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Republic of San Miguel República de San Miguel
Flag
Motto: "Unidad, Trabajo, Progreso"(Auratian) "Unity, Work, Progress"
Anthem: Himno de Liberación Anthem of Liberation
Location of San Miguel in northern Coius
Capital and largest city	Laguira
Official languages	Auratian
Demonym(s)	San Miguelan
Government	Presidential republic
• President	Martín Lacasa Carvallo
• Vice President	Guillermo Aparicio de la Cruz
Establishment
• Colonisation by Gaullica	January 16, 1422
• Colonisation by Auratia	September 18, 1591
• Statehood	February 20, 1820
• Declaration of Independence	September 22, 1927
• Invasion of San Miguel	March 13, 1929
• Liberation of San Miguel	June 30, 1933
• Independence	October 1, 1936
Area
• Total	26,593 km2 (10,268 sq mi)
Population
• June 2020 estimate	3,396,332
• 2016 census	3,346,686
• Density	125.8/km2 (325.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	June 2020 estimate
• Total	$73.03 billion
• Per capita	$21,824
GDP (nominal)	June 2020 estimate
• Total	$44.99 billion
• Per capita	$13,444
Currency	Auro (₳) (SMA)
Time zone	UTC+4 (Laguira Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+5 (Laguira Summer Time)
Driving side	right
Calling code	301
Internet TLD	.sm

San Miguel, officially the Repulic of San Miguel (Auratian: República de San Miguel), is an island state located in the northwest Vehemens Ocean, sharing martitime borders with the island of x to the east. It is the largest Auratian speaking country outside of Auratia, and has one of the highest standards of living anywhere in Coius.

The island was inhabited by a people refferred to by Auratians as the Guanifrios, meaning "cave people", who survived until the 15th century, when explorers from Euclea began exploring the coasts beyond northern Rahelia, with the island discovered by Weranian explorer Johannes Hossinger, who also discovered and mapped the island of x to the west, and named it Sankt Michael after the patron saint of the military. San Miguel became the first fully mapped island in the Vehemens, and as trade with both Asteria Superior and Bahia increased, the island became contested among different Euclean powers. Eventually the Gaullican Empire established the first Euclean settlement on the island in 1422, with other settlements established elsewhere around the island. However, these settlements would not last, owing to a combination of volcanic activity and famine brought on by the eruption of El Altar in 1432, and subsequent future volcanic eruptions between 1439 and 1444, which also severely affected the Rahelian populations in southern San Miguel.

Eucleans returned to San Miguel in the latter decades of the 15th century, the Gaullicans reestablishing trading ports on the islands alongside the Estmerish and the First Hennish Republic. These ports were small and comparatively underdeveloped until Asterian colonialism began to accelerate, which saw these ports take on the importance of being a stopover on sea journeys between Euclea and the Asterias. These small ports struggled under the continued series of future natural disasters on the islands, and many had to be abandoned due to additional significant volcanic activity on the island. Plagues also became a problem on the island, and significantly impacted both local and Euclean populations.

Auratia began colonisation of San Miguel in 1591, taking over most of the island in short succession, making it one of the first successes of the new Kingdom. Auratia used the island primarily as a means of enabling its ships to trade with the Asterias, as well as eastern Coius, particularly Bahia. Other Euclean colonial powers came to use San Miguel for much of the same purpose, bringing substantial wealth and investment into the island. San Miguel was retained as a part of the new republic in 1820, however, conditions on the island remaind the same as they had done under the Kingdom of Auratia. The island's Euclean inhabitants often enjoyed a superior quality of life to the Auratian mainland, while the mixed and the few remaining native islanders were subject to the economienda system of forced labour as well as indentured servitude on the island's agricultural plantations. This system was maintained by a powerful group of wealthy merchants and landowners known as el poder, whose authority over the island was not challenged until the outbreak of La Lucha in May 1896, which marked the first struggle for the total emancipation of the island's criollo population and the struggle for independence, giving rise to the cult-like reverance for revolutionary figures such as Domenico Céspedes and Bartolomeo Azcárraga. However, it remained in Auratian hands but with significant concessions made by the government in Cienflores, including democratic and social reforms. This period of social and democratic governance lasted until the takeover by the September Clan in September 1927. Unwilling to accept the dictatorship installed in Cienflores, the country rebelled against the military junta and declared independence, which was not recognised until 1937. During the Great War, the island was occupied by Entente forces, with the junta reestablishing control over the island. The island participated in an uprising in 1932 in line with the Rose Rebellion in mainland Auratia. In 1933, San Miguel was liberated by a combined Hallandic-Estmerish naval force, and independence was awarded in 1936.

San Miguel began a transition to a more socialist economy throughout the 1940's and 1950's under the long period of rule by the National Labour Party (PNT), which governed the island for three decades. During this period, San Miguel transitioned to a more controlled economy, introducing socialist elements into how the economy was managed as well as corporate structures, such as mandating the establishment of collectives for a majority of businesses and corporations. It also heavily invested in greater workers rights such as mandatory union membership, as well as investment into education and healthcare. The PNT became increasingly authoritarian, and throughout the 1970's, the country experienced a period of civil instability, further exacerbated by significant natural disasters in 1980 and 1984. This period came to an end in 1983 when some economic reforms were enacted, including lifting restrictions on capital flows, which contributed to a banking and economic crisis in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Since the recession of 2005, the country has steadily recovered economically but has continued to struggle with aspects of wealth inequality and rising crime.

San Miguel is an active participant in international affairs, becoming a member of, or observer to, numerous regional organisations and initiatives. It is a member of the Community of Nations, and has actively participated in peacekeeping missions across Coius since 1963. In addition, it is a member of other organisations such as the International Council for Democracy.

Etymology

San Miguel is the Auratian name for Saint Michael, the patron saint of the military, and the patron saint of Werania and the Weranic kingdoms in existence at the time of it's discovery. It was named and partially mapped by Weranian explorer Johannes Hossinger, with the name Gaullicised after the first Euclean settlement was established on the island. The island received its name of San Miguel, when it became part of the Kingdom of Auratia.

The native name for the island was aberkantaferka meaning "black island", a reference to the volcanic rocks and soil found on San Miguel.

History

Precolonial History

Prior to Euclean colonisation, San Miguel was inhabited by an indigenous people known as the Guanifrios, meaning "cave dwellers", which was an interpretation of a cave used as a tomb as a place of habitation. Genetic studies from recovered mummified bodies, as well as from the modern criollo population have found similarities between the Guanifrios and the Berber peoples of neighbouring x and the Coian mainland, which has also been reflected in the similarities between the Berber and Guanifrio languages.

Radio-carbon dating of different archaeological sites around the island have put the first human inhabitants arriving on the island at around 1000 BCE, although debate exists as to how the first inhabitants arrived there, as well as whether or not the Bebers on the Coian mainland had any knowledge of seafaring or navigation techniques prior to the Irfanic conversions and interactions with both Rahelic and Pasdani civilisations to the west and southwest.

The Tuineje Prehistoric Village in the Sierra del Fuego.

According to some Irfanic texts, the Guanifrios were arranged into five broad tribes inhabiting various parts of San Miguel; the Maxos in the south and southeast, the Cañeche in the south-central and west part of the island, the Bimbaches in the northwest, the Auaritas in the north, and the Gomeros in the east. These were not tribes as such according to these texts, but rather loose familial associations with different regions of the island. These regions were governed by a series of local rulers or guanarteme, with some overall power over the island vested in the position of a king, or mencey. Studies of Irfanic texts have stated that the Guanifrios often relied on local leaders more often than any central power, and that only when threatened was a mencey ever crowned, although increasingly after the Irfanic conversions of the Guanifrios did the role of menceyros become more important and powerful.

Guanifrios practiced a polytheistic religion known as igeñitagelda, meaning "sky realm". Igeñitagelda was considered to be a somewhat complex religion with its own dedicated gods and goddesses, its own hierarchy, as well as priests and priestesses fulfilling different and specialised roles. In addition to multiple deities, Guanifrios believed in the ameqhuancal, or the Great Spirit, believed to be a universal life force beyond the realm of both deities and humans. Both prayers and incantations formed parts of Guanifrio religious practices, with worship practiced in temples and in open air, especially at sacred sites on significant occasions. Belief in an afterlife was present in igeñitagelda, although the Guanifrios believed it to be a progression rather than any reward or punishment. Mummification was practiced, with the dead kept inside sacred caves in the Sierra del Fuego. During the harvest festival of Beñesmen, the Guanifrios would go to their sacred caves and share food with their dead, as a means of helping them in the afterlife.

Most Guanifrios lived in small villages with few larger settlements, many of which were located along the coast acting as trading ports, particularly in the west of the island. Houses were of stone construction and circular in shape, with thatched roofs and semi-circular outer walls forming a small yard out the front of the house. Houses would also have another low circular stone pen located adjacently which is where livestock and poultry were kept. Roofs were steep and ended to a point. Livestock and poultry provided the Guanifrios with their primary source of food and clothing, with bones used for religious rituals and for implements for writing and sewing.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Guanifrios were engaging in trade with the Solarian Empire, the former trading animal skins, wine, and obsidian and the latter trading grains, wine, and metals. Solarian records state that the empire received shipments of obsidian from an area referred to as Terra Orientalis, which were highly prized by merchants and traders.

Irfanic Conversion

Irfan was introduced to San Miguel through both converted Berbers and Rahelic traders from the Coian mainland and the island of x, with San Miguel being one of the last islands in northern Coius that Irfan reached. It is estimated that it arrived on San Miguel no earlier than 980 CE, with many historians putting the date between 1000 CE and 1020 CE, the latter date being the latest possible introduction date and coinciding with the first attempts at mass conversion. As with other places in Rahelia, the conversions were forced, and this inevitably resulted in the upheaval of the social order of the Guanifrios, many of which abandoned coastal settlements and fled inland. The attempted conversions also resulted in the abandonment of the rule of the guanarteme and the centralisation of power to the mencey, ultimately creating an unrecognised but widely acknowledged kingdom on the island.

In 1020 CE, the first major expedition to the island was launched by Rahelic commander Aamir bin Nusayr Al-Kharashi against the Maxos in what is modern-day Agalán. Al-Kharashi demanded to meet the local chief upon his arrival at the village, whereby Al-Kharashi claimed the land in the name of the x, and when the village chief refused, Al-Kharashi ordered the villagers to be slain and the village raised. Word of the massacre reached neighbouring tribes, who came together and elected Guanacaro as mencey. Guanacaro rallied the tribes and clans of the Guanifrios and assumed supreme command of the island and its inhabitants. He ambushed Al-Karashi's forces near the village of Chantoche and won the first victory against the Irfanic forces, forcing them back to the razed Maxos village. Another pitched battle saw a minor victory by the Guanifrios under Guanacaro, which forced Al-Kharashi to retreat across the x Sea.

Another invasion force arrived in 1032 under the command of Zubair ibn Sayyar, this time landing in the southeast of San Miguel in the domain of the Cañeche, who immediately rose up to resist the invaders. Lead by their chief, Cahuaro, the Cañeche resisted but were pushed out of their lands and forced to retreat to the mountains. Ibn Sayyar pursued them, and defeated Cahuaro in the Battle of Taoro, in which Cahuaro was killed and the remaining men and boys slayed. The women and girls were sold into slavery. Guanacaro, who was still mencey over the rest of the island, marched south and again won a victory, forcing ibn Sayyar to retreat to the sea, before defeating him again on the modern day Playa Negra in the north of Laguira.

Despite the failed attempts at conquest, Irfan began to spread among the Guanifrios, who began to convert to Irfan in increasing numbers. By 1100, only a few holdouts in the Sierra del Fuego adhered to the old religion. However, Guanifrio Irfanic practices were esoteric in that they blended elements of igeñitagelda with Irfanic beliefs and practices. These included the use of animal sacrifices on sacred holidays and festivals, and the use of open air worship at older sacred places. One of the aspects of Guanifrio Irfan was the lack of mosques, as building techniques were not advanced enough to construct large buildings, and as a result, worship became more personalised to individual families, although communal worship was encouraged where possible.

The widespread adoption of Irfan in San Miguel changed additional aspects of Guanifrio society, with many of the older names Rahelicised, or adopting Berber names from the mainland. The former priest classes and their names changed in accordance with Irfanic customs, while local legends of devils and other spirits were modified as well. The guanartemeros that conducted local administration became important leaders for religious ceremonies, and the mencey adopted the role of the most senior religious authority in San Miguel.

Early Colonisation

Weranian explorer Johannes Hossinger was the first Euclean since the Solarian Empire to reach San Miguel, doing so on June 19, 1415. Hossinger sailed south through the x Sea between San Miguel and x, mapping the west coast, before sailing south along the eastern coast of Rahelia and the northern coast of Bahia. On his return journey, Hossinger sailed up the eastern coast of San Miguel, mapping that area of the country and giving it its first official name; Sankt Michael, after the patron saint of the military.

Eucleans would return to San Miguel the following year, this time under the command of Poveglian explorer Vincenzo Garzoni, who landed ashore near Tajao on May 27, 1416, marking the first official landing of Eucleans on the shores of San Miguel since Solarian traders first stepped ashore several centuries earlier. Garzoni interacted with the locals and received supplies in the form of dried meat and fresh water, before returning to Poveglia. Another landing that September, made under the flag of the Verliquoian Empire by Clement Vérany, was also made, although a misinterpretation through translators resulted in a scuffle that saw two locals killed. The island's position and favourable currents and winds attracted attention from many of the Euclean maritime powers.

Settlement of the islands would not begin for several years until the establishment of a settlement near modern day Tajao in the north of the country by Gaullican Heliot Serre on January 16, 1422. The settlement was intended to be a trade port, and was named Port Maguerite after the monarch at the time. Although the port facilitated local trade, it quickly became a centre for regional trade with eastern Rahelia, and as a result, trade and the population grew rapidly. Many Guanifrios migrated to the area around Port Maguerite, causing tensions between the Verliquoian colonists and the Guanifrios, which attracted the attention of mencey Asmed Parsa, who travelled to Port Maguerite in 1430 after a particularly violent confrontation. Unfamiliar with Euclean colonial practices and property customs, Parsa attempted to remove the Verloquoians from the trade port by force. Parsa's forces were defeated in the First Battle of Port Maguerite, with the settlement holding out until the arrival of reinforcements from Euclea. The Verliquoians regarded the attack against Port Maguerite as a carte blanche for a more widespread invasion of San Miguel, with another force arriving in October 1430 to defeat Asmed Parsa and place the Guanifrios under the rule of the Empire. Led by Robert Deloffre, Duke of Sancerre, the force numbered some 1,500 soldiers from Euclea in addition to 250 locals from Port Maguerite. The force marched south along the western coast, seizing numerous towns before confronting Parsa's main force outside Agalán, where Parsa's army was defeated, Parsa himself killed in battle. As no tribe or clan was willing to nominate a replacement, the Guanifrios came under the rule of the Gaullican Empire.

With the conquest of San Miguel, the island was renamed to Saint Michel from the Weranian name on maps, and given the status of colonie royale, and was placed under the auspices of Clement Vérany, who began establishing settlements in the south. Vérany introduced the concept of travail levé, a form of tributary labour in which men, women, and children were conscripted into work gangs that were used on public projects, which was similar to the corvée used in Euclea, the difference being that the Guanifrios were able to be raised by the local government only, and not the private landowners establishing themselves on the island. The social upheval severely impacted the harvesting of grains on the island, and resulted in the first recorded famine on San Miguel taking hold in 1432, which lasted for two years and severely impacted the growth of the Gaullican colonial settlements on the island, particularly Port Maguerite. The administrative capital was moved south from Port Maguerite but was temporarily relocated when the El Nublado volcano erupted in 1430, which casued the aforementioned famine, and resulted in significant volcanic activity in southern San Miguel, culminating in the El Altar Massif eruption in 1439, itself triggering another famine across the island due to widespread crop failure. Volcanic activity continued until 1444. The Gaullicans, believing the eruptions and famines to have religious significance, abandoned Port Maguerite in 1443.

Eucleans had returned to San Miguel by 1470 with the Gaullicans establishing another trade port, this time establishing small trade ports and concessions in areas which had been singificantly affected by the El Nublado and El Altar eruptions. The Gaullicans established settlements in the north and south of the country at Tajao and Agalán respectively, with the First Hennish Republic establishing two ports, one in Laguira and one near La Aguerra. The Gaullicans eventually reinhabited Port Maguerite, but most trade passed through Tajao. As the island's inhabitants did not have much in the way to resist them, they accepted the Euclean's presence and began moving into these settlements. Over time, these settlements became important stopping points for Euclean explorers sailing to the Asterias, as well as along the eastern coast of Coius, particularly Bahia.

One of the most destructive disasters to occur on San Miguel occurred between November 17 and 18, 1522 when a large earthquake produced mudslides and landslides after heavy rains had occurred. The earthquake, centred northwest of the reestablished capital, Laguira, caused massive damage across the southern corner of San Miguel, with landslides affecting all settlements in the vicinity of the El Altar Massif and surrounding ranges. The result was a death toll of 8,000 people overall and widespread destruction of Agalán and Laguira. The earthquake and the subsequent rebuilding efforts on the island resulted in the spreading of the plague in squalid conditions that the survivors were forced to live in, creating an epidemic that did not end until 1530, and resulted in a further 7,000 deaths, as well as a widespread depopulation of many settlements in southern San Miguel. This event weakened the Gaullican and Hennish presences on the island, as some of the largest settlements were severely damaged by the earthquake. This left essentially the ports at Tajao and La Aguerra the only functioning ones on the island, while the rest rebuilt.

The first Auratian settlements appeared on the island in the early 1500's, and were principally centred in the north and west of the island, these being the future cities of San Agustín and San José, which suffered minor damage in the earthquake that damaged Agalán and Laguira. Unlike the Gaullican and Hennish settlements, these were purely commercial establishments administered by the Gremio Mercantil de San Miguel (GMSM), an association of merchants who saw potential in establishing trade links between the Asterias, northeastern Rahelia, Bahia, and Euclea. After the disaster of 1522, the GMSM agreed to purchase Agalán and Laguira off the Gaullican and Hennish governments, assuming ownership of almost the entire island.

Kingdom of Auratia

The Gilded Wars saw San Miguel targeted by the Royal Gaullican Navy. San Miguel was well prepared, with substantial fortifications protecting the ports of Agalán, Laguira, and Tajao, with additional fortifications established in Lodero, San Agustín, and San José. Approximately 5,000 professional soldiers were stationed on the island under the command of José María de Lossada, with a supplementary force of militia units numbering an additional 3,200 militiamen. The Royal Gaullican Navy began their assault on San Miguel on December 22, 1714, commencing a bombardment on Fort Barceló at Cabo Blanco, just north of the port of Tajao. The soldiers of the fort, commanded by Ignacio Córdova, fought valiantly, sinking three of the fifteen Gaullican ships that had pounded the fort into submission. The Gaullicans then sailed south down the eastern coast of San Miguel, forcing de Lossada to redeploy his principal force to the east to prevent a Gaullican landing. By the time he had arrived on December 29, the Gaullicans had already landed. He engaged them the following day near the town of Arure, and while he had prevented the Gaullican capture of the town, de Lossada was forced to retreat as Gaullican soldiers had marched around him through the southern heights of the Sierra del Fuego. De Lossada fought a series of rear guard actions but ultimately was forced to retreat to Laguira, while the navy had engaged Auratian defences at the Battle of Timagada Bay on January 3, 1715. A surprise victory at the Battle of Gamarra on January 6 handed the initiative to de Lossada, who followed it up with a crucial victory over the Gaullicans at the Parachure action the following day, when Gaullican naval ships providing fire support mistook retreating Gaullican soldiers as Auratians and fired two salvos, killing dozens. A final battle near La Aguerra forced the Gaullicans off the island. However, the Royal Gaullican Navy continued to harass the island and cause problems for shipping in the region, engaging in raids against important ports, particularly Tajao, which was raided five times, and Agalán, which was raided seven times. Laguira was raided twice more through the conflict.

Auratian Republic

Juan Antonio Urráburu Arechabala

La Lucha

San Miguel's isolation and early settlement that by the mid-19th century, the island had developed a unique cultural blend of Euclean, Rahelic, and Bahian influences, with centuries of Euclean habitation and influence on the island. The criollo and native-born Euclean population known as criollos blancos or "white creoles" had begun seeing themselves not as Auratian but as a separate people group. This national identity became part of a wave of artistic expression, particularly in literature. Poet Simón García Morterero wrote Mi país, que bella, which became influential in cementing the San Miguelan identity apart from the Auratian. Prominent writer and politician Domenico Siurana Bescós wrote the essay Sobre el tema de la independencia, or "On the Subject of Independence" in which he outlined the argument in favour of independence from Auratia, by force if necessary. The essay became part of the founding manifesto of the National Movement for the Total Independence of San Miguel (MINTSAM), founded by pro-independence activist and writer José María Malasaña Azopardo, which was established on January 16, 1869. The organisation represented the first serious challenge to Auratian authority.

Criollo nationalism was heavily focused on rediscovering the indigenous heritage of the island, and a number of criollo nationalists rejected the writings and essays of white writers. Criollo writers such as Aarón Molla Arán criticised the criollos blancos for becoming historical revisionists and excluding the horrors of the economienda forced labour systems, in addition to promoting an inaccurate and idealistic view of San Miguelan history. The divisions lead to the MINTSAM splitting in Feburary 1871 with the criollo members forming a separate movement, the Authentic Movement for Independence (MAI) on February 26, 1871. MAI were considered more radical than MINTSAM in their demands for independence and were willing to resort to violence if necessary in order to achieve their aims, while MINTSAM wanted to pursue independence through legislative changes. The MAI was lead by Miguel Aréizaga Gravina, a university student who had supported calls for independence and lead a faction of the MAI known as Los Jovenes, a group of radical university students and professors who began to make public calls for independence. Aréizaga

With San Miguel connected to Euclea through undersea cables routed through Geatland, Cienflores was more connected to Laguira and could receive news much more quickly, and news of the independence movement reached the Auratian government, who took swift action to order the governor, Carlos Lapeña Longa, to act in order to prevent a seccessionist movement from developing. Lapeña responded by banning both the MAI and the MINTSAM, arresting its leaders and charging them with sedition. In what became known as the Juicios Grandes, the leaders and members of the respective independence groups were tried and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for sedition. The trials created civil unrest in Laguira, which was suppressed by local police and the Auratian Army. Lapeña requested extra military support from Cienflores in order to maintain law and order on the island.

In 1881, Governor Juan Martín Mazarredo Larrea released a number of pro-independence activists on compassionate grounds, believing that the organisations they had run were long since disbanded and the individuals of no real threat. Among those released was Bartolomeo Azcárraga Salvado and Domenico Céspedes Sánchez who formed the National Movement for Total Independence (MINT) on December 3, 1881 at a gathering at the Riego Hotel in Laguira. MINT was intended on bridging the gap between white criollos and mestizo criollos and included former members of MINTSAM and MAI who had not been arrested or who had fled and had returned to San Miguel under amnesty. The movement would remain underground, relying on grassroots support for its cause, as economic growth and propserity had largely influenced the population against independence, particularly with the flow of investment capital from Auratia into the island's businesses. During this time, the independence movement supported local reformists and other candidates, including a number of anti-clerical

Declaration of Independence

San Miguel was substantially affected by the Great Collapse, seeing a rise in unemployment and a decrease in exports for the first time since the 1860's. One of the wealthiest states in Auratia, San Miguel's economic performance reflected that of its Euclean counterparts. The National Liberal Party lead by Manuel Cañas González, in power since 1907, had instituted a number of economic reforms that improved the ability for banks and businesses to do business more freely on the island. The PLN was disparaging of the national government's debt policies which caused significant problems on the island, as most of its trade was conducted with foreign nations. Hyperinflation began to increase, and this vritually halved San Miguel's trade within several months. In addition, the hyperinflation caused a banking run in San Miguel, causing the collapse of the branches of Auratian banks as well as local San Miguelan banks, including the Mercantile Investment Bank (BMI) and the San Miguel Agricultural Bank (BASM). Unable to fix the issues and finding the government in Cienflores uncoopertative, Cañas resigned on January 1, 1914 and called fresh elections. The elections were won by the Labour Party candidate José María Urrutia Morillo, who was sworn in as Governor in August that year.

Urrutia began to implement the same social welfare policies that the central government in Auratia had done, and had a good working relationship with the central party hierarchy, particularly Premier Jacobo Molinero. Urrutia also used the crisis to advance his advocacy of state ownership of important companies and used the unemployed for substantial infrastructure projects. In December 1913, the State Congress of San Miguel passed the Ownership of Strategic Assets Act (LPEA) which enabled Urrutia and the state government to begin the acquisition of numerous businesses affected by the economic crisis. The first was what remained of the BMI and BASM banks which were consolidated into the Bank of San Miguel, with the railway transferred to state ownership soon after, the state creating the Railways of San Miguel (FSM). By 1915, twelve different state owned companies had been created. Urrutia had also petitioned for the government to send increased financial aid to San Miguel, and this was used in essential infrastructure projects, among which was a second road crossing the Sierra del Fuego and the completion of the East Coast Railway between Tajao in the north and Laguira in the south via the cities of Gueleleita and Lodero in the east. Gradually the San Miguelan economy regained momentum, and with it, the popularity of Urrutia. Labour would come to dominate San Miguel, winning the 1918 and 1922 elections. The 1918 elections were notable in that a new party was elected to the State Congress that broke the two-party domination of the legislature.

Former Labour Party politician and pro-independence activist Juan Martín Aguinaldo Cadaval had been able to break the two-party system in San Miguel by 1922, by becoming the first MINT leader to be elected to Congress. Throughout the first two decades, the MINT had grown in size, and formed a bloc with the Labour Party in preparations for the 1922 state elections. Aguinaldo and Urrutia had a good working relationship, which benefitted the MNIT as it escaped the otherwise inevitable end at the hands of the Auratian Army and police.

On November 24, 1926, the city of San Augustín was struck by a magnitude 5.3 earthquake that was centred sixteen kilometres to the east of the city, resulting in the destruction of over 4,000 houses and buildings. 91 people were killed and over 400 were injured. The substantial amount of damage inflicted upon the city of San Augustín was substantial, and had a singificant economic impact on San Miguel. Aid to the island was slow in coming, with political turmoil on the continent preventing many states from providing aid. Of the nations that did, Halland was the largest and the one most invested, sending ships with food and blankets to San Miguel. Auratia didn't send aid until January 1927.

The events of September 20, 1927 had a profound impact on San Miguel. The island, which had maintained the Labour Party in power, this time under Alfonso Lladó Quesada. Lladó was put forwards as a moderate candidate with sympathies to the independence movement as part of the 1926 elections, which had given the Labour Party a confident majority in the State Congress. The lack of support from the central government and the functionalist takeover of Auratia prompted the MNIT and Aguinaldo to act. On September 22, 1927, Aguinaldo and elements of the Popular Independence Force (FPI), alongside rebel units including both regiments of the tabores, marched into the capital Laguira, and demanded the resignation of Governor Lladó, who accepted it without hesitation as this was previously discussed in the leadup to the events in Auratia. Lladó gave a resignation speech on national, and informed the government in Cienflores of his decision through a telegram. Aguinaldo was hastily sworn in as President of the Transitional Government, and pronounced San Miguel as an independent nation that evening.

Occupation

The government of Auratia rejected the declaration of independence, and preparations were made to retake the island. San Miguel was considered to be an important strategic asset, and this was recognised by both the Grand Alliance and the Entente. The progress Gaullican and Entente forces had made in Euclea had caused concern among the fledgling independent government in San Miguel, and hope for protrection from the Grand Alliance was diminishing. On October 3, Aguinaldo prepared a list of important government officials to be taken overseas in the event of an Auratian or Gaullican invasion. Aguinaldo had also contacted the Hallandic government about seeking protection in the event of an invasion, as all potentially friendly governments in Euclea had been invaded or were actively fighting the Gaullicans.

As plans to evacuate important pro-independence officials from the government were being made, the island's defences were being prepared. Auratian loyalists were rounded up and placed inside prisons, particularly the military prison at Muñique in the centre-west of the country. In addition, weapons caches were placed in the Sierra del Fuego for a resistance movement to continue beyond the invasion. In addition, defences were being prepared, with likely landing grounds identified and military units deployed in preparation.

Plans for an invasion were begun almost immediately after the declaration was received by the government, but these were not seriously considered by the Gaullicans until late 1928, when the strategic situation regarding supplies between Euclea and Euclean colonies and Entente allies in the Asterias was fully recognised. The Auratian high command had already formulated a plan regarding a series of beach invasions in the north and west of San Miguel, as the eastern coast had no conducive geography for a seaborne invasion. Dubbed Operation Claudia, the invasion called for 3,200 Auratian marines and an additional 1,500 Gaullican marines to land in the north and west of the island.

The invasion began on March 13, 1929

In 1933, a combined Estmerish-Hallandic fleet attacked Laguira, including the vessels stationed there, in what became known as the Battle of Timagada Bay. During the battle, Laguira and its surrounds sustained significant damage, and several hundred civilians were killed. However, the lack of substantial Entente naval forces in the area meant that the island quickly came under the influence of Allied naval forces, and an attempt to reassert control failed in what became known as the Battle of Cabo Blanco. Soon after, Hallandic forces landed on the island to establish control, and took the surrender of the local military and naval garrison.

Independence

In January 1934, Juan Martín Aguinaldo Cadaval returned to San Miguel aboard a Hallandic Navy destroyer from exile in x, and established an interim government in Laguira at the behest of occupation authorities. This angered the civilian administration in Auratia, which demanded that officials from Cienfuegos be permitted to travel to San Miguel. Because Aguinaldo and other independence leaders had rebelled against the September Clan, the government of Héctor Alvear had considered the actions of it to be illegitimate, and thus a pro-independence government was seen as undermining Auratian authority in San Miguel.

Democratic Rule

The general election of 1939 provided an opportunity for the left-wing parties in San Miguel, which had united under the People's Radical Movement (CRP) and were lead by Vincente Arcur Galán. Arcur, the leader of the National Labour Party (PNT), provided a much needed boost to the CRP's popularity and public image, especially among the working classes of San Miguel. Arcur campaigned on a platform of a bright and prosperous future for all, to abolish the old Euclean systems of wealth concentration, as well as providing greater benefits for working class San Miguelans.

Opposing the CRP was a coalition of parties lead by the interim president Juan Martín Aguinaldo Cadaval, who had reformed the MINT into the National Movement for Social Progress (MNPS), a party which was moderate in terms of overall political standings but received heavy support from both the Catholic Church and business interests. The MNPS itself was a collection of centre-right and right wing politicians, dominated by the centre right. They had the support of local businesses, and also promoted themselves as the party to rid San Miguel of colonial influences, including the large number of Auratian companies who owned infrastructure.

One of the first elections monitored by the Community of Nations, the 1939 general elections were the first since San Miguel declared independence in 1927. The campaign was marred by accusations of vote rigging and small-scale political violence, predominantly in poor urban communities as rival factions fought one another. In addition, the election was also noted for the significant influence of the Catholic Church, who encouraged its members to vote in fabour of the MNPS. This campaign was effective in rural areas of the country, and helped the MNPS achieve it's first electoral victory.

The victory of the MNPS saw Aguinaldo become president and the CRP coalition collapse due to escalating infighting between factions. The proliferation of weapons stockpiled during the emergency period and the occupation had created significant problems for the new government in curbing political violence now emerging in many of San Miguel's cities. As San Miguel essentially lacked a military to impose law and order in the country, in October 1939 the National Congress passed legislation to extend the state of emergency in existence since the outbreak of the Great War. The legislation created the Fuerza Pública or Public Force, which was an organised paramilitary that would engage in public law and order operations while the military was formed. Violence subsided by May 1940, however the state of emergency remained in place.

Aguinaldo began implementing his campaign policies in June 1940, with the passage of the Nationalisation and Consolidation Law. This law allowed the government to nationalise and consolidate essential businesses that operated on the island. Most of San Miguel's essential services, including electricity generation, telecommunications and railways, were still owned by Auratian state enterprises, and the transferral of all assets in San Miguel to the San Miguelan government was essential. Almost overnight a raft of new companies were created to manage San Miguel's essential services. These included Electricidad de San Miguel (ESM), which generated and provided electricity to San Miguel, the Compañía Ferroviaria de San Miguel (CFSM), which operated the railways, and the Servicios Nacionales de Teléfonos y Telegramas (SNTT) which operated San Miguel's telegram and nascent telephone services. In addition to being independent of Auratian control, they also provided the San Miguelan government with much needed revenue. The nationalisation also placed San Miguel in an important position as it had an important relay between Euclea and various colonies in Bahia for telegram services. The nationalisation prompted a series of heated messages delivered between government officials, as Euclean governments were wary of a new government controlling. Aguinaldo managed to control the situation, and an agreement was reached.

In 1941 Aguinaldo launched a series of additional economic reforms, introducing a series of protections for San Miguelan agriculture to prevent cheaper imports from both the labour used in Bahian colonies as well as imports from the temperate parts of northern Rahelia. This was intended both to aid in the development of San Miguelan agriculture as well as improve export opportunities, in particular to Euclea. A series of negotiations took place but went nowhere, and Aguinaldo was forced to seek exports elsewhere, save for Auratia who had recognised San Miguelan independence in 1938. These reforms also expanded workers rights and saw the implementation of higher wages; by the end of the decade, agricultural wages were the highest in all of Coius, and were higher than in some countries in the Asterias and Euclea. Paid holidays were expanded to a full month, paid sick leave was doubled from five days to ten, and six weeks of paid leave for mothers before and after childbirth was introduced.

These policies helped set the basis upon which the PNT would build upon to introduce aspects of socialism into the economy without overtly declaring San Miguel to be socialist. These also helped drive the economic development and industrialisation of San Miguel, with improved mechanisation of farming, a growing middle class, and increases in production and consumption of consumer goods.

El Dominio

With the victory of the PNT in 1943, the period referred to as El Dominio, or "The Dominance", a term coined by historian Omar Qamari Saldaña in 1991, Vincente Arcur Galán began to orientate San Miguel to adopt a more leftist stance with regards to economics and foreign policy, while maintaining positive relations with existing allies, particularly Halland. Vincente Arcur Galán began to institute a number of social and economic reforms not long after he was sworn in as president, building more schools, making education free and mandatory from the age of six, as well as creating the Public Health Service that extended healthcare coverage to all San Miguelans. Companies with more than one non-familial employee were required to give proportionate dividends to their employees, and large companies were mandated to allow the workers to elect representatives to governing boards, with one representative per 50 employees. These changes helped align San Miguel with many of the communist and socialist economies in the world. Arcur began a tour of socialist countries, establishing new bilateral relations, especially with those of common Auratian heritage. While Arcur wanted to expand San Miguel's bilateral relations, he also recognised the need to maintain good relations with non-socialist countries, especially with San Miguel's strategic position, and so sought to reassure San Miguel's non-socialist allies. Despite this, Arcur extended his support for independence movements in Bahia and wider Coius during a speech to the Congress in September 1944. While San Miguel did not actively fund these movements, it did become a conduit for both revolutionaries and material supporting independence movements flowing into Bahia.

Throughout the 1940's, the Arcur administration continued to develop and industrialise using significant investment from both communist and non-communist states. These included a substantial expansion of Laguira's international airport, which became an important stopover for airlines operating between the Asterias and Euclea. Arcur also expanded railways and the ports of Agalán, Laguira, and Tajao which became among the largest in northeastern Coius, with San Miguel becoming one of the wealthiest countries on the continent.

Arcur was succeeded in 1951 by Simón Arrabal Bahéchar, who continued Arcur's industrialisation policies and pursued a more aggressive foreign policy, providing more support for leftist groups abroad, particularly in Badawiya and Bahia. Arrabal had taken a more hostile stance to Euclean colonial policy in Coius, and sought closer relations with the socialist bloc, particularly Chistovodia, which began significant investments in San Miguel. This alarmed many of the Euclean and Asterian states which had enjoyed cordial relations under his predecessor. Arrabal was also disliked by a number of factions within the PNT, including the social democratic factions of the party, and by the time of the party conference to select a candidate going into the 1955 general election, the divisions within the PNT threatened to tear the party apart. A small group of rebel hardliners voted against approving Arrabal's candidacy for the general elections, instead affirming Juan Sebastián Santángel Tafalla, a moderate candidate proposed by the social democratic faction, as the candidate, who became leader of the PNT two months before the election in August 1955.

El Reto

Despite the continued progress of the Soccorro administration, there were concerns about the increasing authoritarianism of the government in regards to media and individuals critical of the government. Although Soccorro had stated prior to his election in 1967 that he would commit to the freedoms renewed under the Santángel administration, the development of Soccorrismo, a blend of left-wing economic policies, nationalism, and social conservatism during his first term as President began to alarm the liberal and moderate factions within the PNT. These concerns persisted going into the general election in 1971, with these concerns increasing during the early 1970's. In December 1972, the majority leader in Congress, Jorge Castañeda Tejero, introduced the Responsible Media Act, which placed significant expressions on the free press, as well as freedom of expression. This created some small protests, however, these intensified after the editors of the student magazine ¡Carajo! were arrested and imprisoned under the new law. Mass student protests began in Laguira on January 23, and had spread to other cities across San Miguel by February 1. They were joined by lawyers, journalists, and university professors in the coming weeks, and by February 25, the protests had escalated to violence between the protesters, police, the National Guard, and the Army, with violent clashes between

Geography

San Miguel is approximately 26,593 square kilometres (x square miles) in size, and is the third largest island in eastern Coius. The island is commonly referred to as la roca negra, or the black rock, owing to the colour of the volcanic rock found all over the island. It is known for its rugged terrain, active volcanoes, and very fertile soil. These features have not only protected the inhabitants of the island, but have also allowed it to flourish.

The Sierra del Fuego is the primary geographic feature of the island, and is a string of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes that run up the centre of the island. San Miguel lies on a weak zone within the crust that results in volcanic and seismic activity taking place, with the island first forming over half a million years ago, and is considered to be among the youngest of the islands in Coius, with the volcanoes once forming a small archipelago. However, a series of long eruptions and constant eruptive activity has produced the island of San Miguel, with periodical eruptions still continuing. The island's shape has been influenced by these eruptions and volcanic activity, with the Sierra del Fuego forming an inverted Z-shape through the centre of the island. El Nublado is the tallest of the many volcanic peaks on the island, at 3,718 metres (12,198 feet) in height.

In addition to volcanoes, the island is known for its geothermal activity, with numerous hot springs found across the island. Among the most well known are the thermal baths and mineral springs of the Baños del Rey near the town of La Aguerra, which have alleged theraputic properties. The geothermal activity also provides San Miguel with a significant proportion of its renewable energy.

Much of the country is covered in rugged, hilly or mountainous terrain with few flat areas, among them a broad coastal plain in the south of the country known as the Abanico de Lava, as much of the area is composed of older lava flows from the volcanoes to the north. The soils in this region are as fertile as elsewhere on the island, however it is mostly urbanised with the nation's capital, Laguira, and many smaller towns located in this region.

The northern half of the island is known for much the same terrain as elsewhere, however the land does not slope down gently towards the sea, but instead ends abruptly in an area known as the Acantilados Negros, or Black Cliffs, region. Here, many caves, sheltered beaches, and outcrops can be found. In addition the rocky shores and the cliffs are home to both colonies of seals, sea lions, and seabirds. These also provide natural pools of sea water which are popular with locals, and are collectively known as the Baños del Mar.

Seismic activity occurs frequently on or around the island and is principally associated with the volcanic activity and the geological history of the island. Despite being located far from the Vehemens Rift, San Miguel's vulcanism and seismic activity is associated with that rifting as the West Vehemens Plate is moved eastwards, while the hotspot underneath the island remains. Such activity is thought to have occurred for millions of years, and is responsible for the much larger island of x to the west. Because of the relatively new volcanic activity that created San Miguel, much of the seismic activity is associated with the movement of magma, or the movement of volcanic rock across oceanic crust, in what is known as a décollement, where the slumping of large areas of volcanic rock deposits creates earthquakes in a similar manner to certain types of fault line. These also create cracks and rifts on land which also result in earthquakes. Most of the earthquakes that occur in San Miguel tend to be small and largely unnoticed, although a number are felt by people every year. Damaging earthquakes, especially those larger than magnitude 6.0, are rare. The largest events, a magnitude 6.9, struck in 1980 and killed x.

San Miguel has few natural bodies of water and a number of smaller streams and rivers that flow outwards from the Sierra del Fuego. Many of these lakes are located in the Sierra del Fuego, and are either formed as crater lakes, from landslides that have dammed streams and rivers, or as reservoirs extending behind hydroelectric dams. The largest natural body of water in San Miguel is the Lago de Dios in the El Altar Massif in southern San Miguel, with the lake being five square kilometres in size. It is technically a twin lakes complex, divided between the Lago Verde and Lago Azul. The largest man-made lake is the Reservorio Eduardo Gutiérrez, which is ten square kilometres in size, and occupies much of the Valle del Corvos in northwestern San Miguel. Most watercourses in San Miguel are small streams, although a number of larger rivers can be found. The largest and longest of these is the Tesejerague, which flows for 123 kilometres through southern San Miguel, including the capital, Laguira.

Climate

The climate of San Miguel is influenced by three primary factors; the warm Bahian Current which runs up the east coast of Bahia and Badawiya and between San Miguel and x, the Vehemens Ocean, and the proximity to continental Coius. Because of this, the island has one of the more northerly subtropical climates, which varies by location and altitude.

The western side of the island is dominated by a humid subtropical climate that broadly resembles that of a wetter Solarian Sea climate, with two seasons. Between October and March, the climate is cool with higher rainfall, peaking around the months of the northern winter. April through September becomes drier and warmer, with the hottest months occuring during the northern summer. Early summer can cause temperature differences that result in the western part of the island covered in fog or cloud, and the eastern half clear and sunny. Summers usually see between three and four days where temperatures peak above 30°C. In addition to being warmer, the western side is also slightly wetter than the eastern side. Southern San Miguel, particularly south of the El Altar Massive and along the southern coast, is also affected by this variant of the humid subtropical climate.

Eastern San Miguel by comparison is influenced by the Vehemens Ocean and less influenced by the Bahian Current. The eastern side is cooler and slightly less wetter, with temperatures on the east side remaining around 1°C less on average than elsewhere. Average temperatures are enough to qualify the climate in the east of San Miguel to border on oceanic, especially in the north of the country.

The southern third of the island lies at the northwestern extremity of the North Vehemens Tropical Impact Zone, an area of coast around the periphery of the Vehemens Ocean north of the equator where tropical cyclones make landfall routinely. Most of them are either tropical storms or remnants of these cyclones, which still bring powerful winds and heavy rainfall.

The highest recorded temperature in San Miguel is 38.2°C, observed in Guelelita on September 17, 1985. The lowest temperature is -3.6°C, recorded at Puerto Nieblo on January 22, 1973.

Environment

Much of the island has been significantly altered in terms of vegetation, with approximately x of the island either urbanised or converted into non-native vegetation, especially forestry blocs and plantations, all of which has occurred since the arrival of humans.

The dominant native biome is the laurisilva forests that once dominated most of the island, and are typically found at elevations of between 400 and 1,200 metres above sea level. Archaeological evidence suggests that these forests on the island have been in existence for 1.8 million years. Dozens of species of plants exist within the forest, some of which are endangered. Once covering a third of the island, today only 4,417 square kilometres of these forests remain in various patches around the island, most of which in protected national or local parks.

Lower elevations typically consisted of shrublands on both sides of the Sierra del Fuego, although much of these were destroyed to make room for farmland and urban growth. These were among the most extensive biomes found on the island, and extended down to sea level in some areas. This is where the majority of San Miguel's endemic species, especially reptiles, were found. Today less than a fifth of these shrublands remain intact, much of it in protected areas.

Beyond the laurel forests in the Sierra del Fuego lie the high altitude pine forests composed entirely of endemic confiers, these being the San Miguel pine, and the San Miguel cedar. These are found at altitudes of between 1,000 and 2,100 metres above sea level, with an alpine tree line below that of continental equivalents. A number of species of birds and mammals exist within this biome, including endemic and introduced species.

San Miguel is home to over 50 species of mammals, over 100 species of birds and, over 30 species of reptiles, many of which are endangered, with numerous species of introduced mammals, birds, and reptiles. Among the endemic species to the islands include the national bird, the blue chaffinch and the national reptile, the San Miguel lizard. Both of these can be found around the island, alongside other native bird and reptile species, the latter of which have the most species listed as endangered or critically endangered.

San Miguel has significant problems with introduced species, particularly rodents, feral cats, and mustelids, and has engaged in widespread pest control operations using a variety of methods. For less destructive species, management has been key in limiting the spread of invasive species, particularly plant species such as the hydrangea which are well liked on the island. There are also issues with farmers encoraching on protected areas and non-protected patches of native forests and scrubland to graze livestock, with the government actively working with rural communities to manage land.

Government

San Miguel is classified as a presidential republic, with an elected president and legislature. It also possesses an independent judicial system, although certain judges are appointed to positions in the Supreme and Constitutional Courts by the President. San Miguel ranks highly in transparency as well as freedom of the press and political freedoms.

Constitution

The Constitution of San Miguel is the document which outlines the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, the independence of each branch, as well as the powers of central and local government.

The Constitution of San Miguel was drafted after the local government declared independence from Auratia on October 7, 1927, and was completed in 18 months. However, it was not implemented due to the outbreak of the Great War and the threats posed by the Entente to the island and its government, which ruled the country through emergency legislation and powers. These were lifted in January 1936, and the constitution was formally ratified on Februrary 14 of that year.

The constitution outlines the independence of all three branches of government, and reiterates that each has a role in overall government accountability. It mandates independence of government agencies that enforce laws, and the independence of all courts that apply them. It also outlines cooperation between central and local governments over certain matters, such as transport, conservation, and heritage.

In addition to defining government powers, the Constitution of San Miguel also protects the rights and civil liberties of the citizens of the republic. It guarantees multiple freedoms as well as protections from discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of sex, racial or ethnic background, and religion.

Amendments to the constitution are made through the National Congress and through the Constitutional Court. An amendment is voted on in Congress to be passed onto the Constitutional Court for review, before being approved or rejected, and then passed back to Congress for changes or a final vote to ratify the amendment.

Legislature

The National Congress of San Miguel is the unicameral legislature of San Miguel. It is composed of exactly 100 members, and is colloquially referred to as Los Cien, or "The One Hundred".

The National Congress is primarily concerned with the creation, deliberation, and ratification, of legislation and constitutional amendments. In this respect, the National Congress has the power to pass laws with executive approval, as well as approve the national budget, and any executive orders from the President. The National Congress is also a part of the system of checks and balances that holds the President and the Cabinet of Minister to account.

Requirements to be elected to the National Congress include San Miguelan citizenship, to be 18 years of age on the day of the election, and not to have served time in prison. They must also pass a physical and mental health examination, and be deemed mentally competent to stand for office. In addition, they must also pass a literacy test.

President

The President of Republic of San Miguel is the executive branch of government, with the office combing the roles of a head of state and head of government. The office was created upon the declaration of independence in 1927 although its role was not defined until after the ratification of the Constitution.

The roles and powers of the President are outlined in two sections of the Constitution. Section Six states that the President shall sign passed legislation into law, and possesses the right of veto to be affirmed or denied by the Constitutional Court. They have the power to call elections, dissolve the National Congress, to award pardons for prisoners, to issue executive orders, to declare war on a foreign nation, to appoint and dismiss members of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Central Bank of San Miguel, as well as other important positions. Section Seven states that the President's role is the supreme diplomat of the Republic of San Miguel, and can sign treaties and agreements in the name of the Republic and its citizens.

Section Seven also states that the President must possess the same requirements as other candidates for office in San Miguel. However, the President faces additional limitations, including a requirement to be 30 years of age or more, serve at least ten years in the National Congress, and have held a cabinet post.

Elections

Elections in San Miguel are overseen by the National Election Commission (CEN), a government agency of the Ministry of the Interior. The role of the CEN is to organise and oversee local and national elections, vet potential candidates for local and national elections, and provide advice to the government on electoral law. The organisation is headed by the Commissioner of Elections, who is appointed to the role by the Minister of the Interior.

Elections are required to be held in San Miguel every four years, and elected politicians can serve as many terms as they wish, save for the President, who can be elected to a maximum of three terms. Four year terms are standard across both national and local elections.

The voting system used in San Miguel is the single transferable vote system whereby candidates are ranked according to preference. There are sixteen electorates across the country, each with as close as possible to an even population number within electoral boundaries. Each electorate contains six seats, and those seats are filled with voter preferences until all seats are filled. In addition, there are four additional seats outside of the electorates to represent the San Miguelans living overseas.

Candidates for presidential elections are selected through closed primaries, where registered members of political parties from each of San Miguel's 16 parish vote for their preferred candidate within the party. Those votes go to delegates who are legally mandated to vote for the candidate who received the most votes in their parish. This system is used by most parties in San Miguel who have enough registered members for a delegate system to work.

Judiciary

The judiciary of San Miguel is independent from both the executive and legislative branches of the government and is largely administered by the Ministry of Justice. The court system in San Miguel is divided into general courts, administrative courts, and appeals courts. San Miguel is a civil law jurisdiction, and all legislation passed by the National Congress is present in the country's Civil Code. Trial by jury is guaranteed under Section 17 of the Constitution.

General courts are the most numerous of their kind in San Miguel and are divided between municipal and parish courts. Municipal courts are largely found in most municipalities although some also extend over rural areas with sparse populations. Their role is to hear minor cases, such as traffic infringements, as well as settle smaller disputes. Parish courts are found in each of the 16 parishes in San Miguel and hear a variety of cases, from murder trials and high profile criminal cases, to the family court system.

Administrative courts are smaller in size and scope, and are attached to parish courts. They deal with more specialised disputes and law violations, examples being cases related to labour laws, financial crimes, and disputes with local or central governments and government agencies. As these cases are rarer, they are presided over by a single or a panel of judges familiar with respective laws.

Appeals courts in San Miguel are known as Courts of Cassation. They handle all appeals from both general and administrative courts, and make rulings on those appeals. There are 16 courts located across the country. If these cannot resolve trials or disputes, the matter is passed onto the Supreme Court, which is the final court of appeal in San Miguel. Typically a panel of three judges presides over an appeal in the Court of Cassation, whereas six judges hear appeals in the Supreme Court.

The Constitutional Court is considered to be a part of the judicial system but is separated entirely from the other courts, its purview being the monitoring of government and the actions of executive and legislative branches, as well as review of legislation, amendments to the constitution, and government policies, against the Constitution. In this respect it functions similarly to an appeals court. It also hears cases of constitutional violations, and acts as an advisory body to all three branches of government. The Constitutional Court is always presided over by six judges who are exclusively familiar with constitutional law.

Law Enforcement

Law enforcement in San Miguel is the responsibilities of a small number of law enforcement agencies. The National Police is the primary law enforcement agency in San Miguel and is tasked with maintaining public safety, law enforcement, the investigation of criminal activities, traffic management, and some aspects regarding national security. It is composed of 3,937 sworn officers and other staff. In addition to law enforcement and investigations, the National Police also provide assistance to other law enforcement and emergency services agencies. The National Police is a child agency of the Ministry of Justice, and is overseen by a National Police Commissioner who is independent of the government but has some oversight from the Minister of Justice.

Each municipality can also form its own local police which are under the control of municipal authorities, although each is monitored by the Ministry of Justice to ensure compliance with local laws. Local police have more limited powers than the National Police, but can still enforce laws and provide public security. In rural areas, certain local police forces have similar powers to police in terms of being able to detain those who have been arrested, as well as investigate crimes.

Other law enforcement agencies include the National Customs Directorate, which enforces laws surrounding immigration, visas, and import taxes, the National Conservation Service, which manages San Miguel's national parks and protected areas, the National Prison Service, which runs San Miguel's prisons and provides prisoner transport, and the Revenue and Taxation Directorate, which enforces San Miguel's tax regime and finance laws. All of which have limited powers of arrest and detention, but all have powers to investigate and prevent criminal activities.

The National Police and the National Customs Directorate are the only two routinely armed law enforcement agencies in San Miguel. The former routinely carries sidearms as part of regular patrols and occasionally carries rifles in public security situations, the latter arms its officers with sidearms outside of enclosed areas where they operate, such as airports. In addition to the National Police, the National Customs Directorate also possesses dedicated tactical personnel for use in anti-narcotic operations.

Military

The Armed Forces of San Miguel is one of the smallest militaries in Coius with approximately 6,497 personnel. It is divided into two principal branches; the Army and Navy, with an Army Air Corps responsible for the Army's fixed and rotary wing aircraft. The Army is predominantly used for internal responses, in particular occasional unrest and major disasters, in addition to providing support to the National Police, while the Navy is used for drug interdiction and fisheries protection, including policing of San Miguel's marine reserves.

San Miguel has been an active participant in peacekeeping missions in Coius, particularly in Badawiya and Bahia, where it better able to deploy troops. Since its first deployment in 1964, San Miguel has lost a total of 54 personnel on peacekeeping missions, and its extensive experience has made it among the more valued countries in peacekeeping missions.

Currently San Miguel has 67 personnel serving overseas in the Community of Nations' CONMITU II peacekeeping operation in Tusania, conducting humanitarian aid distribution, community rebuilding, and security patrols. It is down on a peak deployment in 2012 of 205 personnel.

Foreign Relations

San Miguel maintains a small foreign relations network principally centred around important trading partners, countries which share historical and cultural ties, and countries located in Badawiya and Bahia. All diplomatic activities are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their Diplomatic Corps.

As of 2020, San Miguel maintains embassies in 18 countries around the world. In the Asterias, it maintains four embassies in Belmonte, Halland, Maracao, and Nuxica, with other countries accreddited through the embassies in Halland and Nuxica. Previously, San Miguel also had an embassy in Marirana but was forced to close it in 2015 due to the civil war. In Coius, San Miguel maintains embassies in Garambura, Mabifia, Rwizikuru, Senria, Tsabara, Tusania, Wale, and Xiadong, with the latter also accredited to Zorasan. In addition, the embassy in Keisi also is accredited to COMSED members in southwestern Cious. In Euclea, San Miguel maintains embassies in Auratia, Estmere, Etruria, Gaullica, Montecara, and Varienland, the Gaullican embassy is also accreddited to the Euclean Community (EC).

Currently, San Miguel is a member of the Community of Nations, the International Council for Democracy, the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs, and the International Trade Organisation. It is also an observer of the Congress of Bahian States.

Administrative Divisions

San Miguel is considered to be a unitary state with centralised government and limited powers given to internal divisions. Because of its small size and low population, San Miguel has two levels of internal administration.

Parishes

San Miguel is divided into 16 parishes. Each parish is administered by an elected parish council, which is headed by an intendant.

Under the Constitution, parishes are responsible for the provision of utilities such as water, sewage, and waste removal, as well as the maintenance of local roads outside of urban areas, and other local infrastructure such as bridges. In addition, localised public transport is provided by parishes where possible. Parishes may also create and maintain public parks and protected areas for the general public, as well as the responsibility for public amenities, including libraries. They may also create by-laws surrounding other aspects of local governance.

Members of parish councils and intendants are subject to the same requirements as members of the National Congress. Like members of congress, parish councilors hold down full time work as councilors.

Municipalities

Below parishes are municipalities, of which there are 130 in San Miguel. Municipalities are usually centred around one specific city or large town, although some group in numerous smaller towns and villages.

Each municipality is governed by a municipal council, with a mayor elected separately. Rural municipalities sometimes have multiple mayors within them responsible for villages and towns, and thus will often have a mayor of the municipality overseeing mayors of individual settlements.

Municipalities have some powers and responsibilities themselves, among them the ability to create and maintain local police forces, these coming under the auspices of the mayor of the municipality. In addition, municipalities are responsible for residential and some local roads within their municipality as well as their associated infrastructure, they provide urban and some inter-urban public transport, have control over urban zoning laws, and control licencing for the sale or serving of alcohol within the municipalities.

Unlike parish councilors, most councilors who serve on muncipial councils are not full time employees, save for the mayor or mayors, and thus often have jobs in addition to being councilors.

Economy

San Miguel is classified as a middle income developing economy, with a nominal GDP of ₳31.59 trillion ($44.99 billion) and a GDP per capita of ₳9.44 million ($13,444). Furthermore, San Miguel operates on a mixed market economic policy with substantial government involvement in setting economic policy and planning.

Historically, San Miguel's economy has been one that has been largely planned, either through Gaullican dirigisme-style policies or through the implementation of socialist economics. Since the 1980's, successive governments have implemented economic reforms that have opened up San Miguel to foreign investment and international markets, as traditional trading partners from the socialist era have largely disappeared. Despite this, the government has failed to deliver further economic reforms owing to public opinion against further market liberalisation, although San Miguel has succeeded in opening itself up to foreign trade through a number of negotiated trade agreements. Aspects of socialist economics remain in the San Miguelan economy, including the domination of most businesses by cooperatives, despite them no longer being mandatory, as well as high union membership and workplace democracy.

Unlike most other former colonies, San Miguel did not have its economic development dominated by resource extraction but rather through industrialisation and commerce as an important port in the northwest Vehemens Ocean, roughly halfway between Euclea and the Asterias, with close proximity to Badawiya and Bahia. As a result, trade, commerce, and maritime related industries have thrived through until the present day, with substantial investment from outside of the country.

San Miguel's economy is dominated by these industries, as well as finance, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Agriculture

San Miguel's agriculture sector accounts for 26.9% of GDP, approximately ₳8.49 trillion ($12.11 billion). It also employs a similar proportion of the labour force. Despite this, agriculture contributes 5.57% to annual exports, a value of ₳334.41 billion ($476.23 million).

Most of the sector is dominated by the dairy and meat industries. Dairying is worth ₳6.62 trillion ($9.44 billion) in total output, and ₳167.54 billion ($238.59 million) in exports, and is controlled by the Dairy Board of San Miguel (CONSANLE), a marketing board that guarantees minimum pricing for milk producers as well as producers of dairy products such as butter and cheese. It also provides subsidies for manufacturing companies as well as funds for artisan makers to meet quotas for production of domestic cheese varieties. Outside of CONSANLE, the dairy industry is largely run by cooperatives. These include the Sindicato Nacional de la Leche, which is known by the Sinle brand, as well as CONLENOR.

The meat industry in San Miguel contributes ₳1.39 trillion ($1.99 billion) to the agricultural sector and ₳133.64 billion ($190.31 million) to annual agricultural exports. Most of the meat produced and exported in San Miguel is beef, with chicken, pork, and sheep also produced. Pork is the most widely exported meat, followed by beef, with pork exports going to the Asterias and to Euclea. Like other industries, meat is composed entirely of cooperatives, the largest company being the Empresa Procesadora de Carne San Miguel (EPCSM) which acts as a monopsony for the meat processing industry.

Horticulture is another important industry in San Miguel, with the country producing 1.55 million tonnes of crops, just over 99,000 tonnes of fruit, and 337,000 tonnes of vegetables, collectively worth ₳436.26 billion ($621.26 million). The main crops grown are barely, corn, and wheat, with apples and pears constituting the largest fruit crops grown. Horticulture constitutes the majority of exports from San Miguel, with annual exports constituting a value of ₳148.29 billion ($211.17 million) annually. The industry is the most labour intensive in San Miguelan agriculture, taking up 32.4% of the agricultural labour force. The majority of workers are domestic, and the shortfall is made up of foreign workers who are permitted to enter through a lottery system. Unlike other industries, horticulture is composed of small and medium collectives, with no state-owned or monosopic entities purchasing and exporting produce.

Energy

San Miguel has a modest energy sector collectively contributing ₳8.90 trillion ($12.68 billion) to the national GDP (28.1% of GDP) and an additional ₳3.27 trillion ($4.65 billion) in exports (35.2% of total exports). It is the third most labour intensive economic sector in San Miguel after agriculture and manufacturing, employing just under six percent of the total labour force. The sector is focused on two specific industries: eletricity generation and retail, and petrochemicals.

Electricity in San Miguel is a monopoly controlled by the Electricity Corporation of San Miguel (CORESAM) which owns and operates all of San Miguel's electricity generating stations, the national grid network, and is the sole retailer of electricity, in addition to being one of the largest and most valuable in the country. San Miguel has approximately 3,365 MW of installed capacity, generating 8.29 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. CORESAM exports 3.01 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually to Khazeira, and receives 2.26 billion kilowatt hours in imports.

The National Oil and Gas Syndicate (SNPG) is the largest of San Miguel's petrochemical companies and in addition to owning the only oil refinery on the island, it also owns both oil terminals in San Agustín and Tajao. It is also holds a majority of the market in terms of natural gas supply and retail. Collectively oil and gas is the smaller of the two industries within the energy sector, collectively contributing ₳746.93 billion ($1.06 billion) in production and ₳303.116 billion ($435.66 million) in exports. It is a net exporter of petroleum and fuel oil, however, it imports a majority of its crude oil and petrochemicals, these imports totalling ₳4.30 trillion ($6.13 billion) annually.

Finance

San Miguel has a moderate finance industry, which contributes 8.03% to the GDP, or ₳2.53 trillion ($3.61 billion). Finance is one of the few industries that was reformed during the Abellán government contributing to a financial crisis in the late 1990's, and since then there have been more robust regulations around the movement of capital on the island, as well as into and out of San Miguel.

As with other industries, the financial sector is composed of collectively owned companies split between credit unions, banking cooperatives, and two mutual savings banks. Unusually, San Miguel lacks a central bank but instead has its monetary policy and management of the national currency controlled through the Bank of San Miguel (BASAM) which is a mutual savings bank chartered by the central government. Instead of a chief executive officer, the bank instead administered by a governor, who is elected by the members of the bank and its employees, the latter also represented on the executive board. BASAM is the largest of the banks in San Miguel.

The Irfanic Bank of San Miguel (BISAM) is the only Irfanic bank in existence on the island and is exclusively reserved for the use by the island's Irfanic population. It engages in business and banking practices in line with Irfanic doctrine and beliefs, and like other banks, is owned by its members.

Rural banking is predominantly performed by credit unions and the Agrarian Financial Collective (COFINA), which is a bank attached to the rural post system and functions much like a postal bank in some Euclean countries. These provide both banking, lending, and financial services to rural communities.

San Miguel uses its own currency, the auro, which was floated in 1985 as part of the Abellán government's reforms. While BASAM has powers over monetary policy, such policy is discussed with central government, including the Ministry of Finance which also sets financial policies and gives advice to both the government and BASAM.

Fishing

Fishing is an important industry in San Miguel and one of the longest lasting in the country, with fishing one of the important industries prior to colonisation. Approximately 21,345 people are employed directly in the fishing industry, with another estimated 52,000 people in supporting industries. The industry directly contributes ₳1.85 trillion ($2.64 billion) to the economy, or 5.87% of GDP. Annual exports are worth ₳1.19 trillion ($1.10 billion) annually, approximately 12.9% of total exports.

San Miguel has 3,245 registered fishing vessels, 87% of which are less than five tons in weight. Despite being the most numerous, these only account for nine percent of the total catch. Thirteen percent of the vessels in the fishing fleet account for 93% of the catch, and principally operate within San Miguel's waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) or in the northeast Vehemens Ocean. Sardines, mackerel, and octopus account for the most significant percentages of the catch, with molluscs and crustaceans completing the rest. Fishing quotas and regulation is maintained by the Ministry of Fisheries.

Most fishermen and fishing crews operate independently, in many instances as owner-operators of boats. Collectively they are represented by the Independent Union of Fishermen (SINAPE) which advocates on their behalf with regards to fishing laws and quotas. San Miguel has one main fishing and seafood processing company, the San Miguel Fishing Cooperative (COPESAM) which operates all of the registered fishing trawlers and longline boats in San Miguel.

Manufacturing

San Miguel has a modest manufacturing sector that focuses on meeting domestic and regional consumption as well as filling niches in export markets. This makes San Miguelan manufacturing highly specialised in terms of products manufactured or assembled. The sector contributes 21% to the economy, or ₳6.63 trillion ($9.44 billion), and employs around six percent of the labour force.

Although historically important, San Miguel's heavy industry has shrunk over the years due to a lack of investment and demand as trade laws were liberalised. Once composing a full quarter of the manufacturing sector, San Miguel's heavy industry today constitutes just 5.2% of the sector, with the industry concentrated around shipbuilding and ship repairs, the manufacture of steel, and petrochemicals. The Agalán, San Agustín, and Tajao Shipyards are the largest in the country and are primarily oriented to ship repair and local construction, particularly of fishing trawlers, and tugboats. San Miguel has a modest steel industry, consisting of one steel mill producing new steel from ore, and one steel mill recycling waste metals. Both of these are owned by the National Steel Corporation (CNA), which has a monopoly on the export, import, and production of raw steel in San Miguel. It's petrochemical industry is dominated by the National Oil and Gas Syndicate (SNPG), which owns the only oil refinery on the island.

San Miguel has a modest automotive industry designed primarily to meet domestic demand as well as manufacture for export to Bahia and Rahelia. There are approximately two active companies producing passenger vehicles, three companies producing truck and bus bodies and trailers, and one assembling motor scooters and motorcycles from Etrurian manufacturers Piaggio and Vespa. Initially created as a means of providing San Miguelans with cheaper cars, the industry boomed during the 1970's until domestic manufacturing began to wind down following economic reforms in the 1980's. In 2019, San Miguel produced approximately 16,404 motor vehicles, around 75% of which were passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles, and 25% motor scooters. These were produced in three factories in Agalán and Tajao. The two companies assembling motor vehicles today are the National Cooperative of Automotive Manufacturing (CONAFA) and Independent Manufacturing Enterprises (EFA). EFA also manufactures truck bodies and bus bodies alongside Carrocerías San Agustín (CSA) and Carrocerías San José (CJE). Colmotor is San Miguel's only assembler of motor scooters and motorcycles in the country.

Light manufacturing is the biggest industry within the sector and constitutes approximately 47.4% of the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is mostly concentrated in consumer goods such as whiteware and appliances, as well as some consumer electronics, particularly mobile phones and radios. National telecommunications provider Comtel manufactures licenced copies of mobile phones with imported circuitry and components for resale in San Miguel and in selected export markets. Galiano is a manufacturer of household appliances for domestic consumption and exports to Rahelian countries and Auratia.

Food processing is an important part of the manufacturing sector, representing 15% of the sector and contributing $651.67 million in exports. A number of companies are involved in the food processing industry, the largest of which is Alimentos Buenaventura which has a number of processing and packing plants around San Miguel, and exports products to the Asterias, Bahia, Euclea, and Rahelia. There are also a number of smaller companies that operate in San Miguel.

Tourism

Tourism is a major component of the economy of San Miguel, contributing 10.10% to GDP, or ₳3.19 trillion ($4.54 billion) to the economy. Approximately 1.16 million tourists visited the island in 2019, making it one of the most visited destinations in northern Coius.

Tourism in San Miguel began in the 1960's with advertising campaigns in Asteria Superior and Euclea to encourage tourists to visit the island, often on long-haul flights between Euclea and the Asterias as San Miguel became an important stopover for aircraft. Since then a greater number of tourists have visited the island, from 687,888 in 1998, to 1.75 million in 2008. Tourism has declined slightly owing to direct long-haul flights and security issues in wider Badawiya, which has affrected the nation's reputation as a whole.

Of the tourists that visited San Miguel in 2018, 22.2% came from Auratia, 13.4% from Gaullica, 10.8% from Etruria, and 10.6% from Halland. Approximately 15.6% are listed as visiting from other countries.

Transport

Air

San Miguel has eight public airports on the island, in addition to one dedicated military air field. All public airports are owned by the state-owned infrastructure holdings company Infrasan and are administered by the National Airports Agency (ANA), which provides staff, ground equipment, and some support and logistics services to commercial operators. Of these airports, six have regular scheduled passenger services, and two do not. Three of the country's airports are classified as international airports, with Vincente Soccorro Mendoza International Airport, which serves the capital Laguira, the busiest and largest.

There are three airlines that provide scheduled commercial passenger and cargo services in San Miguel. The largest is TASAM which provides short haul, medium haul, and long haul passenger services from San Miguel to destinations in Asteria Superior, Asteria Inferior, Coius, and Euclea. Servicios Aéreos Insulares (SAI) operates domestic passenger services, and Aéropostal provides international and domestic cargo flights.

Land

There is approximately 29,804 kilometres of roads in San Miguel, of which 748 kilometres is dual lane controlled access motorways, mostly in the south and southwest between San Miguel's three largest cities. All major national roads and motorways are managed by Calzadas de San Miguel (CSM), a state owned company that builds and maintains these roads. Around 5,000 kilometres of roads in San Miguel are unpaved.

There is a small railway network on the island, one of the few island networks in the world. The total track length is 1,425 kilometres, with the entire network utilising a gauge of 1,067 milimetres. About eight percent of the network, or 114 kilometres, is electrified, with that amount almost exclusively within the area around the capital city, Laguira. In addition, Laguira is the only city in San Miguel with a commuter rail service. Tram networks can be found in Laguira, as well as the other cities of Agalán, San Agustin, and Tajao. All inter-urban passenger and cargo services on the island are operated by the state-owned company Ferrocarriles de San Miguel, which also maintains the train network. Commuter rail services are provided by the Sistema de Transportes Públicos de Laguira (STPL).

Sea

San Miguel's largest ports can be found in Agalán, Laguira, and Tajao. The Port of Agalán is located in western San Miguel and in addition to facilitating trade with Bahia and Badawiya, also maintains San Miguel's only ferry connection to the island of x. It is the second largest port in the country and is also second in terms of revenue and cargo volume.

The largest port in San Miguel is the Port of Laguira, being the largest in terms of cargo volumes and revenue, handling 50% of San Miguel's imports and exports. It has no ferry connections but instead holds San Miguel's primary shipbuilding and dry dock facilities. Cargo that departs from the Port of Laguira typically goes to Bahia or the Asterias.

Tajao hosts an important port at the top of the country which is primarily involved with the trade to and from Euclea. It also hosts a separate twice daily ferry service to x.

Demographics

As of April 2020, San Miguel has an estimated population of 3,232,928‬ inhabitants, an increase of 289,000 people since the 2015 Census, which recorded a population of approximately 2,943,928 inhabitants. This represents an annual increase of 57,800 people on average per year, or average population growth of 1.96% per year between 2015 and 2020.

Ethnicity

San Miguel is a multiethnic and multicultural country, historically composed of multiple different people groups. However, because of the variety of people groups within the country, San Miguel divides ethnic groups within the country into five broad categories: Criollo, Euclean, Badawiyan, Bahian, and Other.

Criollos are the largest group of San Miguelans at 45.7% of the population. They are named after the Gaullican word créole, which described the language originating from the island that was essentially a more Badawiyan dialect of Auratian, a language which is still widely spoken today. Criollo became more of a national identity in the 19th century, and was considered to be a separate ethnic group by the early 20th century, with distinct cultural traditions and blends between Badawyian and Auratian culture. The people themselves have mixed heritage and are descended from both Auratian settlers and Badawiyan natives.

Eucleans are the second largest group of San Miguelans at 16.4% of the population. About 80% of Eucleans were born on the island and are largely descended from settlers to the island, with smaller communities of Euclean expatriates. About 60% of the Eucleans have Auratian ancestry, 30% Gaullican ancestry, six percent Etrurian ancestry, three percent Weranian ancestry, and one percent claiming some other ancestry. Eucleans have typically enjoyed the greatest amount of wealth and power in San Miguel, occupying the top business and political offices.

Badawiyans are the third largest group in San Miguel at 15.9% of the population. Around 50% of the Badawiyans in San Miguel have ancestry that can be traced back to at least the 15th century, and have inhabited the island for centuries. Most Badawiyans live in the urban fringes of most of San Miguel's cities and towns, preferring semi-rural to rural lifestyles. Their influence on San Miguelan culture is significant, from language and cuisine, to state holidays and traditional clothing.

Bahians are the fourth largest group at 12.8% of the population. Historically, Bahians were not used as slave labour in San Miguel, although the island was used as part of the slave trade between Bahia and the Asterias. As such the earliest groups of Bahians to settle on the islands were escaped slaves in transit between the island and colonies elsewhere. Many of them took to the mountains to survive, and became known as los cuevos, or "the cave dwelling ones" due to the large numbers of them living in caves in the mountains. They were integrated into wider society after the abolition of slavery in 1821, and have since remained a small but influential community. Recently, the island has resettled a number of Bahian refugees, and now the number of recent migrants outnumber those who are the descendants of escaped slaves.

People defined as others compose 9.2% of the population, and are mostly associated with smaller migrant communities as well as peoples of countries maintaining embassies in San Miguel. The largest of these communities at about 34% of the others category are Pardarians, mostly immigrants and refugees that fled the wars in that region.

Religion

San Miguel is largely a Sotirian nation coalesced around the Diocese of Laguira, which is one of the oldest in Badawiya, established in 1475.

Approximately 68.7% of San Miguelans identify as Sotirians, with the vast majority of them Solarian Catholics at 78.7% of Sotirians. Another 19.4% are Amendists, and another 1.9% are from other denominations. While the majority of San Miguelans are descendants of those from Catholic countries, Amendism took hold much later through introductions from sailors trading on the island, and these communities solidified. Amendism is strongest among the Bahian community with 42.4% of Bahians identifying as Amendists. Church service attendance rates are also quite high, with 48.9% saying they attend regularly, 42.4% saying they attend services on major religious observances, and the remaining 8.7% saying they do not regularly attend services, or do not attend services at all.

Another 16.2% of the population identifies as Irfanists, the majority of whom are Badawiyans, with a smaller number of Bahians and a very small number of Euclean converts. Irfan was the predominant religion of the island until the arrival of Eucleans, making it the oldest extant religion on the island. A number of small local mosques can be found on the island, although a number were taken over by the Catholic Church and converted into churches and cathedrals. The largest mosque is the Al Qadir Mosque in central Laguira.

Atheism and agnosticism account for 12.4% of the population. However, it is the fastest growing religious demographic in the country, especially among those under 25, 48% of whom do not identify with any religion. It is predicted that within the next two decades, atheists and agnoistics, as well as those that do not identify with any religion, will become a majority in San Miguel.

The final 2.7% of the population are those who identify with a number of smaller religions, notably those adhered to by smaller religious groups, especially immigrants. These include Atudism, with San Miguel hosting a small Atudite community composed mainly of migrants and refugees from Tsabara, and traditional Bahian religions and faiths.

Language

The sole official language of San Miguel is Auratian, which is used by the government, media, and the general public. It is the primary language taught in schools, although other languages are also taught. The majority of the population in San Miguel can speak more than one language with some proficiency. Around 50% can speak another language at a conversational level, 25% are fluent in another language, 16% can speak some words and basic sentences, and nine percent are monolingual.

Auratian is by far the most spoken language in San Miguel, with 87.8% of San Miguelans speaking it as a first language, and 12.2% speaking it as a second language. San Miguel speaks a local dialect that borrows some loan words from Badawiyan, with many of these words used as slang. They do not speak with the same lisp as the continentales (a word used to describe Auratian speakers from Auratia) and also uses the word vosotros as opposed to the standard ustedes. It is different from criollo in that it is still classified as an Auratian dialect.

Criollo is a creole language derived from a mixture of Auratian and Badawiyan that arose on the island in the 16th century, and is considered to be the only native language of the island. It is spoken as a first language by approximately 2,459 people, or 0.08 of the population. However, it is spoken to some extent by at least 30% of the population. It is widely taught in schools as an optional secondary language, and is protected under the National Heritage Law.

Badawiyan is the second most spoken language on the island. It is a first language for 6.2% of San Miguel's population and is a second language of 32% of the population. San Miguel, like neighbouring x and x on the Coian mainland, speaks a dialect of Badawiyan known as aamiyya, and has a phonology that differs from standard Badawiyan as well as its own clusters of consonants and vowels. It is the most common form of Badawiyan spoken among San Miguelans at 74.5% of native speakers, and is also taught in high school as an optional language.

Estmerish and Gaullican languages are some of the more common second languages

Education

Education in San Miguel is administered by the Ministry of Education through a dual public-private school system. There are 297 primary and 118 secondary schools across San Miguel, in addition there are six universities. As of 2019 there were 214,083 primary school students, 213,609 secondary school students, 110,572 tertiary students, for a total of 538,264 students. Literacy rates are 89.4% for men and 88.9% for women, with a combined average literacy rate of x. The 2019 national education budget is $756.2 million. Education is compulsory for students between six and 16 years of age.

Primary school begins at age six for most students and lasts until age 12, where students then progress onto secondary school, which lasts normally until 18 years of age. However, students may finish their schooling with parental approval at age 16 in order to move into an apprenticeship, or other vocational training, or other employment. Primary and secondary schooling is subsidised by the government for public schools only, with certain students eligible for free education from the government. Primary and secondary schools are split between public and private, with the latter mostly consisting of Catholic schools and other academies. All schools must teach using the same basic curriculum.

Universities in San Miguel are primary private institutions, with only two public universities in the country. The two public universities are also the largest universities in the country; these being National University of San Miguel (UNASAMI) and the University of Laguira (UdI), with these universities charging reduced attendance fees. The remaining universities charge fees for students, and are regarded as among the best in Coius. These include the Catholic University of San Miguel (UNCASAM) and the University of Cabo Blanco (UNCABA).

San Miguel has faced certain difficulties with education and continues to face a number of challenges, including overcrowding in schools and a lack of trained teachers and other school staff. Furthermore, there is also a reduction in the number of students completing high school and attending universities.

Healthcare

Healthcare in San Miguel is provided through a parallel public-private healthcare system. Total spending on healthcare in 2019 was $1.72 billion, 64.7% of which was government spending. Life expectancy in San Miguel is 76.2 years for men, 80.3 years for women, with an average life expectancy of 78.2 years.

San Miguel's public health system covers 21 public hospitals and another 32 community medical centres. These are funded entirely by the Ministry of Health, and are administered by the Public Health Service (SPS). Community medical centres are one of the means of delivering primary medical treatment and care to most of the population. Hospitals are usually reserved for elective and essential surgeries, emergency medical care, complex medical treatment, and for births.

Private medical care is available through two means: through direct payments to healthcare providers and through independent doctors and health specialists. There are 16 private hospitals across San Miguel which provide medical care to those with the means to pay.

Approximately 48% of San Miguelans are covered by public healthcare plans, which are managed by the Public Health Service. Another 32% are covered by private healthcare plans. Around 20% are uninsured, although have guaranteed access to basic healthcare treatment. However, the health of the country's poorest inhabitants remains an unresolved issue.

Emergency medical services are under the auspices of the Public Health Service, which operates emergency medical services directly around the island. These services are free for all emergency calls or essential transport to hospitals. In addition, a number of private ambulance and paramedic companies operate in San Miguel.

Poverty

The national poverty line in San Miguel is defined as "persons living on less than ₳850 per day", or approximately $5.46 per day. Based on this metric, 19.8% of the population lives below the poverty line. In addition, 9.7% of the population live in severe poverty (less than $3.20 a day), and 3.2% live in extreme poverty (less than $1.90 a day). Most of those that live in poverty are those belonging to ethnic minorities. Just under half the Badawiyan population lives in poverty, as do 32% of Bahians, and 15% of Criollos. Just 5.57% of Eucleans live in poverty in San Miguel.

Approximately 12.4% of the population lives in slums in San Miguel, down from 18.7% in 2010, and 27.4% in 2000. Slums, known colloquially as ahuacucas in San Miguel, are classified officially as "informal settlements", are principally found in urban areas of the country. San Miguel's three largest cities collectively hold 95% of the country's slum dwellings, with the remaining five percent spread out among the smaller cities and towns. Less than one percent of San Miguel's slums are located in rural localities.

Since the turn of the century, successive governments have implemented Meta Milenario, a policy to reduce the number of people living in slums and living in poverty by 50% in 20 years. These have included building greater numbers of social housing, as well as improving access to healthcare and education.

Crime

San Miguel has a crime rate of 4.25 per 100,000 inhabitants, a homicide rate of 2.24 per 100,000 inhabitants, and an incarceration rate of 284 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to statistics released by the National Police, approximately 69 murders were recorded in 2018 and over crimes, from which 46.7% were prosecuted and 27.8% resulted in incarceration.

Most criminal activities reported in San Miguel are for financial gain, with petty theft and burglary the most common. Violent crimes remain low in comparison with most Coian states, although drug trafficking remains a significant problem for the country.

Ahuacucas, San Miguel's urban slums, are the the source of much of San Miguel's crime. These areas, often built on the fringes of San Miguelan cities, are home to a number of legal and illegal migrants as well as those displaced by natural disasters. Once considered a rarity, ahuacucas grew rapidly following the 1980 earthquake and Hurricane Gustavo in 1984, with economic reforms and continued natural disasters fueling their growth.

Culture

Cuisine

San Miguelan cuisine is influenced significantly by the different cultures that have inhabited the island, and include unique dishes, as well as those imported from Badawiya, Bahia, and Euclea. Dishes typically feature local ingredients and are especially reliant on vegetables, animal products like cheese and lard, as well as fish.

Badawiyan cuisine is heavily intermixed with Berber influences and available ingedients, with common dishes found on the Coian mainland found in San Miguel. These include main dishes such as chakhchoukha, méchoui, mamita, mrouzia, shakshuka, and tajine, all of which are common to restaurants in San Miguel, particularly on the western coast and Laguira. Snack foods introduced by Badawiyans remain, these include merguez sausages, which are either served on their own or in long buns with onions, lettuce, etc., kebobs, principally lamb although chicken and seafood are also used, some variants of harcha, burek, and briwat, the latter also available in supermarkets, as are the sweet sfenj doughnuts. Desserts such as baghrir, ghoriba, chebkaia, makroudh, seffa, and sellou are all available from stalls, bakeries, and restaurants around the country. Couscous is a common dish served on special occasions, and akanaf, a whole roasted sheep, is a reasonably common social institution during special occasions, especially during religious festivals. Asadha is a social instituion where meat is barbequed, and is believed to be influenced by both Euclean and Badawiyan colonists.

Tajines and pastilla are two dishes that have become popular among both Badawiyan and Euclean inhabitants, as have a number of different salads and soups, which have gained popularity among Eucleans, who have adopted those dishes as wider San Miguelan dishes.

Eucleans in San Miguel have introduced dishes from the Euclean mainland, principally from Auratia. These have been influenced from local ingredients as well as influences from other cultures. Common dishes in Euclean restaurants include carne con vino y ajo, conejo en slamorejo, huevos estrellados, puchero, ropa viejo, and sancocho, which comes in meat and seafood variants. Typical snack foods include arepas, which are often sold alongside Badawiyan snacks. A number of soups and stews are found in Euclean San Miguelan cuisine as well, typically taking the form of either a potaje, a chunky vegetable soup, or a caldo, which contains either meat or seafood. Caldo de papas, or potato soup, is a staple of many Euclean families. Typical desserts include bienmensabe, frangollo, leche asada, rapaduras, rosquetes, quesillo, and truchas. Iutian immigrants introduced espetada into San Miguel, as well as bolo de mel, a traditional cake eaten on special occasions, malasadas, and millo frito.

One of the staples of San Miguelan dishes is gofio, a flour maded from roasted sweetcorn that was developed as a local substitute for flour. Gofio can be used as an ingredient in many dishes or prepared in different ways, and is one of the few ingredients used to make dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mojo is a common condiment available in restaurants and sold commercially, and is typically used with potatoes. Pickled lemons, marinated olives, and charmoula are available as condiments both commercially and in restaurants.

As is typical of countries with Badawiyan influences, tea widely consumed as a popular drink in cafes and teahouses across the island. Typically mint tea is the most consumed, and follows general north Coian practices and trends. Since it's introduction in the 18th century, coffee has been a widely consumed drink in San Miguel. Coffee in San Miguel is normally consumed dark and sweet, with no milk, hot water, and sugar. Cities like Agalán, Laguira, and Tajao have developed their own coffe drinks; the most famous being the café agaláño, which is coffee with full cream and honey. Laguira is famous for its iced alcoholic coffee drink café fortificado, in which a shot of brandy or vodka is added. Tajao is typically regarded as a centre for espresso coffee, as well as trends from Euclea.

Literature

Literature has been an important part of San Miguelan culture since before Euclean colonisation, with the first recorded scriptures found on the island in the 1970's dating back to the early Irfanic period on the island.

Poetry is among the oldest forms of literature on the island, with the earliest poems dating from the Irfanic period. Among the early Irfanic poets include Kamil Al-Jasur and Attab Ibn Masarra, who wrote of various events on the island as well as personal experiences. Romanticism and nationalism played an important part in shaping poetry and literature during the 19th century, with the island's poets influenced by trends in Euclea. Among the more well known poets include Ivan Toledo, Luis Jiménez, and Azahara Gómez, one of the first female poets to gain notariety. In the mordern era, poets like Guillermo Chabani and Sebastian Martínez have played an important part in shaping modern poetry. San Miguel's national poet is Oriol Lérida, who influenced the nationalist movement in the country in the early part of the 20th century, and wrote a series of poems depicting the national struggle during the occupation.

A number of San Miguelan authors have risen to prominence throughout its history. Few records exist of authors before the 17th century. One of the more well known authors from this period is Llorenco Madraso, who wrote several plays. As with poetry, nationalism and romanticism influenced San Miguelan authors into the 19th and early 20th centuries, with writers such as Gael Ramdán and Aimar Criado leading the movement in the 19th century. From the early 20th century, female writers such as Leticia Fernández and Yasmina Fahas became prominent in San Miguelan literature.

Modern writers have taken San Miguelan literature into new areas, often covering topics and issues that are contentious or taboo within San Miguelan society, as well as offering different perspectives on historical events. Badawiyan and Bahian authors became prominent, especially in the 1970's ans 1980's. Writers like Samia Sánún brought these issues and topics into the lives of society as a whole.

San Miguel has produced several notable award winning writers, including Amir Prado, Juan Carlos Salazar, and Elena Barceló.

Sport

Association football is the most popular sport in San Miguel in terms of attendance at club membership. The national football team is one of the better performing in Bahia but is lower ranked than other teams in Coius. San Miguel's domestic football league is the Primera Division, in which each parish plus some of the larger cities have teams that compete. Atlético Laguira is the most successful team in the Primera Division, having won the competition 13 times. It has also seen success in the Bahian Champions Cup, winning it twice in 2004 and 2010. Many of San Miguel's national team players play for the team, and may play for clubs, such as Afsan Gutiérrez, Ángel Rodríguez, and Daniel Secada.

San Miguel has a successful futsal team that has won international competitions, including regional and Coian championships. It is a growing sport especially in the poorer areas of San Miguel that do not have access to adequate sports facilities. Players like Simón Tafalla and Rubén Sakaria have risen the profile of the sport domestically and within wider Bahia.

Outside of football, few additional sports are played on the island. Of those that are, basketball, golf, and tennis are the most popular. San Miguel has a competitive basketball league

Media

San Miguel is one of the largest Auratian-language centres of media production outside Auratia itself. Most of the production is split between the capital Laguira, which is home to most of the state owned media companies, and Agalán, which is known as a centre for film and commercial television production.

San Miguel has two primary broadcasting companies. The largest of these is Radio y Televisión de San Miguel (RTSM) which is the public broadcasting company that produces most of the non-commercial television and radio programming in San Miguel. Established in 1942, RTSM broadcasts a number of television channels across the island and is available in other countries. It also broadcasts in Badawiyan and Gaullican languages for international channels.

Music

Music in San Miguel is primarily a mixture of Badawiyan and Euclean influences, especially in the instruments used for traditional forms of music. Instruments used for traditional music include instruments from Euclea, such as the guitar and the violin, with instruments from Badawiya like the oud also used. Bagpipes are used as common instruments as part of local folk music, and in some miltary bands.

Although originating outside of San Miguel, bolero is a genre of music that has become one of the symbols of San Miguel. It was introduced to the island in the early 19th century from Auratia, and became a popular form of music throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. San Miguelan bolero is different to that of Auratia by the frequent substitution of the guitar with an oud. It is also minimalistic, involving just a pair of and an oud or guitar.

Saída is considered the national music style of San Miguel and is widely considered to be a fusion of both Auratian and Badawiyan music styles. Taken from the Badawiyan word for happiness, saída is upbeat music with quick tempo. It is entirely instrumental. Common instruments for saída include the bendir, guitar, kreakebs, oud, sagat, tbiat, and zir. Wind instruments like ney are also commonly used.