Plata

The Democratic Republic of Isla Plata La Republica Democratica del Isla Plata
Flag
Motto: ¡Venceremos! (Verdean: We will overcome!)
Isla Plata within its borders in the Verdean Archipelago
Capital	El Dorado
Largest city	Punto Caballo Blanco
Official languages	Classical Verdean
Recognised national languages	Vulgar Verdean
Ethnic groups	62% Verdean 14% Mixed Verdean-Especian 12% Mixed Verdean-Capisarian 8% Isarléan 3% Treleini 1% Other Especian or Meridonian
Demonym(s)	Platan, Platans
Government	Parliamentary Republic
• Chancellor	Alba Rafaela Rosalva Quintana
Legislature	National Assembly
Establishment
• Foundation of the Kingdom of Plata	AI 1070
• Indpendence from Second Verdean Republic	16 de Mesvacío DI 131
• Independence from Federal Republic of Capisaria	16 de Mesisa DI 189
Area
• Total	192,912 km2 (74,484 sq mi)
Population
• DI 218 estimate	35,678,976 (7)
• DI 212 census	34,608,607
• Density	184.949/km2 (479.0/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	DI 217 estimate
• Total	$416,980,192,512 NSD (11)
• Per capita	$11,687 NSD
Currency	Meridonian Unit, Billeta Plataño
Date format	dd-mm-yyy DI
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.ip

The Democratic Republic of Isla Plata (Verdean: La Republica Democratica de Isla Plata), also referred to as Plata is a unitary parliamentary republic in the west of the Verdean Archipelago of Southern Greater Meridon. It is comprised a handful of administrative districts spanning the island of Plata. As one of the major areas of Meridonian immigration during the Capisarian occupation Plata is one of the more ethnically diverse nations in the Archipelago. Plata is also one of the more developed nations in the Archipelago second only to Isla Verde and Isla Diamante, and is a major partner with the Verdean government.

Humans first came to the Verdean Archipelago roughly 10,000 years ago, with Plata becoming fully settled roughly 8,000 years ago. The first major cities were founded on Plata roughly 4,000 years ago, later than those of the first societies on other islands, more in line with the second birth of sedentary societies. Plata was initially unified under a single banner roughly 2,500 years ago, though it would quickly be subsumed by anarchy, and then later by the development of the unified Verdean Empire. As an Imperial territory Isla Plata would become a major economic resource to the crown with its large silver, gold, and jade mines that provided much of the materials for Verdean currency, and for overseas trade.

After the fall of the First Empire, Plata would become a substantial site for the early industry of the Republic, and of the Second Empire, especially those relating to the manufacturing of jewelry. In the later half of the Second Imperial Period, Plata would go into decline as a result of constant class conflict between the workers in the mines and the factories leading often to bloodshed and the deployment of Imperial soldiers to suppress the revolts. During the Valden War of Aggression, the Platans provided a significant number of recruits to the armies of Verde, and was a major training center, leading to a major concentration of military officers when the Second Republic fell into a patchwork of Warlord states. Though a Platan state would eventually be formed from this chaos, it was too weak to resist Capisarian occupation.

During the Capisarian rulership of the Verdean Archipelago, much of the mineral wealth of the island was stripped by Capisarian corporations, most notably the Devereaux Silver Mining Company, and the resulting decline in the economic prosperity resulted in a certain bitterness toward Capisarians and foreign occupation. During the Orteguista revolutions in the DI 80s, the Platan revolutionary movement was co-opted by Vanguardist thought, and took a more militant stance towards revolution than the other more democratically oriented revolutionaries. After the revolution, the immediate government was organized around the Vanguardist Party, with a revolutionary gendarmerie enforcing the new order. While political pressure from The Republic of Verde eventually put an end to the hardlined phase of the revolutionary period, and resulted in a shift toward democracy, Vanguardist elements have maintained a dominant influence in Platan politics.

Living conditions on Isla Plata, though far from luxurious are generally among the better in the Verdean Aarchipelago, with an extremely high level of equality thanks in large part to the policies of the Vanguardist party and strict anti-corruption policy. Plata has a comparatively small standing army to those of Dorado and Verde, and to a lesser extent the Confederacy of Lesser Verdean Islands, with a mere .5% of the national GDP going towards armed forces expenditure. Instead, the Platan government relies on maintaining good relations with the Republic of Verde.

Etymology

The term Isla Verde is religious reference dating back to the earliest followers of the Regio dela Verde. According to legend, the islands of the Verdean Archipelago are the demenses of the deities of the Regio, Isla Plata being the home of the Silver Knight, the champion to the Jade Queen. The Democratic Republic of Isla Plata is a relatively modern construct with the first national Platan movement really forming during the latter half of the Second Imperial Era. The demonym for a citizen of Dorado is Platan.

History

Main Article: Verdean History

Early History

Plata was first settled 8,000 years ago with the population being composed entirely of hunter-gatherers. The population remained small, and relatively isolated even as the advent of agriculture came to much of the archipelago. As a result, Plata was not host to the great collapse of the earliest societies at the conclusion of the first agricultural period. Agriculture would eventually come to Isla Plata during the first part of the classical period, leading to the formation of early Platan cities shortly thereafter as a result of the population boom that occurred shortly thereafter. Upon becoming more sedentary, these earliest societies became substantial centers of trade in the last years of the classical period when silver and gold were first found on the island in large quantities and Plata became a major source for the precious money for coinage.

Plata suffered as a result of the climate change that heralded the end of the Classical age as a number of the civilizations set up in that period collapsed once more and Plata's status as a major base for trade. The loss of trade ended the artificial prosperity of the island and the early rulers of the island and bread riots wracked the cities of Plata. Bread riots turned into a open revolts, and as revolts spread throughout the island, the rulers of the island became more and more hard pressed to maintain order, leading to collapse of many of these early proto-kingdoms. Plata fell into anarchy itself sometime shortly before the establishment of the three families on Isla Verde, and the eventual rise of the Empire.

The Lion's Gate, a major structure in the ancient city of Navaro

During the three families period, Plata was mostly presided over by a patchwork of frequently warring city-states. Consistently shifting alliances and constant conflict did eventually result in a few significant alliances that eventually coincided with the three major families on Isla Verde. As the Parisus-Santiago family became increasingly ascendant on the Verdean stage, fighting on Isla Plata became more and more intense, leading to much more frequent open fighting over Plata. Towards the end of the three families period as Isla Verde, and eventually the rest of the Archipelago came under the control of the Parisus-Santiago Dynasty Platan holdouts proved to the among the last to resist the unification of the Archipelago under a single banner, eventually succumbing completely by DI 2.

Imperial Period

Early in the Imperial Period Plata once again became a center of the Verdean economy, particularly to provide silver for the Imperial mint, and a small number of shipyards was constructed to support the movement of precious metals from Isla Plata to the heart of the Empire in Corazón del Río. As a result a number of the early explorations of the Meridonian continent were funded, and crewed by Platans. However, at the end of the Verdean Early Exploration Period, Plata suffered significantly, particularly when the Kin Strife began, and various Verdean nobles began to over-mine the resources of the island in an attempt to secure monies for mercenaries. During the Verdean Imperial Civil War, the Platans threw in with the rebels, but even after the conclusion of the civil war suffered constant peasant revolts.

After the troubles at the end of the Early Imperial Period, Plata managed to recover somewhat, and though revolts would continue throughout the rest of the early Imperial period, much of the violence would be contained in increasingly rural, and more importantly, increasingly economically irrelevant areas. At the end of the early, and beginning of the middle Imperial Period, a number of dissatisfied pushed for reform of the Empire, and upon failure to achieve their goals, left Plata to found Davidos. nobles During the middle Imperial Era, Platan silver managed to fund the beginning of the Second Verdean Exploration period and the discovery and colonization of the Especian continent. Several wealthy Platans would also leave Plata to found a number of the cities and estates on the continent. The flight of wealthy Platans created something of a drain on the elite society of the island, and as a result a number of non-dyanstic persons would take on the mantle of nobility especially after the shift away from exploration to isolation, and the movement of Platan wealth towards the fringes of the empire to escape the enforced isolation close to home.

An artists depiction of one of the ships common to the Second Era of Exploration.

During the Late Imperial Period, Plata would eventually become more prominently influential in terms of political discourse. The shift towards non-dyanstic nobility on the island would become a substantial contributor to the development of the non-noble bourgeoisie, and the development of the liberal ideals that would become, with earlier, and Isarléan ideas around class a distinctive movement. At the conclusion of the Imperial Period, this underground movement would become more and more prominent, especially as Imperial authority began to break down in the face of famine, and especially in the face of an Especian plague brought over on a trade ship from a previously relatively isolated tribal group.

Post-Imperial Era

During the industrialization of the Verdean Republic, Isla Plata and its mineral resources would prove a substantial contributor to the economy of the Verdean Republic. This became especially true when industrial machinery became increasingly reliant on coal, instead of whale oil, which had powered the earliest period of industrialization. Isla Plata would however, be mostly reliant on extracting raw materials over its own native industry, and the economy of the Platan Island became firmly reliant on feeding the industrialization of the Republic. As the Republic collapsed into anarchy, Plata suffered the most, becoming increasingly chaotic, as desire for Platan raw materials, no longer needed to fuel the growth of the whole Republic, declined so to did the economy of Plata as a whole.

As stability was achieved once more under the Second Empire, efforts were made to make the island less reliant on the production of mineral resources for the Verdean industry, and indigenous factories began to spring up on Isla Plata. During the final buildup to the Carlosian War, as other, more developed industrial islands were shifted increasingly towards the production of weapons and other military equipment, Isla Plata became a hub of commercial manufacturing. As a result Plata came through the war better than a number of the other islands in the Archipelago and came out of the war as one of the wealthiest islands in the Archipelago. The new industrialized Plata would become, during the antebellum, the hub of Verdean manufacturing industry as other islands slowly turned back towards their own civilian production.

During the last years of the Second Empire, Plata, as an industrial center fell prey to the same class conflict between old bourgeois, and imperial elites and the new proletarian classes. This struggle would frequently escalate to violence in the streets and bombings of wealthy neighborhoods, stock brokerships, and other affluent areas in the centers of major Platan cities. This chaos would eventually become the start of a movement away from monarchy and back towards republicanism, especially as the Emperor took increasingly anti-democratic and authoritarian stances in the defense of the ruling elite. This would eventually lead to his assassination, and the eventual replacement of the Second Empire with the Second Republic. During the Valden War, the islands of the archipelago would become increasingly unstable, and would eventually break into warlord states, and eventually nation-states that proved weak and were taken during the Capisarian invasion of the Verdean Archipelago, and Plata was no exception.

Capisarian Subjugation, Independence, and Contemporary History

A protest against the policies of the Vanguardist polices circa the late DI 190s.

During the Capisarian occupation of Plata, foreign corporations would take a heavy interest in the mineral wealth of Plata and as corporations became increasingly dominant in Platan politics they worked hard to weaken the Platan workers movement. Much of Plata was de-industrialized at this time and several mining companies often coerced workers into the mining industry. After a number of incidents involving the collapse of mines and the deaths of mine workers, Platan people began to protest the Capisarian domination of the island. These protests were cracked down upon by Seraph Security, and for two decades, Platan resistance would be crushed in this manner with growing violence against Platans feeding into the creation of an underground movement that would respond to violence with violence.

Starting in the DI 170s a number of groups would become increasingly militant in response to the brutal repression of Seraph Security, groups like The Silver Hand, The Platan Orteguistas, and the Platan Liberation Front would begin, as early as DI 172 to engage in frequent bombing of corporate headquarters, and colonial authority buildings. These would lead to open warfare in rural areas by the DI 180s, especially as the Capisarians themselves began to revolt against their corporate overlords. As the DI 180s dragged on, these rebellions would eventually overwhelm the The Federal Republic of Capisaria, leading to its eventual collapse and the the establishment of Independent Verdean Republics, with Plata being founded under largely Vanguardist Ortegan Socialist principles.

During the early phases of the independent Platan government, the Democratic Republic operated as a single party state, led by the Vanguardists. Increasingly oppressive measures undertaken to remove any capitalist influence, particularly suppression of free speech, and other anti-democratic measures. The Verdean government would eventually help out the Platans with restoring order to Isla Plata, but did require the abolition of the Revolutionary Gendarmerie, and the re-institution of Free Speech and open elections. Plata would agree to these terms, and open elections would occur shortly thereafter. However, the Vanguardists would not completely abdicate their own power, and even to this day, the Vanguardists would remain the dominant force in Platan politics.

Geography

The Democratic Republic of Isla Plata has a land area of 192,912 square kilometers (74,484 square miles). Isla Plata is the sole functioning nationstate on Isla Plata. Isla Plata is a nation that is largely mountainous in the center of the nation, with a sharp fall into flatland close to the coast. In the northernmost reaches of the island, the climate is largely wet for most of the eastern and central areas, though a narrow sliver along the western coast is extremely arid. In the southernmost part of the island, the climate shifts with a wetter, and colder region in the southwest, and a slightly drier climate to the southeast. Plata is, in terms of biodiversity somewhat lacking. As a result of the Capisarian occupation, and decades, perhaps centuries of aggressive mining have destroyed several ecosystems, particularly in areas are mineral rich. The Platan government has put some effort into conservation, however, the environmental conditions have proved difficult to improve.

Demographics

According to the most recent Platan census, Plata has a population of, as of DI 212, 34,608,607. Population growth in Plata has been quite significant in recent years, though population growth has been on the decline in recent years. Plata is one of the more ethnically diverse nations in the Verdean Archipelago, particularly as a result of a large mixed ethnicity population with 62% of the population being of ethnic Verdean descent, and 26% being of mixed Verdean descent. Roughly 80% of the population reports practicing Regio dela Verde and roughly 85% speak the Verdean language. Currently, roughly 6% of the population identifies as being part of the LGBT community, which is up from 2% as of DI 202.

Of the general population, roughly 90% of the population lives in urban areas with slightly over half, 55% living the twenty largest urban areas, and 35% living in urban centers of a population between fifty and one hundred thousand persons. Currently there are twenty two cities with a population of over one hundred thousand, five with a population of over one million. Currently there are no cities with a population of over five million. The bulk of the population lives along the coast, with a substantial minority living near the mountains, in both cases, most persons live primarily close to areas with large mines. The urbanization of Plata has slowed considerably since the start of the second Post-Imperial century.

Largest cities or towns in Plata 2012 Census
	Rank		District	Pop.	Rank		District	Pop.
Punto Caballo Blanco Fajardo	1	Punto Caballo Blanco	Los Puntos	4,556,701	11	Abadías	San Jorge	466,212	Oporto Norte Punto
	2	Fajardo	Los Cisneros	3,370,125	12	Pueblo	Los Cisneros	442,542
	3	Oporto	Oporto	2,091,542	13	San Grigorio	Los Puntos	435,670
	4	Norte Punto	Los Puntos	1,887,654	14	Gran Malacá	Districto Capital	425,125
	5	Sur Punto	Los Puntos	1,001,650	15	Buen Prospecto	Districto Capital	418,244
	6	El Dorado	Districto Capital	717,141	16	Nuevo Dorado	Districto Capital	402,621
	7	Cruz delos Ríos	Districto Capital	650,222	17	Sevilla	Los Cisneros	388,650
	8	Cisneros	Los Cinseros	612,421	18	Aborgodo	Los Puntos	302,250
	9	Cidelmineros	Oporto	500,712	19	Evoros	Oporto	221,867
	10	La Campaña	Oporto	486,567	20	San Ana	Oporto	109,221

Government

The Democratic Republic of Isla Plata is a unitary parliamentary republic. The government is elected directly by the people with minority rights guaranteed by the laws of Isla Plata. Most of the sovereignty of the Platan government is vested in the legislature, with the executive branch being subordinate to the legislature. There is a judiciary that serves as a check on the constitutionality of laws. The Platan Constitution is the supreme law of Isla Plata. Currently there are three levels of government, the national, district, and local governments though only the national government has any meaningful legislative sovereignty with district and local governments serving almost entirely as bureaucratic apparatuses to organize and enforce the directives of the national government, and to make easier, the day to day running of Isla Plata.

Legislative: The Legislative Body of the Platan Democratic Republic is an unicameral elected legislature referred to as the national assembly. The legislature has the ability to pass laws, ratify treaties and is responsible for the appointment of the Chancellor, as well as every other member of the executive cabinet. The Parliament also has the ability to remove the Chancellor, more or less, at will.

Executive: The Executive branch of the Platan government is mostly embodied in the figure of the Chancellor, who serves as both head of state, and as head of government. The Chancellor also serves as chief diplomat, and as commander in chief. The Chancellor is appointed by the Legislature, and has always been a member of the governing party. The Executive also has a number of various ministers that serve as part of the executive apparatus, and these ministers are also appointed by the Legislature.

Judiciary: The Judicial Branch of Plata is represented by the seven member National Court, which is appointed by the Chancellor. The judiciary reviews laws when they are passed for constitutionality, rejecting unconstitutional laws. The judiciary also nominally possesses the power to remove from office, any government official found to be committing an illegal act, and serves as a national court to prosecute those convicted of national level crimes.

The constitution enumerates the powers of the various branches of government. While the constitution itself does not dictate the rights of the people, however the laws of the Plata do protect people granting the rights to the people, including of free speech, press, conscience, and freedom of and from religion.

Parties and Elections

  The Revolutionary Vanguard: 186 seats

  Revisionist Party: 56 seats

  Liberal Democratic Party: 6 seats

  The Silver Hand: 2 seats

General elections occur every three years, with the last election having occurred in DI 216. All citizens over the age of 18 have the right of sufferage and are allowed to vote in the general election and any local elections that exist, as well as having the right to join any of the national unions. The general election nominally uses the proportional system with each third of a percent of the vote representing a seat in the National Assembly. Each party has a roster of persons who are party members who can be called upon to serve as required. Parliament also appoints the Chancellor and the ministries from this roster.

The Democratic Republic is, nominally a multiparty republic. However, the Revolutionary Vanguard Party, that body which was founded by the revolutionary groups responsible for the liberation of Isla Plata, has more or less run Plata as a Single Party State since the revolution. The Platan government has a clear majority, roughly two thirds, in the National Assembly, held by the Revolutionary Vanguard, and most of the remaining seats being held by the Revisionist Party, which is a more moderate satellite party of the Revolutionary Vanguard. The only two other parties with representation are the liberal Liberal Democratic Party, and the Silver Hand, another far left radical party. Many believe this is due election rigging at the behest of the Revolutionary Vanguard, though the party does in fact maintain relatively high popularity among the general electorate.

Foreign Policy

Plata has a relatively neutral policy stance, seeking to maintain peaceful global relations, with a slight emphasis on strong trading relations with other leftist, especially socialist nations. Currently the Demcoratic Republic of Isla Plata maintains embassies on every major nation in Greater Meridon and Especia with consulates in most minor nations, as well as many major ones. Plata maintains strong ties with other Verdean nations, and is a member of the Verdean Union, as well as a provisional member of the Meridonian Union, and is a secondary contributor, and a substanital recipient of the Pan-Verdean Restoration Corps.

Economy

Economic Indicators

Monetary Unit: Meridonian Unit (μ), Billeta Plataño (βP) Conversion Rate: μ1 = $1.7733 NSD Fiscal Year: 15 de Mesorge-14 de Mesorge Nominal GDP: $416,980,192,512 NSD GDP per Capita: $11,687 NSD Labor Force: 21,407,386 Unemployment: 899,110 (4.2%)

The economy of the Demcoratic Republic of Isla Plata is a state socialist, centrally planned economy. It is an export economy, largely dependent on the trade of raw materials, particularly heavy metals, precious metals, and lumber; and to a lesser extent manufactured goods. In terms of trade policy, Plata is heavily protectionist, with the exception of trading relations with other socialist nations, in order to protect the Platan economy from global capitalism. Most of the economy is consumed by heavy industry or resource extractions, with the majority of workers working in these industries. The primary currency of Isla Plata is the Billeta Plataña, though since DI 217 and the ascension of Plata into the Meridonian Union, the Meridonian Unit is slowly becoming a major legal tender in Plata, some citizens also make use of the Billeta Verdista as well, particularly in informal areas of the economy.

The labor force consists of 21,407,386 persons, or roughly two thirds of the total population. Nominally the state is the employer of all citizens in the Platan economy, as a result of its central planning, and in low-skill sections of the economy, the labor lottery. Self-employed persons, and some rural subsistence farmers also exist, accounting for roughly 6% of the labor force (1,284,443 persons). Legally speaking workers are part of the national labor system, which operates both as a national general labor union, as well as a vehicle for operating the labor lottery system.

The Montaña Real rail bridge in North Central Isla Plata

Unemployment and Poverty

Though nominally speaking, there is no poverty in Isla Plata, functionally speaking, there is a substantial population of persons who exist on the fringes of society who are considered impoverished. As of DI 212, roughly 2,247,775 people or 7% of the population live under the national poverty line. Most of these people are those that exist in the informal economy, though some people who have for a long time, been unable to get a job through the labor lottery for an extended period of time. As a result of automation, there has been a sustantial increase in persons without jobs, according to the current Labor Lottery rolls, around 899,110 people are unemployed, which accounts for 4.2% of the labor force. In spite of the high poverty rate, the planning agencies of Isla Plata have worked hard at reducing the suffering of those in poverty, and has been aided in this effort by increasing speed of information transfer via the internet.

Infrastructure

Platan infrastructure has improved significantly since the liberation of the island from Capisaria. Overland transport is largely conducted via heavy gauge rail, though roads are also common, if not as much as in other Meridonian nations. Isla Plata does also have a significant air traffic infrastructure, primarily servicing short range, light transport, with charter flights and air carried cargo being common, if somewhat more expensive than rail travel. Most of the Platan energy infrastructure is provided via hydroelectric and natural gas plants, though since the DI 202 Energy Sustainment Directive, increasing emphasis has been placed upon renewable sources of energy, which has boomed in recent years. Communications is largely done via over the air cellular transmission, as a result of Isla Plata lacking a legacy communications infrastructure, resulting in one of the more modernized systems in Meridon.

Government Finance

Most of the government's income comes through ownership of the means of production. The Platan government owns roughly 85% of the economy or $354,433,163,635, most of which is provided by the state owned infrastructure with only about 10% or $35,443,316,363 coming from taxation. The national government is in control of the budget, though it does fund the district and local governments to ensure that they have the resources necessary to enforce the directives of the national government. Currently, the government prioritizes economic development when it comes to the allocation of government resources, with an emphasis on reinvesting excess money into infrastructure development.

Military

Main Article: Platan Armed Forces

Members of a Civil Protection squad on Patrol in Cisneros

The Armed Forces of Isla Plata, referred to as the Plata People's Defense Force (FDPP) operates under the command of the Chancellor of Isla Plata. The military is divided into three distinct branches, The Platan People's Militia (MPP), The Platan People's Naval Self Defense Force (FDAMPP), which includes the Naval Infantry, and the Platan People's Air Self Defense Force (FDAAPP). The Platan People's Defense Force is funded entirely by the state, and staffed by mostly by volunteers with some support roles being offered by the Labor Lottery. Currently, the FDPP has a standing force of roughly 89,197 persons, with 42,216 serving in the Militia, 36,127 in the Naval Self Defense Force including the Naval Infantry, and 10,854 in the Air Self Defense Force. The Platan armed forces are somewhat underfunded receiving only $3,127,351,443 in funding, roughly .75% of its GDP, with 36% going to the Militia, 44% going to the Naval Self Defense Force, and 20% going to the Air Self Defense Force. The Platan Democratic Republic does produce many of its arms indigenously however, it also imports a number of weapons systems, primarily second hand, with The Republic of Verde and Capisaria being its primary suppliers.

Law Enforcement

Law enforcement largely operates at the local and national level. Most law enforcement personnel serve in local Civil Protection squads, which provides for street level law enforcement, traffic enforcement, and investigation of relatively minor crimes. More significant crimes, as well as high intensity situations are handled by the national law enforcement agencies which include the Civil Security Bureau (formerly known as the Revolutionary Gendarmerie), who react to high intensity situation and maintain order in the event of riots, and the Crime Investigation Bureau, which handles major criminal cases as well as, in emergency situations investigating and suppressing dissidents, though the latter role has become increasingly less prominent as the Republic of Verde began to assert its influence. Currently there are 292,570 personnel serving in law enforcement within Plata, most of whom serve in local units. Law enforcement receives a budget of $1,459,430,675, or .38% of the GDP.

Human Development

The Democratic Republic of Isla Plata is a developing nation, and is working to improve the quality of life for its citizens. Education among the populace was historically quite poor, but has been more universalized under the new regime. The healthcare system similarly is improving, and as is the general quality of life for Platan citizens. This is in large part due the efforts of the government, however, assistance from the Pan-Verdean Restoration Corps has played a major role in the development of the Platan nation.

Education

An adult education center making use of modern information technology.

Education is free and is mandatory for all citizens up to the age of 18. Education is a substantial priority for the government when developing the nation. Efforts have largely centered around rural areas, which historically have been left behind in the educational sense, and large numbers of volunteers have spread out through the countryside to teach, and assist in the teaching of rural Platan citizens. In addition to the education of minors, significant effort has been put into the education of older citizens, many of whom went without an education while Plata was under the occupation of the Capisarians. Adult literacy teachers have become a common sight in the smaller mining towns in rural Plata as well as in the traditionally impoverished parts of major Platan cities.

Healthcare

Healthcare in Isla Plata is operated entirely by the state, with access to healthcare guaranteed as a right of all Platan citizens. 12% of the Platan budget goes towards the operation, servicing, and expansion of the Platan healthcare system, with budgets for the system going up in trends. Most healthcare is provided locally, at small clinics spread out throughout Isla Plata. These centers provide most of the day to day care for Platan citizens. The state also operates a handful of general hospitals and trauma centers in major cities which handle the more difficult, and emergent needs of the population. Some doctors, though operating illegally also perform unnecessary cosmetic surgeries for a profit out of small back-alley clinics, a practice mostly overlooked by the government.

Daily Life

Daily life for Platan citizens generally is dependent on where someone lives, and more importantly where they work. Industrial workers can generally expect relatively safe conditions, short working hours, and a fairly high standard of living. Those working in resource extraction and agriculture can generally expect more spartan, less comfortable lives. Those in fields requiring education or great technical skill generally have nicer lives than industrial workers, having access to some luxuries that less skilled workers lack. Regardless of where someone lives however, a Platan citizen can expect a reasonable, if not luxurious existence.

Culture

The Demcoratic Republic of Isla Plata is a culturally Verdean nation. It is currently a net importer of culture, primarily from Verde, but also from mainland nations such as Capisaria, Illaria, and Walakia. Regio dela Verde is the primary religious influence, and a major cultural influence in Platan society. Plata has little in the way of a native entertainment industry instead importing most of its television, film, and music from other nations. Most architecture in Plata follows pragmatic lines, even in the modern era. Sport plays a major role in the lives of Platan citizens with football being the biggest sport in Plata, and a number of teams exist to entertain the masses. More traditionalist persons also partake in bullfighting, though this practice has steadily declined since the establishment of the Democratic Republic.