use. Nevertheless, limited broadcasting stations, especially for radio and television, have been established in large cities like Angatahuaca and Quitzapatzaro where the high density of customers can make the investment into private infrastructure financially sound in the long term.

Demographics

Zacapican is considered a medium to large nation relative to the world standard, playing host to a variety of unique ethnic groups and populations. There are 70,103,619 people living in Zacapican according to the 2022 census carried out by the United Republics Office of Statistics within the Secretariat of Internal Affairs. 63.6% of the recorded population, roughly 44,585,901 people, is between the ages of 15 and 64 while 24.2% (approximately 16,965,076 people) are under 14 while only 12.2% or 8,552,641 people were recorded as being over 64 years of age. In general, the population has a mostly balanced sex ration averaging 0.98 males to females across all ages, with a surplus of males under 15 at a ratio of 1.05 males to females in that cohort, compared to a ratio of 0.72 males to females 65 and over. The average life expectancy is 77.14 years at birth. Less than 30% of Zacapitecs identify as Nahua ethnically, while 88.9% speak Nahuatl as a first language compared to 97.9% of the population which are proficient in Nahuatl. 99.6% of those aged over 15 can read and write in at least one language. Over the past 40 years, Zacapican has maintained a relatively stable rate of population growth averaging at a 2.1% increase every 5 years. The nation experienced its most precipitous growth in the past hundred years between 1914 and 1947, a period of Zacapitec history marked by industrialization and urbanization, following which the growth rate stabilized towards its current norm.

Ethnicity and Language

Ethnic Composition of the United Zacapine Republics
Nahua
27.5%
Purépecha
9.9%
Tzhuana
6.1%
Xi'oi
5.7%
Chaan
5.2%
Otomi
4.9%
Caxcan
4.8%
Iakan
4.6%
Zacateco
3.9%
Cochimí
3.4%
Kayan
3.3%
Ludics
3.2%
Biele
3.1%
Ona
2.9%
Mapuche
2.4%
Guaycura
2.2%
Lushyods
2.1%
Jin
2.0%
Onekawan
1.4%
Nuu Savi
1.1%
Other
0.3%
Values represent self-identification

The United Zacapine Republics is an ethnically diverse nation inhabited by more than two dozen recognized groups, eighteen of which exceed one million members. The ethnicities present in Zacapican can be divided into the categories of Huecachane or those who immigrated into the country within the last 200 years, and those who have inhabited the country for more than 200 years. The latter group can be further subdivided into Huitztecame or peoples originating in southern or central Zacapican, and the Mictecame or peoples originating in northern Zacapican, broader Oxidentale or Norumbia. The Mictecame cultures are the most prevalent in the recorded history and modern-day society of Zacapican, with such influential peoples as the historically significant Purépecha and the widespread and culturally dominant Nahuas being Mictecame of northern origins. Together, all Mictecame groups make up a simple majority of the Zacapine population, while the Huecachane narrowly surpass the Huitztecame in the modern day. However, no single ethnic group approaches a majority of the population, with the most numerous being the ethnic Nahuas making up slightly more than one quarter of the population. There is a strong distinction between ethnicity and nationality in Zacapican. Ethnic classifications describe the heritage of any given person, even those who may be mostly nahuanized and may no longer speak the language or keep the cultural practices of their ancestors. Zacapine nationality, on the other hand, describes a persons sense of belonging within the Zacapine national identity which is based on civic rather than ethnic nationalism. Nationality corresponds to a legal status as a citizen or a Zacapine national, whereas ethnicity confers no legal status one way or another.

Mictecame

The Nahua groups in Zacapican are not only the most numerous but also the most geographically widespread ethnic group across the country. The Proto-Nahua peoples originate in what is now the Xallipan Republic in northern Zacapican, migrating into the more hospitable central and southern territories some time in the 1st millennium BCE. Being a widely dispersed and numerous group the Nahuas are divided into many regional variations and subgroups which are grouped together into western Nahuas inhabiting coastal Cuauhtlaco and Zacaco Republic, central Nahuas inhabiting the Zacaco Valley and the Mixtepemec mountains, and eastern Nahuas primarily inhabiting Xochicuahuico, Aztaco and eastern Tlaximallico Republics. Nahuatl became the lingua franca of the entire region following the Nahua migration as nearly every tribe and kingdom across all of what is now Zacapican had some contact with the Nahua diaspora, making the Nahuatl tongue a convenient and nearly universal bridge language for commerce and diplomacy between any two groups.

Of the non-Nahua Mictecame, the Purépecha are the most notable and well documented historically. They originate in Norumbia in what is now Belfras where they were documented by the Kayamuca as a technologically advanced seafaring people. Very little remains of the Purépecha migration by sea in modern day Mutul or Kayahallpa as the only documented post migration Purépecha colonies can be found in western Zacapican and are first recorded in the late 1st millenium CE. The Purépecha remained a significant presence in the Zacapine west coast, establishing a number of sea-faring city states and even establishing outposts around the south and east of the Fishtail peninsula including the settlement of Angatahuaca. Other Mictecame originating in interior Oxidentale are the Zacatecatl, Otomi, the Pame and Caxcan peoples, all of whom migrated southwards into the Zacapine region in the centuries between the Nahua and Purépecha migrations.

Huitztecame

The least numerous and most sporadically dispersed of the three categories of Zacapine ethnies are the Huitztecame. In the modern day, these groups are primarily found within ethnic enclave regions in the Mixtepemec mountains in the Ayomazaco, Xochicuahuico and Zacaco Republics, as well as the other isolated and rugged regions such as the interior of the Aztaco and Anamictlan peninsulas. The most accepted definition of a Huitztecatl tribe or ethnicities are those which were already inhabiting the region during the time of the Nahua migration, as many groups of the region can only be attested through archeological means and are only documented in contemporary history by the first recorded accounts in Classical script. Many of the ancient Huitztecame lacked any indigenous writing system, making their histories prior to the arrival of the Nahuas difficult to verify. The Cochimí as well as the smaller Guaycura originally inhabited the fertile Zacaco valley but were largely displaced by the Nahuas and other Mictecame tribes in ancient times and now inhabit the highlands of the eastern Zacaco Republic and western Xochicuahuico and Ayomazatl Republics in concentrated ethnic enclaves.

The Mapuche, who inhabit the Cuauhtlaco Republic, have achieved periods of independence from the dominant Zacapine polity miltiple times in history with the most recent being a short lived breakway state during the Zacapine Revolution. Significant numbers of the Mapuche people reside on the Kayahallpan side of the border, further exaserbating the general suspicion and hostility between the Zacapine government and the leaders of the Mapuche. Consequently, the Mapuche enclaves in Cuauhtlaco are among the most economically depressed regions in all of Zacapican and have become a hotbed of Mapuche seperatist sentiment which has contributed to further deterioration in the living conditions of Zacapine Mapuche. The opposite is true of the Ona and Iakan people, native to the southern Fishtail peninsula in what is now the Anamictlan Republic. These peoples of the far south have enjoyed preferential treatment by the Nahua-Purépecha Zacapine polity for most of modern and medieval history and have partially assimilated into the dominant cultural institutions of Zacapican.

Huecachane

The majority of the Huecachane migrated to Zacapican in the decades following the Zacapine Revolution, during the modernization and industrialization phase of the Xolotecate which rapidly raised the standard of living for many Zacapines and introduced many new industries to the country which demanded more laborers than could be made available from the native workforce. This was particularly pronounced during the decade of the 1910s as the steel industry boomed in Zacapican, prompting many steel producing companies to begin appealing for workers in foreign countries with full approval of Tepachoani Xolotecatl who would implement a citizenship path for those migrating to Zacapican to work. The earliest contingents of such migrant laborers were the Biele, a persecuted group originating in Drevstran which had already begun to flee the country into neighboring states in Belisaria. Due to the economic hardship experienced in the country and the ongoing Drevstranese Civil War other Drevstranese demographics, the Lushyods in particular, were drawn to the option of emigration to Zacapican by the same efforts of the Zacapine industries to draw on Biele migrants. The success of these early efforts to attract migrants triggered a ripple effect and popularized the growing United Zacapine Republics as a destination for those living in poor conditions and seeking a better life. This reputation alone proved a major factor in drawing other ethnicities including the Chaan, Ben Zaa and Nuu Savi originating in the Mutul or the Onekawans and Tzhuana originating in Malaio to relocate to the growing Zacapine industrial centers and establishing themselves in the growing immigrant enclaves being established in the major Zacapine cities such as Angatahuca and Quitzapatzaro. The Kayan and Aymara contingents of the Huecachane are the most recent major migration wave to come to Zacapican and the only major wave to arrive after the Xolotecate era, primarily coming to Zacapican in flight of the political instability and persecution experienced in Kayahallpa throughout the mid 20th century.

Most of the Huecachane have resided in Zacapican for at least two generations and have generally assimilated into Zacapine society and some aspects of the local cultures. The most prominent of these forms of assimilation is linguistic. Taken as a group, Huecachane have a higher rate of proficiency and greater literacy and fluency rates in Nahuatl than any other non-Nahua contingent be they Mictecame or Huitztecame. Moreover, the majority of every Huecachane ethnicities have seen declining rates of proficiency in their ancestral languages as the successive new generations more often speak Nahuatl as their first language than their own ethnic mother tongue. This effect is more pronounced with the earlier Huecachane immigrants such as the modern descendants of the Drevstranese and Mutulese immigrants whose families have now inhabited Zacapican for 100 years. The native cuisine and religion of Huecachane groups has proved far more resistant to assimilation than the language, as the latter becomes easily ingrained by the public school system in Zacapican which may teach a Mictecame or Huitztecame language in addition to the required Nahuatl, but rarely offer any lessons in Huecachane languages. Nahuatl proficiency is frequently reinforced in successive generations born in Zacapican who are educated in the Zacapine school system and whose proficiency is reinforced by a lifetime of participation in the Nahuatl speaking social institutions and business world.

Urbanization

Zacapican is an urbanized nation with roughly 47% of the nation's population living within the city limits of the country's twenty largest urban centers. However, it is not uniformly urbanized across all regions. Most Zacapitecs live on the plains of the Zacaco Valley and on the coastal regions of the eastern and western seaboards. The most populated regions relative to their land area are the Autonomous Federal District almost completely filled by the city of Quitzapatzaro and its suburbs, followed by the Zacaco Republic with its populated Zacaco valley, then the Aztaco peninsula with major coastal cities including Angatahuaca offsetting the sparsely populated mountainous interior of the peninsula. According to the 2019 census, 82% of the Zacapitec population live in urban zones, whether inside city limits or within urbanized satellite communities. Many of the cultures inhabiting the Zacapine territory have a historically urban culture, living and working in concentrated municipalities rather than dispersed across the countryside.

Culture

The culture of modern Zacapican is built on the foundations of ancient indigenous practices and the multitudes of external influences brought to the home country by decades of sustained immigration and centuries of intercontinental trade and exchange. The central pillar of Zacapine culture is the mélange of the native south Oxidental peoples who have intermingled with one another for millennia and integrated several ancient migrants such as the Nahuas and the Purépecha, some of the most prominent native peoples in the country. Ancient and medieval literary works, philosophy, religious tradition, cuisine and visual arts created through the centuries by these native cultures form the basis of the south Oxidental culture into which many external influences have been integrated over the years. The centuries of prosperity and interconnectivity under the rule of Aztapamatlan fostered intercontinental cultural exchange with some of the greatest civilizations from across the world, such as the Tahamaja of the Ozeros Sea, the Kayamuca of northern Oxidentale and Norumbia, and the Latins of Belisaria and northern Scipia, further enriching the culture of Aztapamatlan with their contributions and innovations.

After two decades of civil war, post-Revolutionary Zacapican began its meteoric industrialization and rise to global significance, which brought waves upon waves of immigration into the country on an unprecedented scale. During the first half of the 20th century, millions of immigrants from eastern Belisaria, southern Malaio, Ochran and northern Oxidentale arrived in the ports of Angatahuaca and Quitzapatzaro, living in close proximity to one another and to the further millions of indigenous Zacapine peoples migrating from their isolated homelands in the interior to the burgeoning industrial cities. This created the conditions for a multicultural explosion of new genres of art, music, style and cuisine as dozens of ethnic groups from all over the world introduced one another to their own traditions and philosophies in these thriving melting pot cities. Through generations of cultural exchange and intermarriage, the cultures of Zacapican have blended together in the melting pot into a new distinctly Zacapine culture which is not fully homogenous but is no longer heterogenous either. Nahuatl has become the dominant language spoken by all Zacapine peoples and has largely displaced minority languages as the prime medium of communication even in their own communities. However, myriad local dialects have emerged replete with loanwords from various foreign and indigenous languages. Cuisine likewise has both diversified and homogenized simultaneously as many foreign cuisines have become popular across Zacapican while incorporating ingredients and presentations more familiar to the native Zacapine palette. This phenomenon can be seen across all aspects of modern Zacapine society, which is increasingly made up of mixed-heritage peoples.

Architecture

The art deco style is common in Zacapican, especially in monuments, public buildings and prestige projects from the first half of the 20th century

Zacapican is the heir to a rich history of urbanism and monumental construction going back thousands of years which has fostered the developments of unique styles of architecture as well as many local variations of international styles. Sturdy stone complexes and pyramids dating back as far as the 7th century BCE have been found in the territory of modern Zacapican, many of which still stand to this day. The styles of these ancients were adopted by later arrivals to the region such as the diasporic Nahuas, whose integration into the culture of southern Oxidentale can be measured by their adoption of the local architectural methods and the creation of their own variations of the common styles of pyramid, pillar, wall and rooftop. The distinctive style of what is known today as classical Zacapine architecture was established by Aztapamatlan, which spread their unique style far and wide across their territory through their endless prestige projects and public works all across the landscape. However, as with many other aspects of Zacapine culture, architecture in Zacapican would undergo great upheaval after the Zacapine Revolution.

The Xolotecate era saw the introduction of the Belisarian neoclassical style in Zacapican, where it became influenced by indigenous architectural motifs of the Aztapaman classical style. This became notable across much of Zacapican in the 1910s and 1920s as much of the destruction brought by the Revolution and the subsequent civil war was being rebuilt in the new styles which included the imported neoclassical style which was propagated throughout the country by foreign-trained Zacapine building engineers such as Matiak Seti. However, by far the most prominent style of the Xolotecate era was the art deco style, which was adopted early by the regime for use in public buildings and infrastructure projects due to its sleek and modern appearance. Art deco became synonymous with new construction for decades. Thousands of apartment buildings, monuments, and public projects have been built over the years in this style. It would be replaced in some aspects by the brutalist style of the 1960s and 70s widely propagated by the building boom of that era. The most recent trend in Zacapine architecture is a deco-classical revivalist movement, incorporating aspects of sleek modernist architecture, classic art deco and the old classical Zacapine style.

Art

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Cuisine

A Zacapine tlaxquitl with pork sausage, blood sausage and assorted cuts of beef

Zacapine cuisine is a reflection of the country's diversity of ethnic groups, terrains and climates which manifest a different combination of local tastes and available ingredients in every region and many unique variations on common dishes. The trends of cuisine are however broadly divided into two general spheres, that of maize and that of the potato. Maize is the dominant crop of the coasts and generally overlaps with the most fish consuming regions of the country, whereas the interior mountainous territories where potatoes are most common are where meat from livestock such as sheep or beef which were introduced in the mid 16th century are more common. Belisarian and Ochranian dishes which traditionally use wheat flour, especially pasta and noodles, are typically modified for the Zacapine palette by substituting corn flour in its stead. This is a defining feature of Zacapine Latin and Jin cuisines.

Prior to any strong exchange with the eastern continents, the staple meats of Zacapican were rabbit, llama or guanaco meat and fish. While rabbit remains popular in some regions, by and large the introduced livestock such as chicken, cattle and sheep have replaced the indigenous livestock in the Zacapine diet. Zacapican is one of the biggest fish consuming countries in the world, especially in its densely populated coastal regions where fresh fish is readily available and consumed in large quantities, while it is less common in the interior. Beef, pork, mutton and chicken however are popular both in the interior and on both coasts, and is the focus on the traditional tlaxquitl barbeque which is only occasionally done with fish. In almost all cases, meats are necessarily accompanied in flavorful sauces made with various combinations chilis, tomatoes, garlic, onions and herbs. Hundreds of different varieties of sauces exist in Zacapican and often serve to characterize a specific local cuisine.

Brown chicha, a popular beverage in northern Zacapican

The tlaxcalli made of nixtamalized corn flower is the universal staple and is the basis for the most common street food and popular dishes most often eaten by every day Zacapines. The simple tlaxcalli can be filled with spices, cheese, any type of meat or fish, and various vegetables or mushrooms and serves as a versatile genre of dish which is both exceedingly common among street vendors and is also widely prepared at home for breakfast, lunchtime or as a dinner for the family. Xihuichi, a dish of marinated raw fish and herbs. Tamales are another versatile and popular dish based on nixtamalized maize flour that may have various fruit, vegetable, meat or fish filling and are widely popular and have been liberally modified to fit the diverse tastes of a wide number of Zacapine immigrant communities.

A wide variety of flavored, thickened, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are found in Zacapine cuisine. Among the most common is Cececatl flavored with fruits, flowers and seeds blended into the beverage to produce flavors such as tamarind, lemon and horchata. An alchaholic variant of Cececatl is Chicha, which uses corn beer rather than simple water as the base substance of the beverage but follows similar flavoring patterns and is often sold in the same places as Cececatl. Octli is a favorite alcoholic drink made of maguey sap, and is the base form and byproduct of the brewing of the sacred beverage Xiuhatl which is a stronger liquor made of the same substance. In colder months, warm beverages thickened with maize flour such as chocolate atole are popular, and are sold widely in local cafes year round. More recent additions to the culture of beverages such as coffee have been adapted to the local tastes in the form of Xoctlicape, coffee brewed in an earthen pot which gives the beverage a unique flavor.

Chocolate in Zacapican is not sweet but is instead usually unsweetened, typically bitter, and often flavored with spices such as many varieties of chili. The Zacapine traditional chocolate is closely related to Mutulese Kakaw, having many aspects in common as both far predate the spread of chocolate to the rest of the world. Indeed most chocolate for the Zacapine market is imported from the Mutul. Sweet deserts are usually based on tzopetlapazcalli, litteraly "sweet milk", prepared as its name suggests by heating a mixture of sugar and milk together. Tzopetlapazcalli is used as a sweet spread on potato bread or tlaxcallis, but is also used to make candy and as a filling in many Zacapine pastries. Candied fruits and fruit flavors are also used as fillings and as sweet deserts.