Marirana

Federative Republic of Marirana Repubblica Federativa dei Marirani (Vespasian) Xochicualla Nenahuatiliztlacatlahtohcayotl (Zapoyan)
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: La fede in nostro dovere alla Vergine Faith in our duty to the Virgin
Anthem: Il Marirano chiamò
Marirana (dark green) in Asteria
Capital	Aquinas
Largest largest city	Santa Maria
Official languages	Vespasian
Recognised regional languages	Zapoyan
Ethnic groups (2016)	48.9% Mulatto 14.5 Zapoyan 12.8% White 10.6% Nativi 7.6% Bahian 3.3% Coian 2.7% other
Religion	Solarian Catholic Church
Demonym(s)	Mariranan
Government	Federal semi-presidential republic under a military dictatorship
• President	Dario Lorenzin
• Prime Minister	Enzo Alfano
Legislature	Parliamentary Assembly
• Upper house	House of Senators
• Lower house	House of Councillors
Independence from Poveglia
• Declared	24 October 1787
• Recognised	1 September 1810
• 17 April 1992	Current constitution
Population
• 2019 estimate	48,455,700
• 2012 census	51,668,573
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$167,656 million
• Per capita	$3,460
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$52,962 million
• Per capita	$1,093
Gini	51.6 high
HDI	0.536 low
Currency	Lira (LR)
Date format	dd-mm-yyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+77
Internet TLD	.ma

The Federative Republic of Marirana (Vespasian: Repubblica Federativa dei Marirani; Zapoyan: Xochicualla Nenahuatiliztlacatlahtohcayotl) is a country in Asteria Superior. It is bordered by Eldmark to the west, the Nuxica to the north, Vinalia to the east and sharing maritime borders with Satucin to the south. Its capital city being Aquinas and largest city Santa Marira. Marirana's population is split between those of Euclean (primarily Vespasian) descent, Zapoyan native and those of mixed Euclean-Zapoyan descent.

Marirana has housed human life for thousands of years, being the home of the ancient Tetuolmec and Oaexicun civilisations, with the latter being renown for its hegemony in the region. During the 1500's explorers from Poveglia subsequently colonised the territory as Nuovo Poveglia, introducing Catholicism into the region as well as seeing large waves of immigration to the territories. More rigid social and political institutions in the colony were introduced under Poveglian and later Etrurian rule.

The Etrurian Revolution and the establishment of the Etrurian First Republic led to republican ideals to spread to Nuovo Poveglia. beginning a three year war of independence . The Aquanis Compromise was signed in 1887 by loyalists and monarchists creating the Empire of Marirana, an oligarchal monarchy led by the son of the former Etrurian king. The new state was unstable with several civil wars, coup d'état's and political upheavals, becoming a republic in 1800. The Secessionist Wars, from 1800-1811 led to the collapse of the oligarchial system and the ushering in of a radical dictatorship that suppressed political dissent, including more monarchists and moderate republicans as well as inciting conflict with Marirana's neihgbours. The dictator Salvatore Renzi was able to expand massively into the Asteria's durng the Mariranan Revolutionary Wars but was eventually defeated by a coalition of Asterian nations. An unstable republic replaced the radical regime which was soon replaced by the Kingdom of Marirana led by King Pietro Ferdinando of Marirana. Pietro Ferdinando ruled from 1832 to 1884 when as a result of Marirana's military failure in the War of the Arucian he was deposed in favour of a new liberal republic.

Fearing the rise of the left-wing forces, in 1905 a military junta instituted a proto-fascist military dictatorship known as the Sotirian State of Marirana. In 1929 Ottaviano Castello, the dominant figure of the regime, joined the Great War on the side of the Entente, with Marirana coming under military occupation from 1935-1938 under which a democratic government, the Fifth Federative Republic of Marirana, was created. However increased political polarisation under Romano Emanuele Orlando led to a military coup in 1972 which instituted a civic-military dictatorship. The dictatorship transitioned to a dominant-party state during the 1990's and 2000's but since 2014 has been embroiled in a civil war that has seen significant war crimes and the displacement of almost 5 million people.

Marirana is officially a federal semi-presidential constitutional republic with significant devolution to its eight provinces. However since the start of the civil war it has been governed in government controlled areas as a totalitarian military dictatorship. Mariana prior to the civil was was a newly industrialised country with its main economic sectors being industry, logging, mining (especially of uranium, silver and gold), sugar and coffee. It has since the start of the civil war seen significant environmental destruction and is ranked as the most violent country in the world.

History

Ancient Marirana

Main articles: Tetuolmec Empire and Zapoya Confederation

The history of Marirana dates back to around 10,000 BCE when Native Asterians settled in the area as nomads. The first of these settlers were the Zapoya tribes, which possessed a hunter-gatherer society within the Vale of Tetoulmec's. Around 5,000 BCE

Mural painting of a Tetuolmec God in the Temple of Yuctianzal

these tribes settled into agricultural societies based around the river Quextoctical with agriculture focused around beans and tomato's. During the period between 4,500 BCE - 3,000 BCE the Zapoya tribes began to codify a writing and numerical system, as well as congregate around religions creating recognisable stratified societies often led by priests or tribal leaders.

Around 3,000 BCE the Tetuolmec civilisation, based around the powerful city state of Tetuolmec, began to absorb many smaller city states. The Tetuolmec's were known for their religious system based upon the seven gods, and their hierarchical society where the Emperor was considered the seventh of the gods. During the period of the Tetuolmec's large citadels and advanced water systems which enabled the city of Tetuolmec to be one of the largest of the ancient world, and eventually spanning a large part of the modern day territory of Marirana. The Tetuolmec's were also infamous for their practice of human sacrifice were people were ritually skinned and their heads boiled in an offering of skulls to the gods to ensure the gods favour.

The Tetuolmec Empire collapsed around 100 CE when they were conquered by the rival Zapoyan people from what is today the Umbertide province. However, much of the cultural traditions including the Tetuolmec religion, society and customs were absorbed in the numerous city states that emerged as part of the Zapoyan Confederation, a loose tribal confederation that began to pay tithes to an Emperor recognised as a God as had been done under Tetuolmec's.

Oaexicun Empire

Main article: Oaexicun Empire

Moctezumpan, an iconic symbol of the Oaexicun Empire

Around 1113 CE the nominal Emperor of Imacaxco Azcanloyan declared a new capital in Oaexicun and started to centralise power in the hands of the royal court and religious authorities. Azcanloyan begun a series of conquests that saw the creation of the Oaexicun Empire that spanned across much of central and eastern Marirana. The new empire was hegemonic in character, although Oaexicun rulers mandated that conquered people worship the seven gods, in particular their Sun God and the Emperor considered to be the God of Man. The Oaexicun rulers also brought back the practice of ritual sacrifice of skulls, but emphasised a new form of warfare that extolled the capturing of enemies with slaughter seen as a sign of poor ability.

Over time, Oaexicun rulers expanded the empire whilst espousing a well developed culture. Emperor Moctezuma in 1315 conquered the city states of Cutharmuoic, Aztocheletynal and Quauthuezin dramatically expanding the size of the empire. Moctezuma also instituted the first unified legal system of the empire, which emphasised subservience to local priests with all laws coming from the gods as well as the creation of a unified taxation system. A school system was also created which emphasised the need of military training for both boys and girls as well as the creation of a new capital, Moctezumpan.

During the 1300's-1400's the Oaexicun Empire entered a state of decline as rebellions in outlying territories led to the Oaexicun elite to centralise power further in Moctezuma. This had the unintended effect of somewhat modernising the Oaexicun Empire as taxes became more unified, the military less regional and bureaucrats in Moctezuma having more power than regional governors. Although this led to more centralised government, it did lead to elites in the area surrounding Moctezuma possessing more power in economic, social, political and cultural terms, which alienated many in outlying parts of the Empire. Centralisation whilst creating a more modern, efficient state also cocurrently led to more agitation from outer regions.

Nuovo Poveglia

Main articles: Poveglian conquest of the Oaexicun Empire and Nuovo Poveglia

In 1522 the explorer Raffaele de Mariran was ordered by the Doge of the Exalted Republic of Poveglia to chart the southern coast of the northern Asterian continent with the intention to establish a trading post along the southern coast that would enable Poveglia to gain a foothold in the Asteria's. The southern coast of Asteria had not been seriously explored with the exception of the islands of Sanslumière at this point, but the rulers of Poveglia believed that further east of Sanslumière lay a "kingdom of gold" of which Poveglia could claim for its own.

Xiuhtlatuahu, last Emperor of the Oaexicun Empire

Eucleans first arrived in Marirana under the command of de Mariran in March 1523 at the southern tip of the Zaklohitlan peninsula (located in modern day Vittico province) where they started to trade sugar with the natives. After a month the Oaexicun Emperor Xiuhtlatuahu requested the explorers pay fealty to him in the imperial capital Moctezumpan. Relations between the two groups were tense from the offset - de Mariran demanded that the Oaexicun's swear loyalty to the Doge of Poveglia, a request that earned the Oaexicun's order to expel the Eucleans from their land. de Mariran as a sign of respect initially conceded to the Emperor's demand, but before leaving to Zaklohitlan ordered the sacking of Moctezumpan. The 2,000 man strong army of Eucleans caught the Oaexicun's unaware resulting in a large amount of the city's populace to be massacred in the sacking and de Mariran renaming Moctezumpan Santa Maria. Emperor Xiuhtlatuahu fled Moctezumpan to the city of Aztocheletynal where he rallied Oaexicun forces, starting the Poveglian conquest of the Oaexicun Empire.

The loss of the capital led to uprisings across the empire which inadvertently led to its disintegration to become more rapid; by 1524 de Mariran's forces had conquered the entirety of the eastern Oaexicun Empire and had sponsored an uprising in the city of Cutharmuoic to install a pro-Poveglian leader. The Oaexicun's however were permanently crippled when a smallpox plague (which the Poveglian's were largely immune to) broke out amongst the Oaexicuns. The condition affected the Emperor's close courtiers meaning that when the Eucleans entered Aztocheletynal in 1525 they faced an Oaexicun leadership mostly dead from plague. Emperor Xiuhtlatuahu was executed on the orders of de Mariran, and with his death ended the Oaexicun empire. de Mariran was declared the Captain-General of Nuovo Poveglia which became a colony under the sovereignty of Poveglia.

The conquest of the Oaexicun gave the Poveglian's vast swathes of territory often inhabited with hostile natives that opposed Euclean rule. The area around the city of Quauthuezin, never fully conquered by de Mariran, was particularly hostile with several uprisings against the new government recorded between 1525-7. In response de Mariran actively encouraged the spread of smallpox and used rudimentary biological warfare to suppress the native population, sending prisoners infected by the disease back into Oaexicun cities and distributing blankets and clothing with the disease. This resulted in a dramatic population decline of native people over the next 100 years - in the early 1500's it was estimated over 8 million natives lived within modern day Marirana, but by the end of the 1700's the population had declined to around 900,000 people.

Raffaele de Mariran sacking the city of Aztocheletynal

Garrison towns were set up around the colony to impose order after another rebellion in 1530. In the early years of Euclean rule the most serious revolt was the Tecocoatzin Rebellion, started by the former Tlatoani of Aztocheletynal Tecocoatzin, who led 3,000 warriors in opposition to colonial rule mainly around the former city of Aztocheletynal. The rebellion lasted from 1529-1534 when Tecocoatzin was killed with his forces slowly dissipating thereafter.

Under Carthan rule Nuovo Poveglia was mainly used for the extraction of resources, primarily gold and sugar. 300,000 labourers from Euclea (predominantly from Poveglia itself) emigrated to the colony to work as labourers alongside 100,000 black slaves to work in sugar plantations. The colonial government encouraged the growth of mining and agriculture in order to enrich Poveglia but did not create more than a basic administration and colonial army to maintain control. A system of racial segregation was imposed; only pure blooded Poveglians were allowed to enter the civil service or nascent clergy, with mixed race, blacks and natives being discriminated against.

Raffaele de Mariran, after whom Marirana is named.

Under the initial Poveglian rule there was little social development whilst economically the colony was utilised for its resources alone. Gold, silver and sugar production were the main sources of income for the colonial government which imposed taxes especially on silver which soon became a bedrock for the finances of Poveglia. This enabled Poveglia itself to become incredibly wealthy but did not see wealth trickle down to the colony itself which was a backwater in terms of social development.

During the late 1500's the colonial government launched several measures to rationalise the social hierarchy and administration of the colony. This included a program of fiscal centralisation, reforming the tax code (including the introduction of an income tax), encouraging large scale immigration, merging the garrisons into a single unified armed force, overhauling the legal system, creating a rudimentary schooling system and most importantly beginning large scale evangelisation. Since their conquest by Poveglia many natives had come to believe that the victory of the conquistadors proved the superiority of the Sotirian God, but the evangelisation campaign resulted in the Solarian Catholic Church hierarchy being firmly in control over Nuovo Poveglia. The evangelisation campaign however produced unrest, especially during the 1606-7 Central Fields Rebellion. This was put down by colonial authorities who subsequently put in place a forced labour program for natives where all non-Sotirian native people's were placed into de facto slavery.

As part of his modernisation programme the colonial government also ordered for a new capital to be built on the coast. This was partly done to better facilitate trade between the straits but also so rival colonial administrators could build a political base beyond Santa Maria. As the city was being built the colonial government preemptively named it Aquinas in honour of the Etrurian saint of the same name.

Further reforms under an autocratic system such as the creation of a university in Santa Maria were steadily pursued over the following centuries. During this time a more distinct Marianan culture started to develop including the creation of Mariranan cuisine and a sense of identity distinct from Solaria. In particular the evangelisation campaign led to more white immigrants to marry native people's and thus lose their social status as "pure" white, leading to a growing class of non-white peoples who were increasingly at odds with the white elite landowners and clergy.

Following the unification of modern-day Etruria into the United Kingdom of Etruria Nuovo Poveglia became the Kingdom of Nuovo Poveglia being considered to be a constituent state within the United Kingdom, making Etruria a pluricontinental state. The kingdom was unpopular amongst the commercial elites who governed colony being regarded as less welcoming to the autonomy enjoyed under Poveglia with the King Adriano Augusto I rarely concentrating on the kingdom.

During the Asterian War of Secession Etruria heavily supported the rebels in Nuxica and Cassier making the kingdom a frontline against Gaullican forces. Although the war resulted in a victory for the rebels it had led to a large amount of Mariranan's to die and the leadership perceive the metropole as being dismissive of the concerns of the colony and more interested in power-politics in Euclea. Military leaders in Marirana led by Onofrio Moretti and Guido Causin began to increasingly embrace republican and nationalist ideals increasingly dissatisfied with the increasingly bankrupt and ineffective Etrurian state.

Independence and Empire

Main articles: Mariranan War of Independence and Empire of Marirana

Cosimo, Prince of Carinthia declaring the independence of the Kingdom of Marirana.

The Etrurian Revolution in 1784 exacerbated social divisions within Nuovo Poveglia as the peasantry and creolo classes started to agitate against the conservative landowning elite. The previous moves against the Etrurian elite had however failed to arouse widespread political support for the endeavour with many still supporting de jure rule from Etruria. However, the fall of the Etrurian government changed political attitudes within Nuovo Poveglia, resulting in much of the lower upper classes to abandon support for their colonial master and support the growing nationalist movement backed by creolo's and the peasantry.

In May 1785 general's Onofrio Moretti and Giosuè Balsamo-Crivelli declared the independence of the Republic of San Marco in the far east of the country, beginning the Mariranan War for Independence. Moretti's nationalist forces were mainly opposed by loyalists within the colony that backed the Archbishop Giovanni d'Merdci in Soriano who continued to pledge loyalty to the dethroned monarchy who had fled Etruria, refusing to recognise the Etrurian Republic.

Loyalist forces took over the republicans headquarters in Aquinas August 1784, leaving loyalist forces largely concentrated around the city of Santa Maria. Anti-republican forces received a boost when Cosimo, Prince of Carinthia, the son of the deposed King Adriano Augusto III, arrived after fleeing Etruria. A northern campaign led by anti-republican Umberto di Francesco in the October 1786 saw much of the modern day Mederio and Catacosi provinces come under loyalist control. Division within republican armies led to di Francesco's army to seize the city of Aquinas where on the 8^th February he declared the Empire of Marirana named after the explorer who discovered the country. Cosimo was crowned as Emperor Cosimo and formally declared Marirana's independence from Etruria on the same day.

Following the independence of Marirana there a brief period of stability due to the unity between the anti-republican and republican leaders who supported Cosimo's rule as the best way to ensure Marirana's independence. Under the leadership of Cosimo several centralising reforms were made including the creation of a national tax system, the merging of the provincial revolutionary armies and pursuing an economic policy of protectionism. This allowed Marirana to reduce its debt it had incurred during the independence war and therefore both curry favour with Euclean powers such as Gaullica and Estmere as well as lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining economy. Tensions increased in the country following the passing of several pro-clerical laws by Cosimo, alienating republican leaders who saw the new regime as betraying the values of the declaration of independence.

Although Marirana had been able to secure recognition from Euclean powers this did not apply with its neighbour, Nuxica, who claimed sections of northern Marirana. The 1789-1791 Mariranan-Nuxican War saw the new Mariranan state defeated by the numerically stronger Nuxica which led to a destabilisation of the Mariranan state. Cosimo attempted to stabilise the country, creating a police state in his base in Soriano and enforcing his power through state terrorism, relying almost entirely on his own appointees to retain order in the country. This increasingly alienated those in the east of the country who still supported republican ideals.

In 1800 a coalition of republican provincial and local warlords formed the Army of the North with the intent to overthrow the central government after Cosimo attempted to abolish the provinces; with his political allies believing Cosimo to be an inflexible and ineffective leader Cosimo quickly abdicated and went into exile to Satucin; a new republic was declared under the Army of the North's leader general Luciano Rosato.

Secessionist Wars and Renzi regime

Main articles: First Republic of Marirana, Secessionist Wars, and Second Republic of Marirana

The overthrow of Cosimo led to the creation of the 1800 constitution which departed radically from the dictatorial document promulgated by the monarchy. The republicans abolished the office of monarch replacing it with the post of president, an elected post with a single five year term as well as creating a bicameral legislative assembly split into a House of Senators and a House of Councillors.

Luciano Rosato (far right) promulgating the 1800 constitution.

Following the fall of Cosimo's regime Marirana spiralled into instability as local warlords and provincial governments rebelled against the central government in Santa Maria. Although Rosato was well respected he died of malaria in December 1801 leading to the coalition he led to collapse. The country split into several cliques based around geographic lines with little adherence to ideological goals outside vague notions of republicanism and a form of federalism.

Initially the left-republican Santa Maria Clique led by Giuseppe Bartolozzi held nominal control of the country but were opposed by the more conservative Ritaldi Clique led by Renato Melucciand the smaller Soriano Clique led by Maurizio la Russa. In December 1802 the Ritaldi and Soriano Cliques in an alliance seized Santa Maria and appointed a civilian president, but relations soon broke down with Soriano Clique leader la Russa seizing the presidency for himself. This led to a renewed period of fighting between the Ritaldi and Soriano cliques that further destabilised the country. As a result during this period Marirana was seen to cease to exist as a unified state. Local warlords often could not afford with tax revenue alone to pay their soldiers and either took on large debts from foreign governments and banks or allowed soldiers to utilise rape and pillaging in order to survive. As such Marirana was commonly considered to be an anarchic or failed state with the economy barely functioning and there being a large exodus of intellectuals from the country.

Under la Russa's the government moved into a more conservative direction with the constitution being amended to allow for presidential re-election, limiting the powers of the provinces and raising new taxes in order to pay off Marirana's then monumental debt. la Russa also controversially attempted to increase the role of the clergy in politics leading to opposition by most warlords who opposed clerical influence either for ideological or practical reasons. To quell the increasing opposition to the central government la Russa moved the capital to Aquinas and passed a decree in 1801 that suspended the parliamentary assembly, effectively enshrining himself as a de facto dictator. This led to several smaller warlords to form the Constitutional Protection Army which defeated la Russa in 1806 and installed Renato Melucci as president, who handed power over to civilian authorities. However country re-entered civil war when Salvatore Renzi and his Revolutionary Army launched the "anti-warlord campaign of national reunification".

Renzi's insurrections reopened the political divisions that had emerged in the earlier secessionist wars with Santa Maria and the northern provinces pitted against the predominantly coastal provinces of Ritaldi and Vittico. The war saw the use of scorched earth tactics by the Constitutional Protection Army leading to Renzi's forces to adopt guerrilla tactics. Following the successful revolutionary army siege of Aquinas in 1809 the government was forced to be headquartered in Monticello which was occupied by revolutionary forces in 1811, with Renzi declaring himself president of the Second Republic of Marirana.

Salvatore Renzi took power in 1811 and would attempt to dominate Asteria Superior

Following the revolutionaries victory in the civil war and Renzi's ascent to the presidency there was a beginning of a " reign of terror" within Marirana as Renzi attempted to create a radical dictatorship. Renzi created the Revolutionary Council to supersede the parliamentary assembly in matters of governance unilaterally passing a new constitution that attempted to solidify a proto-socialist and dirgist system of government wherein power was centralised in the hands of the Revolutionary Council headed by the president. The new constitution also abolished slavery for the first time in Mariranan history.

Upon coming to power Renzi ordered a wave of purges against "counter-revolutionaries" suppressing conservative politicians, rival generals, the clergy and landowners opposed to the government's radical policies. Renzi also implemented a strict anti-clerical policy closing the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santa Maria, banning clerics from holding political posts, censoring religious meetings and executing dissident clerics. The harsh methods used by Renzi led to a short period of political stability from 1814-1825.

The independence and the secessionist wars had led the economy to become unstable. As a result Renzi carried out a series of nationalisations as well as abolishing state supported higher education, redirecting money to the military instead. More contentiously however Renzi launched a massive land reform programme that occurred in several stages - first confiscating land from "counter-revolutionaries" before doing the same to clerics and finally unused land.

Renzi's land reform programme elicited fear from Mariranan coffee and cocoa oligarchs who believed the land reform programme would be extended to them as well. As a result political dissent to Renzi increased with there being periodic uprisings in anti-revolutionary strongholds across the country, causing political instability. As instability increased in Marirana Renzi believed such destabilisation was the result of foreign agents, and began to use increasingly nationalist rhetoric openly calling for a revolution across the Asteria's to "sweep away reactionary practice". Renzi was especially jiongistic towards Eldmark but also harboured an intense dislike of Nuxica and Gaullica, whose Asterian possessions Renzi named a "stain and embarrassment in this hemisphere".

Nuxican troops entering Santa Maria in 1827.

Tensions flared between the Marirana and its neighbours as border conflicts became common, with Renzi's government attempting to spur revolutions and the rise of similar radical regimes to that that existed in Marirana. During his presidency Renzi launched huge military modernisation restructuring the Mariranan army to be a conscript force which modern Estmerish weapons. Nationalist propaganda and a confidence in ordinary soldier's prowess made the Mariranan army the strongest in Asteria. A key reform was the introduction of a levée en masse that was applied on non-ethnic lines significantly increasing the size of the army.

In March 1820 Renzi launched a massive invasion of Eldmark and Nuxica, beginning the Mariranan Revolutionary War. Renzi believed that without a preemptive strike that "reactionary polities" would destroy the Mariranan state and that Mariranan hegemony over the Asteria's was the only guarantee of an independent Mariranan state. Marirana's numerically larger and better equipped armies overran large sections of Eldmark and Nuxica with Renzi often leading from the front.

Marirana launched an invasion of Asterian Gaullica in 1824 that overstretched Mariranan lines. At its height Marirana occupied territory that accounted for around 20 million people, but soon was wrecked by military defeats as Marirana's demographic and economic base struggled against the combined might of its neighbours and the Gaullican Oriental Fleet. By 1827 the Mariranan army suffered from several large defeats and was on the firm retreat; Renzi fled the country in August and in September 1827 Mariranan forces finally surrendered. In the Treaty of X Marirana lost a large amount of territory including all holdings in Asteria Inferior.

Rise of the modern nation

King Pietro Ferdinando.

Main articles: Kingdom of Marirana, Third Republic of Marirana, Frontier War (Kylaris), and War of the Arucian

Following the surrender of Marirana in 1827 and the large reductions in territory the second Mariranan republic continued under a series of weak and short-lived presidents. A failure of Marirana to repay war debts led to a Nuxican backed coup d'état in 1837 which brought conservatives to power. The new conservative elite invited a Weranic prince, Peter Ferdinand of Ludwigheim, to serve as the King of Marirana out of the belief that Marirana's republican governance had been a failure and that a monarchy was needed. The duke accepted with the Kingdom of Marirana being delcared and Peter Ferdinand crowned Pietro Ferdinando. The new government was heavily dependent on Eldmarkish and Nuxican military assistance and suffered a series of attempted coups and localised rebellions throughout the late 1830's, especially as its reactionary government began to increasingly use heavy handed methods to suppress dissent.

The new government's dependence on foreign powers led to King Pietro Ferdinando to begin to centralise the army to prevent the proliferation of localised uprisings. Despite the new constitution creating a council of ministers the King took the role of President of the Council in order to secure his rule over the nation. This resulted in a highly personalised form of governance wherein the King increasingly became isolated from political allies.

Tensions with Eldmark became an issue when the government attempted to liberalise the Eldmarkish-Nuxican imposed tariff regime. Relations further deteriorated when the parliamentary assembly vetoed the Eldmarkish-Nuxican backed candidate for the chief of the military. The fragile relations between Eldmark and Marirana led to the the military to become more assertive in Mariranan politics, eroding the authority and power of Pietro Ferdinando and promoting their own policies effectively running provincial governments.

Pietro Ferdinando ensured the government followed a moderately conservative course explicating promoting a "grand accord" with the Church and the state as well as investing in ambitious railroad infrastructural projects and economically investing in Marirana's nascent industries, beginning rudimentary industrialisation. When Pietro Ferdinando came to power the country was deeply in debt, resulting in Pietro Ferdinando to order a programme of austerity and the passing of several free trade policies in order for the government to repay outstanding loans. In 1856 Marirana launched the Frontier War with Eldmark that saw the recovery of territory lost during the fall of the Renzi regime as King Pietro Ferdinando began a "policy of equidistance" in regards to Gaullica and Nuxica.

Despite economic development and raising literacy rates the Pietro Ferdinando always relied on authoritarian means to maintain power censoring the press, rigging elections and jailing political opponents. As well as this the economy and society remained primarily agricultural outside limited industrial development in urban centres in Santa Maria and Aquinas. As well as this Pietro Ferdinando was accused of utilising forced labour primarily from the native population to complete infrastructure projects, an act seen to preclude ethnic cleansing to native groups.

Gaullican troops sieging Aquinas during the War of the Arucian.

Relations between Marirana and the Gaullican Empire in Asteria Inferior deteriorated over the 1870's as Pietro Ferdinando moved to reduce Marirana's reliance on the empire, forming an alliance with Aucuria in 1880 that sought to limit the influence of Gaullica in the Arucian. In 1883 Marirana declared war on Satucin for failing to uphold treaty obligations - despite initial victories in securing the Arucian straits the Mariranan army fell apart after a Gallo-Satucine expedition decisively defeated the army when it launched an invasion of Marirana proper. With the capital under seige Pietro Ferdinando was ousted in a coup by general Joaquim Durão de Azevedo. Azevedo signed a peace with Gaullica that saw the San Marco and Vittico peninsulas occupied by Gaullica until 1885 and 1891 respectively.

Following the coup the kingdom was dismantled and a new republic was created with a federal system based on Nuxica's. The new regime saw the business class started to dominate public life as tepid industrialisation was sponsored by the political and economic elite in order to increase the powers of the business class over the landowning class as the value of silver began to decline. The government also began a policy of low taxes and economic deregulation, especially to foreign investment. This led to Nuxica, Estmere and Gaullica to compete for economic influence in the country that widened social dissent and political polarisation. The commercial classes who aligned around the Radical Liberal Party that supported the republican form of government were largely friendly towards Estmere and Nuxica whilst the conservative military and church group within the Republican Federation aligned with Gaullica.

The Great Collapse in 1913 had a profound effect on Marirana as its main export - cocoa - collapsed in price. President Serafino Minuto-Rizzo attempted to implement more statist economic policies which resulted in a backlash by conservative elements of the military. In 1914 General Giovanni Lombardi led a coup that ousted the Minuto-Rizzo government. Lombardi under pressure from monarchists and conservatives declared the dictatorial Sotirian State of Marirana, ending the third republic.

Sotirian State

Main articles: Sotirian State of Marirana and Great War (Kylaris)

The Sotirian State was composed of a mixture of right-wing forces but under its initial leader, Lombardi, it promoted national Catholicism, corporatism and authoritarianism with Lombardi stating the principles of the state lay in Dio, Patria, Tradizione ("God, Fatherland, Tradition"). Lombardi subsequently began massive industrialisation to modernise the Mariranan military as well as launch a policy of economic autarky to undermine foreign economic influence in Marirana. The policy of equidistance between Gaullican and Estmero-Nuxican influence was continued.

Il Duce Ottaviano Castello ruled Marirana from 1921 to 1934.

The new regime was extremely oppressive. A secret police, the Department for the Repression of Banditry, launched the White Terror in 1914 where over 100,000 left-wing and liberal activists were detained or killed by the regime. The policy of economic autarky led to between 1915-1917 a famine to break out across the Mederio, Umbertide and Catacosi provinces. The government refused to allow food relief on the grounds the majority of those affected were indigenous people's, resulting in the deaths of between 500,000-1 million people.

The regime became divided between the more moderate supporters of Lombardi and an extremist faction led by secret police chief Ottaviano Castello who after 1919 openly emulated the Gaullican Popular Party. In 1921 Castello was able to overthrow Lombardi and form the Integrated Union of the Traditionalist Right, an openly functionalist organisation leading to the formation of a single-party military dictatorship with Castello named Il Duce della Stato. This was accompanied in the growth of a cult of personality centred around Castello, who was cast as the "savoir of Marirana" taking up many titles formally assumed by the Mariranan royalty such as Defender of the Faith.

Castello re-orientated Marirana to become openly pro-Gaullican, coveting land lost to Nuxica and Eldmark over the past century. In 1922 Marirana became a part of the Entente confirming the pro-Gaullican nature of the regime, whilst a military mission under Guillaime de Learé helped transform Marirana's armed forces into one of the most modern and well equipped in the region.

In 1929 during the Great War Castello led Marirana into the war on the side of the Entente with an attack into Eldmark and Nuxica with the intent to annex land in the territory whilst also deny the Grand Alliance access to resources in Nuxica and Eldmark. Whilst initially seeing military success occupying Eldmark and southern Nuxica, by the 1930's Marirana was on the defensive, with the Grand Alliance attacking the country from the northwest supported by partisan forces led by Palmiro Lanza (the nom de gurre of Ettore Togliatti). Castello was executed by his top leadership a week after the surrender of Gaullica with the country as a whole surrendering shortly afterwards leading to Nuxica and Eldmark to jointly occupy the country. The Unione was dismantled, senior officials arrested (later being tried) and the army being purged of far-right elements. Overall of the 3.4 million men who served in the Mariranan National Army around 300,000 were killed and 400,000 wounded during the war.

Post-war period

Main articles: Fourth Republic of Marirana, Lanzastra Rebellion, and Mariranan miracle

Palmiro Lanza leading his cavalry troops during the Lanzastra Rebellion

Following the war Marirana was occupied by Nuxican-Eldmarkish forces, who created an interim government from Lanza's resistance forces to lead the country to a post-war democratic government. However the contentious issue of land reform and growing suspicions from Lanza's left-wing allies that the occupation forces were backing more conservative forces to take power led to the start of the Lanzastra Rebellion when partisans led by Lanza attempted to oust occupation forces and create an agrarian socialist state.

Marirana officially became independent from the occupation forces in 1940 when a new constitution was promulgated by the occupation authorities. The new constitution banned the Unione and created a presidential government with a separation of powers, democratic governance and a federal system. The occupation authorities also liberalised the economy reforming the corporatist system put in place by Castello. The first post-war president Niccolò Pellegrini attempted to crush the Lanzastra uprising through military means enlisting the help of the Federation forces still stationed in Marirana. The Lanzastra movement dissipated on 1940 after the death of Lanza, but this did not stop Pellegrini being assassinated by a former Lanzastra in 1944.

In 1945 political instability and the unpopularity of the government's secular reforms led to president Piero Galimberti to be overthrown in a coup by former Castello-era general Jordi i Teixidor. Supported by the Federation i Teixidor liberalised the economy and opened Marirana to foreign investment. He also tightly repressed political dissidents and muzzled the press, leading to a growth of anti-government sentiment especially following a land reform law that resulted in many peasants to lose land. In 1952 popular discontent, rioting and a lack of support from the military led to i Teixidor to flee the country with the two pro-democratic parties - the Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Rally for the Republic - taking power.

From the early 1950's to the mid-1960's under the dominance of populist Antonio Michelozzi Marirana underwent economic prosperity and a social revival. The government pursued import-substitution industrialisation and inflationary based growth resulting in the "Mariranan miracle" with national incomes doubling in a period of a decade as growth averaged 4-8% annually. During this time uranium was discovered which became one of Marirana's main exports. Considerable foreign investment led to manufacturing to become the main aspect of the economy. The massive economic growth and political stability helped lead to the growth of Mariranan cultural aspects, such as Mariranan cinema entering its Golden Age. Political stability was established after the two main parties - the RPR and PAR - signed the "pact of democracy" (patto di democrazia) wherein both parties agreed not to replicate the hyper-polarisation of previous Mariranan political systems and respect democratic norms.

Aquinas in 1962.

Despite the economic prosperity of this period social inequality especially in indigenous communities remained as did widespread corruption. By the mid-1960's the growth rate had started to slow leading to the high inflation rate to start to exert serious damage over the economy. This coincided with increased political instability following the death of Michelozzi in 1965 at the hands of leftists, with political polarisation between the right and left becoming more pronounced. In 1968 Romano Emanuele Orlando, a populist with strong left-wing tendencies, was elected. Orlando's presidency was marked by an attempt to shift Marirana towards social democracy with the government starting to nationalise state assets, promote workers' rights and expand welfare policies. However Orlando's government encountered strong opposition from the Mariranan business class leading to capital flight, very high inflation and rocketing unemployment. Political polarisation also became more serious as armed clashes between right and left wing groups became more common. Orlando attempted to change the constitution in 1972 but was blocked by the PAR who ended the pact of democracy; the political deadlock that followed alongside the economic crisis and political polarisation resulted in far-right elements in the military led by Umbert D'Aloia to launch a coup d'état against Orlando, ending the Federative Republic.

Civic-military dictatorship

Main articles: Civic-military dictatorship in Marirana and Mariranan insurgency

The new military government, known as the Standing Committee for Armed Forces Command (SCAFC), upon coming to power dissolved the Federative Republic passing several decrees repealing the constitution and severely limited human rights. The new government within three months of coming to power banned all political parties, imposed formal censorship, restored the Castello era national symbols, arrested over 25,000 leftist activists and created a secret police, the Federal Counterintelligence Agency. In 1973 the government created the military-backed Party of National Reconstruction (PRN) and passed a new constitution with a unicameral legislature, the Assembly of Experts. A civilian, Luciano Pella, was elected president but real power continued to lie in the hands of SCAFC, leading the regime to adopt a dual "civic-military" identity.

Upon ascending to power D'Aloia advocated a third way between liberal capitalism and leftist socialism, instead proposing a form of authoritarian corporatism on the principle of autarky. This led to economic dislocation, with D'Aloia forced from power by general Xavier Borràs in 1975. Borràs led to the most repressive phase of the junta creating a network of labour camps and using death flights to eliminate opponents; his harsh anti-native policies led to some to accuse him of genocide whilst his general policies led to a backlash from civil society, especially after government paramilitaries murdered Bishop Giuliano Tabacci in May 1978. Leftist paramilitaries attempted terrorist guerrilla tactics in order to overthrow the government - this however led the military regime to engage in systematic murder of left-wing dissidents through death squads.

Military troops on the streets of Aquinas following the coup

Borràs continued D'Aloia's economic policies which led the economy to enter a prolonged stagnation. In order to increase support for the regime Borràs implemented populist policies such as land reform and the nationalisation of several large foreign companies; Borràs's intention was to consolidate a national-corporate state based on national syndicalist lines. A credit crisis in 1982 led to oligarchs who had supported the coup to agitate against the perceived socialist policies of Borràs and resulted in the SCAFC to replace him with Vincenzo Rustichelli.

Rustichelli was a pragmatist with little fixed ideology. Emphasising close relations with Nuxica Rustichelli maintained the repressive state apparatus that had been consolidated by his predecessors. In order to better crush the scattered remaining dissidents Rustichelli in 1982 ordered the merging of several drug cartels with right-wing paramilitaries - this led to an increase in drug production in the country as both the government and leftist groups increasingly used cocaine and cannabis profits to fund their activities. Rustichelli himself was implicated in the trade of cocaine and cooperating extensively with criminal organisations to utilise their networks to further crush left-wing forces.

Although land reform was partially reversed Rustichelli maintained the economic structure he inherited, with the military running key enterprises. As the economy slid into a serious recession in 1987 Rustichelli was forced to dismiss military managers and appoint technocrats to manage the economy. President Stefano Uccello (1988-1993) with the support of Rustichelli negotiated an Economic Restructuring Policy from the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs on the condition of liberalising both the economy and the political system in 1990. The Rustichelli-Uccello government subsequently implemented fiscal retrenchment, privatisation, devaluation of the lira, the elimination of food subsidies, deregulating most industry especially the financial industry and liberalising Marirana's tariff regime.

Under Uccello's presidency there was an agreement between the military and the PRN to in line with demands for political liberalisation to "civilianise" the regime, dropping its military characteristics and shifting to a (nominally) democratic model. In 1991 a new constitution was passed reinstating the House of Councillors and the House of Senators, legalising other political parties and dissolving the SCAFC with Rustichelli maintaining power only through his position as head of the military. Despite allowing the opposition Coalition for Democratic Action to contest in the 1992 elections this was marked by electoral fraud on a massive scale, with the government backed candidate Roberto Vernizzi being elected by over 70% of voters. Despite being criticised as a result of this, the government's continued push for economic reform meant that it continued to receive bailout loans from GIFA.

Following the 1993 election the regime began to take on the characteristics of a dominant-party state under the PRN. Power was increasingly delegated to technocrats who spearheaded limited political liberalisation but large economic liberalisation. In 1998 newly elected president Filippo Collegno (considered a liberal in the regime) stated Marirana had a system that emphasised a "disciplined electoral democracy". However by the 1990's drug violence had escalated to very high levels, with the Ospeletto Cartel led by Matteo Scalfaro by 1993 supplying over 80% of the total cocaine consumed in Asteria. The government was often accused of colluding with drug cartels both as a source of revenue and to maintain social stability.

In 1995 the government pegged the lira to a basket of foreign currencies and implemented monetarist policies which reduced Marirana's very high inflation rate, whilst the political stability that occurred during the 1990's led to the economy to get back to sustained (if uneven) growth for the first time since the 1960's. During the 2000's, there was increased political and economic stability with Marirana becoming a newly industrialised country. However poverty and unemployment remained extremely high with wealth concentrated almost exclusively amongst a small circle of party bosses, oligarchs, military officers and drug kingpins.

A Community of Nations report on Marirana detailed serious human rights violations, including routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts. The report also alleged that Marirana had become an international centre for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation. The governments deep connections with drug trafficking groups led to Marirana to be accused of being a single-party narcostate.

Civil War

The Battle of Ospeletto in March 2014.

From 2005 onwards the government encountered massive political, economic and social crises, starting in 2005 when a currency crisis which combined with external economic shocks, as well as a dependency on volatile short-term capital and debt to maintain the overvalued fixed exchange rate caused the economy to collapse with poverty increasing to over 50%. The government also defaulted on its debt and devalued the lira increasing Marirana's economic woes. The economic crisis led to insurgent and drug trafficking groups to increase their activities with Ritaldi, Mederio and Umbertide provinces. This led to President Giordano Falcomatà (2003-2008) to launch a war on drugs under pressure from abroad to tackle drug trafficking groups. This disrupted the previous fragile stability Marirana had enjoyed under the so-called "technical dictatorship" exacerbated by austerity policies that increased poverty and unemployment, especially amongst young people.

Under president Alfonso Hatoyama (2008-2012) the first non-white president of Marirana the government became increasingly corrupt. Hatoyama strengthened the Inter-Provincial Security Services to combat drug trafficking groups which alienated sections of the military dependent on drug trafficking groups for revenue. In 2012 Hatoyama attempted to nominate his son Maurizio Hatoyama for the next president; this sparked a popular backlash from the population. Protests started at first against the consolidation of a "family dictatorship" but soon became a broader social movement calling for democratic governance, a fairer economy and end to drug-fuelled violence. this resulted in Hatoyama under pressure from the military to resign handing power over to Giorgio Macciocchi. Macciocchi announced the creation of a national unity government that would preside over free elections and economic reforms within 12 months; however after six months in office Macciocchi was overthrown by military general Dario Lorenzin who announced the creation of a provisional military government.

Macciocchi's overthrow by Lorenzin led to large sections of the military to defect and declare an opposition government in October 2013 - the Mariranan National Council led by a collection of opposition politicians. This started the Mariranan Civil War with the government with broad international support attempting to crush the MNC.

In 2015 the MNC split when Zapoyan rebels formed the Federation of Xochicualla-Zapoya, a separatist state intended to represent native interests albeit being primarily dominated by Zapoyans. Later a large section of the MNC supported by Chervolesia formed the Mariranan Committee for National Liberation (CMLN) which supported the creation of a socialist federation to replace the current government. By 2018 the CMLN had taken control of the majority of the country, albeit the government still controls the capital of Aquinas. Most sides have been accused of war crimes with the regime of President Lorenzin in particular implicated in indiscriminate bombings of civilians.

As of 2019 according to a CN report between 200,000-500,000 people have been killed in the Mariranan civil war with over 5 million displaced across Asteria. CN Secretary-General Ekaterine Beruchashvili called the Mariranan civil war in 2017 the "worst humanitarian crisis currently ongoing" in the world.

Geography

Rainforest in the Catacosi province

Farming highlands in San Marco

The Pozzolengo river in Vittico

Marirana borders the Arucian Sea to the west and the Alexandria Gulf to the east. Marirana is predominantly a tropical country with patches of sand dunes, deserts and a rainforest in the interior. The country has three mountain chains, which divide the country into five regions; the arid semi-deserts in the west of the country, the rainforest in the centre, a sub-tropical coastal region, lowlands in the south-east and highlands in the north-east. The western regions are hotter and less humid than the coastal and the central regions.

The largest mountain chain, the Niardo chain, straddles the Umbertide and Ritaldi regions. The highest peak in Marirana is the Erbusco mountain.

Biodiversity

Jaguar in the Onofrio Moretti Zoo in Mederio

Marirana has a wide array of biodiversity with over 100,000 different animal species, mainly located in the central and eastern tropics and rainforest whilst having over 20,000 plant species. Since 1996 the government has protected over 88 areas including 14 biosphere reserves, 46 national parks, 21 areas of protected flora and fauna and 7 wildlife sanctuaries. In total 11% of Marirana is defined as protected wildlife areas. Marirana's rainforest and the biodiversity within it is considered one of the most biodiverse regions in the Asteria Superior.

The majority of Marirana's central rainforest is considered to be tropical and subtropical coniferous forests with the majority of forests in the country seen as laurel forests, spanning much of northeast Marirana with the forests being within the central Asterian montane forests region.

There have been several threats to Marirana's biodiversity. Most prominently deforestation has been seen as the most serious threat to Marirana's biodiversity, alongside over 75% of Marirana's vegetation as been converted to agriculture. The government's Agency for Environmental Preservation has listed 105 species as being threatened and 34 being critically endangered.

Natural disasters

Marirana lies across the central Asterian tectonic plate resulting in semi-frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The most recent earthquake in 2016 was recorded to be of 7.8 magnitude and resulted in the deaths of over 957 people and injuring over 1,000, the most destructive earthquake in Marirana since 1885. The most destructive earthquake in Marirnanan history was in 1765 when a 8.4 magnitude earthquake led to the destruction of the city of Amatrice.

Volcanic eruptions have also been a very serious issue for Marirana. The move of the capital of the Oaexicun Empire from Oaexicun to Moctezumpan was partly done due to the eruption of Mount Iztaccíhuatl in 1324 which devastated much of the former capital. The most recent large volcanic eruption was by Mount Tariácuri, the largest active volcano in Marirana, in 2009.

Since 2016 the government has invested more money and resources in ensuring rural communities have earthquake protection.

Politics

President Dario Lorenzin

Prime Minister Enzo Alfano

Constitutionally since 1991 Marirana has been a semi-presidential constitutional republic with a representative democracy. The President of Marirana (Presidente) is the head of state and the Prime Minister (Primo Ministro) the head of the government (Governo della Marirano) comprised of senior ministers and junior ministers; the senior ministers comprise of the Council of Ministers (Consiglio dei Ministri). The bicameral legislature is the Parliamentary Assembly (Assemblea Parlamentare) with the upper house being the House of Senators and the lower house the House of Councillors. Marirana uses a system of civil law with a four tier judiciary, with the Constitution of Marirana serving as the supreme law in the country. Marirana is divided into six provinces with have a high degree of regional autonomy.

In actuality Marirana has since 1972 been governed by a dictatorship. From 1972-1991 the dictatorship was termed as being "civic-military" with the military (through the Standing Committee of Armed Forces Command) and civilian politicians (through the Party of National Reconstruction) sharing power. In the 1990's there was a shift to a fully civilian dictatorship with the military taking a backseat role. Since the start of the Mariranan Civil War the country has been governed as a military dictatorship under Dario Lorenzin.

Large parts of the country are governed by the Mariranan Committee for National Liberation (Comitato Marirano di Liberazione Nazionale; CMLN). The CMLN consists of a coalition of left-wing groups that govern the territory they control as a socialist federation under the leadership of Lorenzo Occhetto and Elisabetta Moro. The CMLN claims to be the legitimate government of Marirana under the principle of popular sovereignty. Another smaller government, the Mariranan National Council, also claims legitimacy and is theoretically a presidential democracy under Paolo Dallavalle.

Government

Marirana's government is a semi-presidential republic. The president, elected directly every five years, is considered to be the most powerful figure within the Mariranan government, appointing the Prime Minister from the Parliamentary Assembly provided the Prime Minister commands the confidence of the Parliamentary Assembly. The Prime Minister then is responsible for appointing a government. Ministers cannot pass legalisation without parliamentary approval.

The government consists of six ministers and nine junior ministers, known as secretaries of state. The entire fifteen member government is chaired by the Prime Minister. A smaller and more powerful executive body, called the Council of Ministers is composed only of the senior ministers, though some Secretaries of State may attend Council meetings and is chaired by the president rather than the prime minister.

The President appoints the Prime Minister, approves legalisation (and reserves the right to veto it), is commander-in-chief, ratifies treaties, nominates members of the Supreme Court, can pass executive orders and grant pardons. The President is much more powerful when they are from the same political faction controlling the Parliamentary Assembly, effectively being able to dismiss ministers and control domestic policy. However, if the presidents political rivals control the parliamentary assembly there exists a state of cohabitation in which the president is confined mainly to managing international relations as the prime minister and cabinet are made up of his political rivals (the president still has the ability to choose who is prime minister, however).

Legislature

The bicameral legislature of Marirana is known as the Parliamentary Assembly which is divided between an upper house (the House of Senators) and a lower house (the House of Councillors). The House of Senators has 90 members whilst the House of Councillors has 232 members - both houses serve five year terms. The Parliamentary Assembly is the main legislative body and retains partial parliamentary supremacy on all but foreign and defence affairs (which the executive retains complete control over).

The House of Senators seats is elected every five years alongside the Councillors. The senate can veto or delay most legalisation, but cannot veto or block government formations, budgets or constitutional changes proposed by the House of Councillors. The House of Senators can however vote down a motion of no confidence. The House of Councillors is the more powerful house and is elected every five years. The House of Councillors officially lends support for the government, but it can only dissolve the government if it has the support of the House of Senators. It has control over most areas of governance such as finances, regional administration, education ad health.

Political parties and elections

Marirana has a dominant-party system. Since 1994 two parties have dominated Mariranan politics - the Popular Republican Movement from 1994 to 2013 and the Republican Democratic Concentration from 2015 to present. Both parties are considered to have supported neoliberal economic politics and authoritarianism.

Elections for both the president and the parliamentary assembly are held every five years in Marirana, with voting being compulsory. Presidents are elected by a two-round system and are restricted to serving a single five year term. The House of Councillors elected every four years under a first-past the-post system. The 90 members of the House of Senators are also elected by first-past-the-post with each province sending 15 members to the senate. Half of the senate is elected every four years alongside Councillors elections with senators serving 8 year terms. The last presidential and parliamentary elections were held in 2015 with legislative elections scheduled for 2019 postponed due to the ongoing civil war. No election since 1968 presidential one and the 1970 legislative one in Marirana has been considered free or fair.

Judiciary

Marirana has a four-tier court system with a system of civil law inspired by Garipoleonic Code. The highest courts are the Constitutional Court which deals exclusively deals with constitutional issues, the High Court which deals with other legal matters and the Court of Appeal which addresses appeals and if they are forwarded to the High Court. Both the Constitutional and High Courts can subject the executive to judicial review. Below the High Courts sits in decreasing importance Provincial, County and local courts which refer upwards depending on the case.

Marirana in 2000 abolished the death penalty. However it was reintroduced in 2014 in government-controlled areas.

Administrative Divisions

According to the 1992 constitution, Marirana is a federative republic with six provinces (provincia) that are furthered divided into 530 counties (contea) and further into over 3,000 wards (reparto) or boroughs (borgo).

Under the federal system, all six provinces are given powers over various policy areas such as agriculture, economic development, the environment, health, transport, local government and social welfare amongst others. Each province has its own provincial assembly which appoints a provincial governor - however the central government reserves the right to veto or overturn policy made in the provinces.

Name Administrative seat Population (2015) File:Coat of Arms of Vittico.png Vittico Aquinas 12,709,351 File:Coat of arms of San Marco.png San Marco Santa Maria 16,057,883 File:Coat of Arms of Ritaldi.png Catacosi Venanzo 7,418,325 File:Coat of Arms Catacosi.png Ritaldi Monticello 10,163,246 File:Coat of arms of Umbertide.png Umbertide Ospeletto 5,758,961 File:Coat of Arms of Mederio.png Mederio Fonnaia 3,347,934

Foreign Relations

Main article: Foreign Relations of Marirana

Marirana's foreign affairs are directed by the President and managed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, currently headed by César Romani. Marirana has since 1987 professed the following principles in its foreign relations; support for the principle of non-intervention, the collective security of nations, the supremacy of international law and human rights and the practice of non-alignment in the interests of supporting state sovereignty.

Law Enforcement and crime

Seized cannabis packages being examined by the Federal Police Force

Marirana's law enforcement is under the authority of the National Police Force and the National Border Guard. Crimes committed within the military are handled by the Military Police. The National Police Force is directed by the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutors Office. The National Police Force has specialised in recent years to deal with drug trafficking.

The National Police Force has been accused of human right abuses and corruption, with trust in the police force being 12% in 2015. An investigation by the Community of Nations found that there are cases of serious abuses of power by the police force with widespread corruption especially in the Mederio and the Umbertide provinces.

Marirana has a very high murder rate with 30.88 per 100,000 inhabitants being murdered annually. Marirana has a serious problem with drug crime with drug cartels such as the Ospeletto Cartel and Freedom Association holding a large sway over various parts of Mariranan society. Since 2008 the government has increased anti-drug trafficking operations with former president Giorgio Macciocchi approving of the military to be deployed in urban areas to combat drug crime in 2016. According to the Ministry of the Interior one out of four Mariranan citizens are a victim of crime in some form.

Military

The national military of Marirana, the Federal Armed Forces of Marirana, currently consisting of about 300,000 active personnel (discounting those in paramilitary units). Marirana's military is split into three branches - the army, navy and air force. There also exists the National Civic Guard, comparable to a gendarmerie force which is seen as the fourth arm of the military. The President acts as Commander-in-Chief with oversight provided by the Ministry of Defence.

Mariranan paratroopers

The Mariranan military has undergone technological modernisation in recent years as the military has been more involved in counter-insurgency operations since the start of the Mariranan insurgency. To this extent the military has developed its urban and jungle warfare, digital warfare technology, aircraft, helicopters and rapid troop transport capabilities. Marirana spends 3.7% of its GDP on the military. Since 1972 Marirana has retained conscription which lasts for 12 months for all males between the ages of 18-22, with university students exempted until they graduate. Currently no other form of service exists, but the government has signalled it intends to amend this status i the future.

Marirana has three intelligence services - Inter-Provincial Security Agency (ASIP), the National Security Agency (ASN) and Military Security Agency (ASM). These three branches deal in domestic, foreign and military intelligence respectively. The ASIP and ASN report to the Ministry of the Interior whilst the the ASM reports to the Ministry of Defence.

The Mariranan military has often occupied a controversial political role, having taken power in coup d'état's several times most recently in 1972. The Mariranan military has been accused of corruption with many officers being involved in drug trafficking; it has also been accused of financing, training and encouraging the use of death squads and of committing human right abuses such as war crimes.

Demographics

As of 2017 Marirana has a population of 55 million people, the fourth most populous country in Asteria Superior. Since the 1900's Marirana has experienced large population growth, having 5 million people in 1900 but by 1930 having over 30 million people. Population growth since than has been steady albeit fertility rates have in recent years seen a decline. Marirana is projected to have a population of 60 million by 2030. Marirana's population is overwhelmingly concentrated on its coast with the northern rainforest regions being largely uninhibited. There has been an increasing movement to urban areas in what has traditionally been an overwhelmingly rural country - as of 2015 around 59% of the population now live in urban areas. Marirana's birthrate is 18.2 per 1,000 population.

Ethnic groups

Ethnic composition of Marirana (2013 census)

  Mulatto (48.9%)

  Zapoyan (14.5%)

  White (12.8%)

  Nativi (10.2%)

  Black (7.6%)

  Coians (3.3%)

  Other (2.7%)

Marirana is an ethnically diverse country. Classifications for the ethnic makeup of Marirana is controversial, as ethnic groups have over time come to be defined as much by social grouping (especially mulatto's, whites and natives) as by their genetic origins, especially as the traditional racial caste system has been undermined by a process of a synthesis between Euclean and native cultures.

According to the 2015 census Marirana's ethnic makeup had 48.9% mulatto (mixed Euclean-native people's), 16.5% Zapoyan, 12.8% white, 10.2% nativi (a generic term for non-Zapoyan indigenous peoples), 7.6% black, 3.3% Coians and 2.7% of other ethnicities primarily smaller native groups and immigrants from other parts of the world.

Marirana during both its colonial period and after independence had a strict racial caste system, wherein white Eucleans were placed at the top of the social hierarchy whilst black slaves and native people's were considered an underclass with creolo or mulatto peoples of mixed native-Euclean descent straddling between the two classes. As a result of this racial hierarchy Mariranan census data up until the 1990's was often considered unreliable in regards to ethnic identification. The first national census in 1754 purported 47% of the population was native whilst 8% was white and 45% was mulatto - however the 1922 national census purported that 62% of Marirana was mulatto, 18% white and 10% native, a seemingly massive reduction of native people. Whilst native people were subject to high mortality rates and attempted genocides against them (most notably the Great Hardship under Ottaviano Castello) it was commonly accepted that the government continually manipulated census figures and forcibly assimilated native people's into identifying as mulatto in order to promote a unified Mariranan identity and quash native ethnic identity. Changes in how the census system was carried out and the re-classification of what constitutes an ethnic group have meant modern Mariranan censuses allow a much larger scope in defining what constitutes a native person within Marirana.

In terms of social roles, ethnicity still plays a large part in Mariranan public life. Despite making up only 12.8% of the population whites have traditionally been dominant in both the economic and political spheres, with all but a handful of Marirana's presidents being white and the top ten richest families in Marirana being of white descent. Whites in Marirana predominantly are of Etrurian descent either constituting the original settlers of Marirana or later emigrating to the country in the 19^th century, whilst there are smaller descendants of Gaullican, Auratian, Ruttish, Weranian and Estmerish immigrants.

Depictions of the three main racial castes resulting from miscegenation of Eucleans, Bahians and indigenous Asterians. Produced during the 1500's, the authorities attempted to "rationally categorise" the racial diversity of Marirana, showing from left to right whites, mulatto's, blacks and natives.

The strictest definitions of mulatto's are people that have mixed native-Euclean ancestry, and have traditionally been the largest ethnic group in the country. However mulatto's have over time came to encompass a social class of people who were culturally seen as Mariranan but were not white - primarily this included native people who had assimilated into Mariranan culture but also people of colour as well. As such some of these people that fall into those groups still continue to identify as mulatto meaning that identifying those who are mulatto in Marirana is a contentious topic. As such it has been said that numbers pertaining to the amount of mulatto's in Marirana can be considered unreliable due to the fluid nature of mulatto identity.

Native people in Marirana can be divided between the Zapoyan peoples and smaller groups that are erroneously grouped together as nativi. Zapoyan's were the dominant ethnic group of the Oaexicun Empire and primarily speak the Zapoyan language. The dominant nature of the Zapoyan's in the Oaexicun empire means the group has since the 1300's been the largest native ethnic group primarily concentrated in the southeast of the country in the San Marco and Vittico provinces. Due to their location in the more populated parts of Mariranan Zapoyan people are more integrated into Mariranan culture then other ethnic groups, albeit high birth rates have meant they have kept a steady population. The other natavi people's on the other hand are mainly concentrated in the northwest of the country and suffer wide social discrimination. It is estimated that a small number of nativi peoples in Marirana's central rainforest are uncontacted peoples. These nativi people include Nayivi, Masipi and Nuunama.

Black Bahians were brought to Marirana as slaves starting in the 1500's with the slave trade in Marirana continuing until 1790 and slavery itself being abolished in 1812. Nevertheless blacks continued to suffer from social discrimination, despite large influxes of them emigrating to Marirana from the Federation until the latters abolition of slavery. There has also been immigrants from Coius especially from Xiaodong and Senria, predominantly poor agricultural labourers. The Senrian-Mariranan Hatoyama family dominated Mariranan politics from 1994 to 2012 under Alfonso Hatoyama.

Health

Healthcare in Marirana is distributed from a mix of private and public sources, with the latter managed by the Ministry of Public Health. Most healthcare is based on either an insurance system with 75.7% of the population on either public or private health insurance. Most private healthcare payments are made with out-of-pocket expenses. In 1998 the government implemented free health insurance for those in extreme poverty and in 2012 expanded the program to all people in poverty. Since 2006 the government has attempted to build the infrastructure necessary to introduce an universal health care system building over 800 new hospitals from 2006-2012.

Life expectancy in Marirana is 74.6 years old, with women's life expectancy being 77.0 years and men being 72.3 years. In 2009 there were 68 physicians per 100,000 people and over 2,453 hospitals in Marirana. Heart disease, diabetes and lung cancer are some of the most serious health issues in Marirana.

Religion

The Church of Saint Paul in the San Marco province

Whilst constitutionally guaranteeing freedom of religion, the predominant religion of Marirana is the Solarian Catholic Church, which has been identified as the "prevailing faith" within the constitution since 1972. Prior to 1938 one had to be a Solarian Catholic in order to be a Mariranan citizen. Considered to be a very religious country, as of 2016 Marirana is recorded to be made up of 85.8% Solarian Catholics, 8.2% evangelical, 2.2% indigenous beliefs, 2.7% other beliefs and 1.1% Atudaists. In some rural areas, Solarian Catholic and indigenous beliefs are sometimes syncretised.

During the 1970's liberation theology became influential amongst the Mariranan clergy partly as a backlash to the government's human right abuses, especially after the murder of Bishop Giuliano Tabacci in 1977. The rise of liberation theology in Marirana saw the government break many of its traditional ties with the church - however the Solarian Catholic Church still is considered to be the main social actor within Marirana. When Pope Joseph visited the country in December 2016 over 4 million travelled to hear him speak.

Indigenous beliefs traditionally describe forms of Sun worship that was the dominant religion of the Oaexicun Empire. Whilst traditional beliefs of Sun worship have dissipated (including worship for a living god and ritual sacrifice) forms of it still exist, primarily in rural areas of the Mederio and Catacosi provinces.

There are small minorities of Protestants - primarily Evangelicals - and Atudaists, the latter having in recent years seen very high rates of emigration. Marirana is one of the most religious countries in the world with 98.9% of the population believing in "some kind of God or spiritual being".

Economy

Marirana has a mixed economy with a combination of private and public enterprise. A newly industrialised country Marirana has a total nominal GDP of $354,528 million and GDP PPP of $746,433 million. Marirana has an abundance of natural resources and from 1996 maintained a very high rate of economic growth until falling into a serious recession in 2007 following a currency crisis.

Marirana was historically an agrarian economy with coffee and sugar exports being the main industries in the country. A coffee boom during the 1880's-1910's led to growth rates to raise to an average 8% annually - this enabled the government to invest in transportation, infrastructure and manufacturing. Growth ended as the government embraced autarky policies which led to the economy to stagnate performing consistently poorly during the 1920's. The end of the Great War saw much of the Mariranan economy in tatters, but it rebounded during the 1950's due to a combination of political stability, the increasing power of the Asterian and Roessen consumer markets and active industrialisation policies via import-substitution - whilst these policies led to breakneck economic growth it also led to inflation to continue to heighten. By the 1970's Marirana suffered from hyperinflation as the government embarked on protectionist policies - this led to in 1980 the government to undertake the "liberalisation turn" which envisioned two separate policy developments - internal marketisation via privatisation and deregulation and external liberalisation through re-orientation to export-oriented industrialisation and the removal of restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI). Political instability meant the economy continued to perform poorly after the reforms. In 1995 the government pegged the lira to the Federation Dollar and reduced the money supply which ended much of Marirana's inflation problems, which alongside political stability led to uneven economic growth during the 1990's and 2000's. A dependency on volatile short-term capital to maintain the overvalued fixed exchange rate led to the economy to collapse in 2007 when the poverty rate raising above 50% for the first time since 1986. The economy recorded weak growth in 2011 with a 0.5% growth rate that year with an average 2-4% growth since. Marirana however still has to deal with a large debt of $154,407,753,900 which makes up 35.01% of the nominal GDP.

Marirana's main industries are based on natural resource extraction, with the main resources exported being logging, bauxite, silver and gold. Marirana has also expanded its manufacturing industry, building consumer goods, automobiles and construction attracting foreign investment due to its literate population and low costs. Marirana's rural sector still retains some precedence with its traditional sugar and coffee industries being supplemented by a modern cattle industry.

Culture

Cinema

Mariranan actress Paola Ornaghi achieved popularity in the 1940's

Marirana developed its film industry in the late 1930's following the Great War. Prior to the Great War cinema in Marirana had largely been propaganda films praising the regime of Ottaviano Castello as the development of cinema largely occurred during his rule - the first film made in Marirana was in 1903 titled "The Triumph of Authority". Initially "talkies" were limited to newsreels but were soon used to create propaganda during the Great War.

The first time Mariranan cinema was able to develop with a degree of artistic freedom only occurred after the war. During the 1940's Marirana underwent a "Golden Age" as the Mariranan film industry underwent an economic boom. Films during the Golden Age differentiated between the neorealism of directors such as Luchino Argento and the more romanticist films, such as "spaghetti Easterns which achieved popularity in Asteria.

The Mariranan film industry underwent a sustained decline during the 1970's after the government imposed formal censorship, albeit the advent of affordable television in the 1960's had undermined the industry. Since the 1990's surrealist and romantic cinema has become more popular in Marirana with there being a focus on more expensive production and modern realist acting techniques. Since 2012 there has been a revial in neorealist styles of cinema, often focused around the Mariranan insurgency.