Puramape

Republic of Puramape République de Pouramape (Gaullican)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  «By reason or by force» "Par la raison ou par la force"
Anthem: «L'hymne du Pouramape»
Location of Puramape in Asteria Inferior in green.
Location of Puramape
Capital and largest city	Saint Ferdinand de la Vallée de la Providence
Religion	See Religion in Puramape
Demonym(s)	Puramapese
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
• President	Déborah Genet
• Premier	Edouard Lecoubarry
Legislature	Sénat
Establishment
• Establishment of the Captaincy of Nouvelle Sessonis	1520
• Establishment of the Prefecture of Nouvelle Sessonis	1530
• Establishment of the Prefecture of Saint Ferdinand	1580
• Consolidation of the Prefecture of Saint Ferdinand	1770
• Constitution of the Dominion of Puramape	1850
• Independence	1930
Area
•	998,000 km2 (385,000 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	7,652,362
• 2012 census	7,301,712
GDP (PPP)	2022 estimate
• Total	$181.35 billion
• Per capita	$24,837
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$95.579 billion
• Per capita	$13,090
Gini (2022)	41.5 medium
HDI (2022)	0.801 very high
Currency	Sud (/SUD) (PUS)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+582
Internet TLD	.pu

Puramape (Gaullican pronunciation: [puʁamape] ; Gaullican: Pouramape), officially Republic of Puramape (Gaullican: République de Pouramape) is a republic in Asteria Inferior. It shares borders with Satucin to the west, the East Arucian Sea to the north, and Gapolania to the east; the south of the territory is covered by the Sierra Bianca mountain range. Its capital and largest city is Saint Ferdinand de la Vallée de la Providence, located in the country's central plateau.

The territory was inhabited by indigenous peoples for many years before colonization by Eucleans. During its initial years, Puramape was discovered by Vespasian merchants and colonisers, who settled a small port colony on what was later called Montsinéry-Tonnegrande; the closeness between the Viceroyalty of New Povelia and the Viceroyalty General of Satucin soon made of Puramape a zone of contention between the colonial empires with limited Euclean settlements. Fearing Vespasian's expansion to Satucin, Gaullicans led the incursion in the territory of Puramape, expelling Vespasians through subsequent battles which concluded with the territory being handed to Gaullican authorities, remaining during most of its colonial period as a province of the Viceroyalty General of Satucin. The power in the island, however, saw the particularity of being shared between the Gaullican crown and the Solarian Catholic Church. Between the 17th and the 18th centuries, ecclesial orders would capitalise their power through the creation of "indian reductions", missions established inland that gathered native communities to live in relative freedom. Priests were in charge of the education and labour of the local population, and reductions served as independent economic units that diminished the crown's influence in the island. The communities proved crucial for those escaping from enslavement and the encomiendas labour system; with the establishment of slavery market, reductions would also provide protection to freed slaves.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the territory of Puramape remained lagged behind the more prosperous Satucin; the isolation from the rest of the Viceroyalty and different power and labour dynamics were crucial in the development of a sense of own idiosyncrasy, soon leading to differences between the two provinces. An independence struggle commenced during the 19th century, first against Gaullican and Vespasian domination, concluding with the Gaullican surrender after the Great War and later against Satucine centralism.

Following independence, Puramape saw a growing tension between newborn political forces (Party of National Integration and the Civic Radical Union), which, after a short period of civil conflicts, were solved by several political reforms under the governments of Jean-Pascal Chagnon (UCR). Under successive UCR governments, the country saw a level of development, with the expansion of labour, healthcare and education across the nation. However, it was also the period of an increase in the use of an export based economic model, which boosted the influence of major Asterian companies in the country; this situation saw an algid moment when, entering a financial crisis in the 1970s, the population lived under a red scare promoted from the political establishment aimed to oppose to Chistovodian influence in the region. In 1974, the three main political parties, PDIN-UCR-USC, joined in the Accord of Camp-Perrin to grant governability and stability, as well as political participation, isolating the recently founded and popular SRAE and PVP. During the 1980s and 1990s, governments were forced to implement several neoliberal reforms under the Morwall Consensus, of which Puramape rapidly became a strong advocate until the early 2000s. Puramape was hit by the 2005 financial crisis, following that event, the left-wing coalition, FPP reached power for the first time, arising current political dynamics between urban centres and the agribusiness elites.

Puramape is a Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic; it is considered a full democracy in the region and has performed favourably in metrics such as Human Development Index and press freedom. However, the country deals with a high inequality and a growing problem of insecurity. Puramape is a full member of the Community of Nations, the Arucian Cooperation Organization, the Organization of Asterian Nations, the International Council for Democracy, the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs and the International Trade Organisation.

Etymology

Strong winds in the plains of Puramape have historically given name to the territory

The name "Puramape" is the Estmerish derivation from the Gaullican name,Pouramapè. The original name of the territory is believed to be a colonial modification from the original name, "Purapamapu" of Chanuche origin meant to define the pampas of the north of the territory. A popular interpretation from the original name "Purapamapu" refers to the composition of the two Chanuche words, "Purapa" (winds from the sea) and "Mapu" (land, country or plains), with the two meaning "land" or "plains" of "strong winds of the sea", in direct relation to the plain territory north of the Sierra Bianca mountain range, where winds tend to be strong, bending trees and marking life in the territory.

During most of the colonial period, the territory of Puramape was named "Prefecture of Saint Ferdinand", answering to the name of the capital of the province and now capital city of the country, Saint Ferdinand de la Vallée de la Providence. However, in many records and maps of the time, the name "Puramape" exists in relation to the plains that occupy a large portion of the territory in the border with Satucin, and was a common toponym to the country and people of said geography; in texts of the Gaullican conquérant Pierre-Antoine Courvoisier du Suberscaseux, the term is found as "men of the Pouramape" as one of the earliest evidences of the toponym. Following independence, it was named "Republic of Puramape" (République de Pouramape).

History

Pre-Asteris period (before 1520)

See also: Assim Asteris

Gaullican colonisation (1520-1770)

See also: History of Gaullica

Prefecture of Saint Ferdinand and Dominion (1770-1930)

Main articles: Prefecture of Saint Ferdinand and Dominion of Puramape

See also: Functionalist Gaullica

Radical spring (early 20th century)

Main articles: Civic Radical Union and Civic Radical Union § Radical spring

General Jean-Pascal Chagnon shaped the early political panorama of Puramape.

Shortly after independence, the General Jean-Pascal Chagnon was elected premier from the Civic Radical Union. Amid growing tensions between the two main political forces, Chagnon conducted a number of political reforms to avoid the course of a civil conflict; during his 15 year long term, Chagnon impulsed universal suffrage, representative parliamentarism, social security and a number of labour reforms that included broad unemployment compensations.

Meat Industry, somewhere in Puramape.

Assuming the office of the premiership after independence, Jean-Pascal Chagnon conducted a number of nationalisations aimed to impulse productivity and public investment in key areas of the economy. During the first half of the 1930s, Puramape was able to expand its network of railways and motorways, and granted state-owned monopolies to the dairy cooperative name, the oil and concrete producer, the water distribution company, the electricity and telecommunications company and others. Under Chagnon, the state was conceived with an active role in the economy as a competitor and regulator; labour organisation was actively promoted, generating a major mass of unionised workers in the country.

Chagnon's successive terms in office shaped Radicalism in Puramape and the country's political system during a period called Radical spring, in which power was dominated by the UCR through its progressive wing, counting with a predominantly urban support. Politically, constitutional reforms made by Chagnon to grant political participation of the opposition in diverse nationalised companies and numerous administrative offices, allowed a long period of political peace and open discussion. Puramape became a leading exporter of meat, dairy and wheat, rapidly becoming known as the breadbasket of the world; beneficial prices of commodities, a model of import substitution industrialization and political stability were crucial in the development of the country and an increasement in the general standards of life.

CONAPRO years (late 20th century)

Main article: Programmatic National Coalition

Louis Geiger Maitre, premier between 1967 and 1976 became a political strategist in Puramape.

During the late 1950s, economic downturns and a regional fall in commodities prices affected the Puramapese economy. The model of state promoted until then was starting to be perceived as inefficient by several political actors, with a large mass of public workers and an industry largely subsidised, which was unable to compete against international prices. In 1958, the country plains were heavily affected by floods, destroying crops and resulting in an increase in inflation; by the end of the decade, Puramape was living record unemployment figures, while an exodus from rural populations to the cities provoked the expansion of informal slums.

During most of the decade of the 1960s, Jean-Joël Lecerf-Boudon led the country as a direct successor of Chagnon. However, the economic difficulties, forced Lecerf-Boudon to redirect the UCR and government policy towards liberal and orthodox lines. Lecerf-Boudon's ideological closeness with the conservative factions of the UCR were accused of traition by the senators from its progressive wing, forcing his renounce. Louis Geiger Maitre assumed the leadership of the party, although consolidating the conservative turn of the party marking the distance from the progressive predecessors. The terms were marked by stability programs aimed to reduce inflation, a growing deindustrialisation and an environment of political tension, which prompted clashes between trade unions, students and the police. Fearing losing power, the UCR made several agreements with the PDIN and the USC, while promoted a red scare over the People's Socialist Party and the East Arucian Revolutionary Section, the main political arms of the left, which were accused of being Chistovodian-allies. In the 1976, for the first time, the PDIN overtook the UCR and was able to form government, although in minority and for a few years before its collapse.

In order to isolate the political left, UCR, PDIN and USC, formed the CONAPRO, an organ of political coordination between the main political parties and social organisations, which aimed to form an axis of minimum programmatic guidelines and establish stable governments with the support of the three parties, which were given several positions in the administration. The CONAPRO functioned for over 27 years and consolidated UCR's political dominance over the rest of the century, a political dynamic of agreement and consensus between the main forces and a large middle class often associated with the public administration.

21st century

See also: Front for People's Participation

Gérard Rigal, leader of the FPP, became the first left premier of Puramape in 2006, starting a major change in Puramapese politics and society.

The 21st century in Puramape meant the end of the bipartidist political system that had ruled the country since independence. Daniel La Rue was elected premier in 2000 after a general election that produced, for the first time, a majority for the leftist coalition Front for People's Participation. However, La Rue was able to form the last government of the UCR within the Programmatic National Coalition. The six-year government was marked by several neoliberal reforms and intense confrontation with trade unions, exemplified by the referendums for the privatisation of public companies and the conclusion of an FTA with Senria.

Hit by the consequences of the 2005 financial crisis, CONAPRO was broken and without political support. La Rue was forced to dismiss the government and announce a snap general election. In 2006, after being in opposition since 1981, the FPP became the largest coalition in the Senate and Gérard Rigal became the first premier from the left in the country's history. The government enjoyed broad social support, although it also faced animosity from economic chambers and rural societies, which held a months-long strike against the imposition of a tax increase on agro-exports in 2010. During their term, Puramape was able to reduce poverty rates to record lows, decrease unemployment and increase foreign investment. In 2015, Rigal was succeeded by Benjamin Durand as leader of the FPP and later premier of Puramape. For the first time, the left coalition was supported by a former Alliance member, the Social Catholic Union. The Durand government continued the implementation of most of Rigal's social policies with positive effects on wages and general quality of life. However, during the second half of the term, the government suffered a dramatic increase in social violence and delinquency related to drug trafficking and abuse.

In recent years, Puramape has undergone a process of reconfiguration of bipartidism, now between the FPP and PDIN, which have led a centre-right coalition since 2009. In the 2023 general elections, Edouard Lecoubarry of the liberal conservative Party of National Integration was invested premier, breaking a trend of more than 15 years of leftist administration.

Geography

• 

  Plantations in the pre-chaîne region of Puramape.

• 

  Bridge over the dense mangrove in the north of the country.

• 

  The Ara Rouge, an endangered symbol of the mangrove.

• 

  Gauchos and cattle in the central plateau.

• 

  Landscape and architectural remains of an "indian reduction".

• 

  View of Providence in the central plateau, surrounded by rolling hills.

Politics and government

Déborah Genet

Edouard Lecoubarry

Demographics

View of the coast of Camp-Ferrin, part of a larger conurbation along the coast.

Culture

Puramapese (1879) by local artist Jean-Loup Laframboise.