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Red Banner Tribunal Chichipanitl Tlatoloyan
Flag State Emblem
Capital	Tequitinitlan
Largest city	Tecolotlan
Official languages	Nahuatl
Ethnic groups	79% Nahuas  ∟ 49% Central Nahuas  ∟ 16% Northern Nahuas  ∟ 9% Eastern Nahuas  ∟ 5% Western Nahuas 8% Selk'nam 5% Mapuche 4% Iakan 2% Guarani 2% Other Groups
Demonym(s)	Zacapine Zacapitec
Government	Atlepetl Federation
• Cihuahuetlatoani	Nochcalima II
• Cihuacoatl	Chicacua Xiomara
• Cloud President	Tachto Callcalan
• Earth President	Queya Iluyollo
Legislature	Huenecentlaliliztli
• Upper house	Mixcalli
• Lower house	Tlalcalli
Formation
• Huehuetlatolli Period	4,400-1300 BCE
• Colli Period	1300-17 BCE
• First Intermediate Period	17 BCE-21 CE
• Tlanepantla Period	21-1634
• Second Intermediate Period	1634-1707
• Yancuiliztli Period	1707-1760
• Revolutionary War	1760-1777
• Current Constitution	1961
Area
• Total	1,845,600 km2 (712,600 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 estimate	76,558,935
• 2019 census	75,785,909
• Density	33.4/km2 (86.5/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$2.08 Trillion
• Per capita	$27,474
HDI (2019)	0.888 very high
Currency	Amatl
Driving side	right

Zacapican, formally the Red Banner Tribunal (Nahuatl: Chichipanitl Tlatoloyan), is an Atlepetl Federation located in southern Oxidentale, bordering Kayahallpa and Yadokawona to the north, the Makrian ocean to the west, the Amictlan ocean to the south and the Ooreqapi ocean to the east. The country is a Tlatoanate organized in a federal stucture broken down into 37 constituent Atlepetls each of which is governed by its own Speaker (Tlatoani), which may be an elected or appointed offical on a flexible basis. At the federal level, Zacapican is governed under a system of diarchy by two rulers, the Great Speaker (Huetlatoani) who weilds primarily judicial power as well as the Cihuacoatl who functions similarly to a Prime Minister and likewise serves a chief executive. These co-rulers are appointed by different means, with the Great Speaker often elected by direct nationwide vote from a pool of candidates and serving an indefinite term subject to recall while the Cihuacoatl is elected by the deputies of the national Huenecentlaliliztli assembly. This government structure of a judicio-executive diarchy and democratic legislature defines the modern system of the Tlatoanate as it is found both at the national and state level in Zacapican and gives Zacapine democracy and government a charachter dissimilar to other democratic systems found around the world.

Modern Zacapican is shaped by a fusion of its ancient indigeonous traditions of land use, law and governance and the momentous developments of its early modern history that saw a series of revolutionary upheavals and challenges to these old ways that led to conflict and eventually resolution and synethsis of old and new ideas. This was known as the Yancuiliztli period, the Age of Novelties of the 18th century, which saw a period of prolonged conflict between social classes in Zacapican as their roles and standing in society rapidly shifted, culminating in the Zacapine Revolution which was a protacted civil war ending in 1777 with the foundation of the Red Banner Tribunal to govern Zacapican. This revolutionary struggle saw an alliance between the old nobility of the traditional Zacapine empire and the peasantry and commonfolk against the landowning merchant class whose rise to prominence defined and precipitated many of the social changes of the Yancuiliztli period. The aristocracy sought to defeat the upstart merchant elite which had displaced them as the leading caste of society, while the peasantry wished to redress the process of enclosure and privatization of the commons. As a result of the defeat of the merchant elite in this struggle, the aristocracy regained leadership of the country while the land was reorganized under the system of common ownership known as the Calpolli system. Over time, Zacapican under the Red Banner Tribunal developed a system of mass democracy in which the populace gave risen to control executive and legislative power across the country while the old aristocracy now deprived of most of their original authority, consolidated their influence over the judicial system in coexistence with the democratic institutions.

The socioeconomic system of Zacapican is based on state ownership and usufruct rights laid out in the Calpolli system re-established by the revolution. Under this system, all land within the country belongs to the state, while the local ward or town entity manages its use and acts as a common holding entity for economic activities carried out by its residents. The same calpolli unit forms the basis of direct democratic rule at the local scale, as families of the calpolli hold formal dominion over the political and economic entity of the calpolli in common with the other families, granting them democratic power over all political and economic decisions made by the calpolli and its administrative staff. These calpolli workers and economic entities form the backbone of the economy, acting either as individual entities or doing buisness with one another as a group of several calpolli operating together. Although Zacapican operates under a regulated market system, key features of its calpolli-based economy such as democracy in the workplace and collective worker ownership of economic assets relate Zacapican closely to the socialist and syndicalist economies around the world. It is largely for this reason that Zacapican is traditionally aligned with many leftist regimes and with the Kiso pact.

The Zacapine economy centers around a developed secondary sector of processing, manufacturing and engineering as well as a significant primary sector represented by widespread agriculture and a limited extraction sector based on iron and coal production. The primary sector of the Zacapine economy is focused primarily on domestic markets for food, products such as biodiesel and sunflower oil, and the intensive demand for steel from the manufacturing sector. Zacapican is a world leader in nuclear technology, and exports ships, naval and military technology as well as a wide array of industrial machines across the world. Internationally, Zacapican maintaigns good relations with powerful nations of varying political leanings such as Pulau Keramat, Latium and North Ottonia while persuing a polcy of detente with its traditional adversary Sante Reze. While in the past Zacapine influence around the world has been relatively limited to regions of the Ooreqapi ocean as part of its competition for regional dominance with Sante Reze, modern times have seen the broadening of Zacapican's international horizons as the nation has become involved in conflicts and alliances across the world, illustrated by its involvement in the Enyaman Civil War and establishment of a military base within its Norumbian ally Wazheganon.

Etymology

The common name Zacapican is derived from the nahuatl zacapi, itself a truncated form of zacapiliztli meaning to harvest or collect grasses, maize or other crops, along with the suffix -can. Thus together Zacapican can be translated as "place where the grass is harvested", a term which may have been assigned to the area in which the ancient migratory nahuas settled as they are believed to have imported sedentary agriculture to the region. Historians believe this name was originally ascribed specifically to the Zacaco grassland region in which the nahuas originally settled, stretching across what is now central and eastern Zacapican, and was only later ascribed to the broader nahua empire which grew to dominate the southern cone of Oxidentale but was always based in the Zacaco plains.

Chichipanitl Tlatoloyan, generally translated as Red Banner Tribunal, is the formal name of the current government and ruling system within the state. Chichipanitl is derived from the nahuatl Panitl meaning flag and Chichiltic denoting a red color, representing the red colored flags used as the rallying symbol of the Red Banner peasant rebellions which resulting in the overthrow of the previous dynasty and installation of the new regime. Tlatoloyan is a more traditional designation, derived from the nahuatl Tlato- meaning a ruling or decision, and the suffix -loyan, and so translates roughly to "place where decisions are made", although it may be more loosely translated as Empire or Tribunal. Those who rule a Tlatoloyan are termed Tlatoani or Heutlatoani, the former translating directly as "decision maker" but more commonly as "Arbiter" or "Speaker", and the latter simply adding the Hue- prefix meaning big, and so translating to "Great Speaker" (or "Great Arbiter"). In Zacapine culture, a hegemonic Tlatoani is considered equivalent to and may often be loosely translated as King and thus the higher Huetlatoani is considered equivalent to can be translated as Emperor but in the modern day both are interpreted through primarily judiciary connotations. Female equivalents of both simply involve the addition of the prefix Cihua-, meaning "woman", resulting in Cihuatlatoani and Cihuahuetlatoani translating directly to "Woman Speaker" and "Woman Great Speaker" respectively.

History

Zacapican possesses an extremely long recorded and archeological history which is made all the more remarkable by its organization into a single cultural and political continuity, although this is in part the result of ancient and more recent historical revisionism which sought to organized at times unrelated dynasties and regimes into a more standardized and rationalized format which fit the contemporary view of history and associate newer civilizations and cultures with ancient antecedents. Ancient Zacapine history is subdivided into the Huehuetlatolli and Colli periods, deliniating the period preceeding the arrival of the Nahua migration in the region and the period during and after this event. The Tlanepantla period, also known as the Middle Empire, is considered to be the golden age of stability and prosperity of the Zacapine civilization and lasted more than fifteen centuries before the early modern upheavals of the Yancuiliztli or New Empire period extending to the modern day. The modern age is considered to be an era of turmoil and uncertainty in the context of Zacapine history.

Zuna and Qami Cultures

Basalt death mask style common to Zuna burial sites

The neolithic revolution in Zacapican is defined primarily by the Zuna culture, also known as the Xochiatlahui Basin Culture (XBC) after the region of the northern Zacaco in which its archeological sites are concentrated. The Zuna culture marks the begining of the agricultural revolution in Zacapican and represents the first human group to transition from hunter-gatherer to a sedentary agrarian way of life. A consident burial custom is associated with the Zuna culture, featuring bifacial blades, beads, pottery and other items often interred along with the body which was itself arranged as if seated within the burial site. Human remains interred in this way are generally well preserved and serve as tell-tale indicators of the extent of the Zuna culture across what is now northern Zacapican. The Yolla man is a natural mummy interred in the Zuna tradition and dated to aproximatley 6,600 BCE, considered a part of the national patrimony and kept at the Museum of Anthropology in Tequitinitlan. The Zuna culture is also identified as one of or possibly the first human group to domesticate the cassava plant, as the tuber formed the basis of the formative form of agriculture practiced in this neolithic complex, marking the begining of agricultural revolution in southern Oxidentale as humans began to transition from a hunter-gatherer to a sedentary agrarian lifestyle.

The Zuna culture extended into the chalcolithic, an era which also market the emergence of the prominent Qami culture in the southern Zacaco. During this period both these notable cultures shows signs of urbanization and increasing development of agriculture and animal husbandry, although no writing or pictographic record exists in either culture and so preceed any written record and are considered pre-historic human cultures. The Qami culture in particular is also notable in its apparent lack of any martial weapons or evidence of conflict, in contrast with artefacts and sites of the Zuna culture which show many signs of violent conflict and feature prevalent weapons and signs of warfare. Ultimately, no linguistic or cultural continuity has been clearly established for the pre-historic Zacapine cultures of the late neolithic and early chalcolthic periods. In the absense of hard evidence, it is speculated that the Qami culture may have spoken a precursor Chon language language and could have been the progenitors of the later Hec civilization. It is also speculated that the Zuna could have formed the Chon language and that the Qami instead may be related to the isolate Iakan language.

Early Huehuetlatolli

The Huehuetlatolli or Ancient Period begins with the foundation of the Teushan kingdom in the eastern Zacaco plain around the site of Mitur, believed to be the first or among the first true cities in Zacapican and the ancient world as a whole. This city is known to have been built in aproximatley 4,400 BCE, a figure attested by archeological methods of dating surviving ruins at the site as well as the historical timeline of recorded attestations of the city of Mitur and the surrounding areas of the Teushan kingdom. The Teushan and their succesors remain within the Zacapine chalcolithic period, using primarily tools of bone, stone and copper metal. However, beginning with the foundation of Mitur, the first written records in Zacapine history are found in the form of a glyphic writing system which began the logographic writing system known as Zacaco Glyphs which were widely used by many succesive kingdoms during the Huehuetlatolli period. Seven kings are attested in the records found at Mitur, whose recorded reigning dates account for the archeological evidence of a four centuries of Teushan rule in the eastern Zacaco. At this point, around 4,000 BCE, the Teushan kingdom fell to invasion from the east. These coastal people conquered the kingdom and established in its stead the rule of Aoniq, a confederation dominated by the coastal people of the Zacaco which featured many smaller kingdoms based on Aoniq city states, but which covered more than double the territory of the previous Teushan kingdom when combined. The confederation of the Aoniq in turn would last little more than a century before falling to the Nancayac kingdom, also called the "River Kingdom" due to the proliferation of river boats during this ancient era. Under the Nancayac, these river boats were used to greatly expand the borders of their sphere of influence deep into the Zacaco plain along the region's five major rivers. Their kingdom showed similarities to the earlier Teushan in their more centralized model of rule with only one king, but also the Aoniq in that a large number of urban centers became part of the kingdom which spread across regions of the Zacaco, founding new cities along its rivers. Generally, the Nancayac established a system of rule within river-dependent cities connected to each other by these water-ways, while the hinterland was kept under control of the local people, who would pay tribute in materials to the cities in exchange for protection and access to goods from around the kingdom.

In 3,300 BCE, the Nancayac finally fell after some six centuries to the invasion of what later chornicles call Tepetecas ("Hill People"), a term used to refer to many groups during different periods which inhabited the hills and badlands of southern Zacapican. On surviving inscriptions and reliefs, it is suggested that the invaders devastated with Nancayac military which relied on spears and slings as their main weapons by making extensive use of the atlatl, launching deadly projectiles over great distances with enough force to pierce the cotton armor common during the era. The conquest of the Zacaco and its Nancayac hegemons by the Tepeteca groups precipitated the rise of the Hec civilization, which merged elements of the northern Teushan-Aoniq-Nancayac cultural complex with the culture and language of the southern invaders and the peoples of south Zacapican. Early under the rule of the Hec, the system known as the Heccan Syllabics was invented and replaced the Zacaco glyph system of writing. Zacaco glyphs are as yet undeciphered in the modern day, while Heccan Sylabbics are partially decoded and reveal that the Hec spoke an early Chonan language which may have been derived from the Teushan-Aoniq-Nancayac complex or could have been an introduction from the south. It is also possible both groups spoke distinct but related languages. The Heccan Empire ruled in the city of Gennaha, which became one of the largest urban centers in the world during the time period at 90,000 inhabitants recorded in a census of the city attributed to the year 3,017 BCE. From this bustling seat of power, the Hec controlled many cities across the Zacaco and may have streached across the entire plain at their zenith. The empire faced challenges in the periphery from Iakan and Mapuche peoples in the west and south, but had consolidated its core territory under its overwhelming military power and began to Chonanize the inhabitants of the Zacaco and spread a more uniform culture than had been experienced previously in the region. The Heccan Empire suffered periods of civil war, conflict and changes in its dynastic makeup, but was able to survive these challenges for the entirety of the 2nd millenium BCE before eventually succuming to these presures and collapsing. The fall of the Hec is generally used as the mid-point of pre-Nahua Zacapine civilization, as it was the first time a polity fell without being supplanted by one of a larger size and complexity, as it instead fragmented and splintered appart with no single succesor or invader taking over as the new hegemon.

Geography

A crop field in the Zacaco region

The territory of Zacapican is divided into four regions of distinct topographic, climatic and ecological character. These are the Zacaco, Mixtepemec, Xallipan and Aztlacapallco which are situated roughly in the east, west, north and south of the country respectively. The varying environmental factors of these diverse regions of Zacapican inform aspects of human habitation and economic activity which shape the country, its internal politics and its role within the world.

• The Zacaco (lit. "land of grass") region refers to the flat lowlands which cover the eastern quarter of Zacapican, which are primarily covered in grassland with few trees. This region receives regular rainfall and enjoys temperate climate and temperature ranges in both summer and winter, making them fertile and well suited to agriculture. Farmland in the Zacaco region accounts for more than three quarters of the Zacapitec agricultural output and serve as the bread basket for the country and the wider region. This region's food supply as well as the flat, accessible terrain and temperate climate have contributed to the establishment of many urban and industrial centers within the Zacaco region, including the the Zacapitec capital Tequitinitlan. The Zacaco has also been the homeland of the Nahua people since the beginning of recorded history and has served as the social, political and economic center of the Zacapitec empire since its bronze age inception.

• The Mixtepemec (lit. "clouded mountains") is a region characterized and shaped by its mountainous terrain extending north to south along the western edge of Zacapican. Much of the Mixtepemec is composed of a mountain range of the same name with many steep sided snow capped mountains. As much of the Mixtepemec is unsuitable for living or working, the population of the region is highly concentrated in just a few locations along the coast which are relatively flat and have a more temperate maritime climate compared to the colder and less hospitable climate of the mountaintops and isolated valleys. As a result of these factors, the majority of the region's population and economic activity is focused into a single metropolitan center, Tecolotlan, which has grown to outstrip even Tequitinitlan and the other mid-sized cities of the Zacaco plain to become the largest city in Zacapican.

The Lion of Xallipan rock formation

• Xallipan (lit. "banner of sand") is the northern region of Zacapican with a small portion of Makrian coastline along the northern end of the nation's western shore. It ranges from sub-tropical climate in the east close to the Zacaco plains to a more semi-arid, hilly environment of many badlands along the border with Kayahallpa. The sources of many Zacapine rivers flowing through the Zacaco to the southeast originate in vast canyon systems in this northerly region. Xallipan is the second least inhabited of the four geographic regions of Zacapican, and is primarily known for mining activities which are often criticized for the disruption they pose to the delicate ecosystems of the dry hills. Historically, Xallipan has been the frontier of the Zacapitec empire with its rivals to the north, and has been the site of many struggles against those rival powers in centuries past. Because of its history, the region is now home to many monuments and museums exploring the complicated past of these lands as a borderland of empires for many centuries stretching into antiquity. The region's largest urban centers are located in its wetter and more hospitable eastern edge, which also contributes some agricultural activities to the region's economy.

• The Aztlacapallco (lit. "land of the bird's wing") region is covered by cold steppe as well as localized desert biomes, mountains and glaciers such as the large and iconic Xotlatlauhqui (lit. "red legged") glacier. It is also known as the Whale's Fluke because of its two peninsulas resembling the tail fluke of a diving whale. Aztlacapallco occupies the southern portion of Zacapican and is sparsely populated compared to the other regions, having few urban centers. The relatively small economy of this region is based primarily on eco-tourism, and is an internationally renowned vacation destination because of its pristine natural environments.

Besides the four regions of the mainland, Zacapican possesses portions of an archipelago in the south Thalassan ocean known to the Zacapitecs as Michnamanalco (lit. "land of fish selling beyond the water") which has been the subject of past territorial disputes and naval conflicts with Sante Reze and has served as a key port of call in the Zacapitec trans-thalassan trade with Malaio. The climate and biodiversity varies from island to island, from a cold temperate climate in northern islands to an outright polar climate in the southernmost islands of the archipelago. The warmer islands have limited tree cover and host thriving island ecosystems with many unique species that have evolved in isolation, while the colder more southerly islands are typically devoid of trees and covered in snow for much of the year, serving only as important nesting sites for oceangoing birds and marine wildlife. The few human settlements on the Michnamanalco archipelago are civilian ports dedicated to fishing and whaling or military harbors used by the Zacapine navy. The oceanic region of Matlayahualoyan is located between the archipelago and the Whale's Fluke and is a vital region of the country's EEZ as it contributes significantly to the local economies.

Biodiversity

The Ahuatetz, a penguin species unique to Zacapican's Aztlacapallco region.

The varied environments of Zacapican house an abundance of life including many unique species found nowhere else. Zacapican is a megadiverse country with an myriad of ecosystems and biomes ranging from sub-tropical forest, wetlands, temperate, dry and cold steppes, mountains, semi-arid and even polar climate regions. The Zacaco region boasts a tremendous degree of diversity in fauna including the Capybara, Zacaco deer, Maned wolf and Ñandu. Mixtepemec is home to the Spectacled bear, the Puma and the Guanaco while Xallipan is known for its many species of scorpions and the Vicuña which often used as a mascot by Zacapine children's media. Aztlacapallco is better known for the species of the surrounding waters, but is nevertheless recognized for such unique species as the Southern river otter and varied avian species such as the Aztlacapalltli woodpecker. Much of the Zacaco, Xallipan and Aztlacapallco regions posses little forest cover and are mostly grasslands, with very few tree species, such as the native Ombu or imported Norumbrian sycamore. The mountainsides and valleys of Mixtepemec are heavily forested by pines and other evergreens such as the native Araucaria tree, and are the main site of logging activities in Zacapican.

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

Conservation

Forestry workers harvesting lumber in Umatlacan National Forest

The relationship of the peasants and city-dwellers with the land is the single most important political question in the Red Banner Tribunal, thus placing a high importance on the matter of conservation and the management of natural ecosystems. Matters of forestry and resource management regarding wood, pelts, and other goods derived directly from the natural environment have been present in Zacapitec policy long before the Red Banner revolutions, since at least the Middle Empire period. Part of the reforms undertaken by the Red Banners upon taking power was the restoration of Middle Empire era institutions providing for the protection and sustainable exploitation of Zacapican's forests in order to ensure a stable supply of wood for fuel, building and manufacturing in the long term. Restrictions on clearcutting as well as the imposition of a national policy for reforestation and sustainable harvesting practices such as thinning trees for lumber were reinstated in the early 18th century by the Red Banner government and remain in place to this day. Other clear ecological services such as hunted meat, pelts and valuable furs as well as less immediate services such as pollination of crops and fruiting trees by bees have all led to similar protections of specific aspects of the ecosystem which a portion of the peasantry rely on to extract recourses for human benefit. Some of these conservation laws, such as those designed to maintaign a stable population of pelt-bearing animals for reliably lucrative hunts year after year, are regionally specific and are usually implemented at the calpolli level by the very communities which rely on that aspect of the ecosystem for their own sustenance or economic well-being. Others, such as those protecting pollinating insects affect large sections of agriculture or the preservation of important detritovores such as dung beatles or large carrion eating vultures, forestry or other human activities and so are implemented on a national level by federal authorities of the Empire. In both cases, the conservation of the natural environment when it comes to an aspect of the environment that is exploitable for human gain is generally spearheaded and upheld by elements of the public directly affected by the status of those natural recourses who benefit from long term stability and conservation intended to foster continuous long term exploitation of those recourses.

Unlike the conservation of directly beneficial ecological services which has a long history in Zacapican, the preservation of other aspects of the biosphere which are not directly beneficial to humans is less well established particularly where the steps required for natural preservation conflict with technological or infrastructural developments to benefit humans. In particular, attitudes of naturalists and vocal conservationists where highly opposed by public opinion during the period of Zacapitec industrialization in the latter half of the 19th century, during which industrial expansion of the major cities and across the country led to significant damage being inflicted on the surrounding biosphere and ecosystem. The revitalization of some damaged ecosystems deemed salvageable, particularly in and around urban regions, is now considered a priority and has gained in popularity in the 21st century Zacapitec public, along with the general cause of conservation and "good stewardship" over the lands and waters of Zacapican. This has generally led to a number of federal level policies which protect endangered species from being directly hunted or killed off, as well as addressing the problems of habitat destruction. Many nature reserves and national parks have been established by the government in the last 60 years years for the purposes of closing off vulnerable ecosystems and important habitats from any kind of development or anthropogenic disruption, while also creating new tourist attractions out of areas known for their natural beauty.

Government and Politics

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Tequitinitlan, built in a Belisarian architectural style. Diplomacy with foreign countries is considered one of the central roles of the nobility in the Red Banner government of Zacapican.

The government of the Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan of Zacapican is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy in which the monarchs of the royal dynasties serve as heads of state, representing the nation to the outside world through diplomacy and military leadership, while the democratically elected legislature and lower tiers of local government effectively governs the internal affairs of the country under the auspices of the Cihuacoatl who is formally appointed by the monarch to serve as head of government. Cihuahuetlatoani Nochcalima II is the reigning Empress of Zacapican since her coronation in 2008, having served as Tlatoani of Tecolotlan for 23 years prior. The current Chief Secretary is Chicacua Xiomara, who served briefly under Nochcalima's predecessor as Secretary of Intelligence before returning to his parliamentary career and being elected Chief Secretary for Nochcalima's government for the term beginning in 2015 and has been re-elected in 2020. Under the 1781 constitution of the Panchichiltic Tlahtoloyan, the Chief Secretary is vested with the powers and responsibilities of leading the cabinet and appointing ministers with the approval of the monarch. As such, he is largely responsible for holding executive authority on the federal level and effectively undertakes the day to day administration of the nation in the monarch's stead. Nevertheless, the monarch retains a significant amount of power both as de jure powers which are delegates to elected or appointed officials such as the Chief Secretary and as powers which are still practiced by the monarch, such as command of the military and legislative veto power. The degree to which royal power is exercised varies from monarch to monarch as the monarch wielding authority falls into a number of constitutional grey areas and typically depends on their own personal influence and power base within the government and among the general public. Although young for her station and considered inexperienced, Cihuahuetlatoani Nochcalima II is a popular and well supported figure with many allies in the legislature, making her a relatively powerful monarch and one of the more politically active such figures in recent history.

Legislative authority is vested in the bicameral parliament known as the Tlacacallique (lit. "Houses of the People") or as the Popular Assembly, consisting of an upper house in the House of Clouds (Mixcalli) and a lower house in the House of Earth (Tlallcalli). A total of 3 Cloud Deputies are assigned to each Atlepetl, totaling 111 deputies in the House of Clouds. The selection process of Cloud Deputies varies from state to state depending on local laws, usually involving an election of a pool of candidates from which the state's Tlatoani selects 3 to send to the capital as representatives of that state's interests. Conversely, Earth Deputies are elected by a nationwide general election according to centrally organized voting districts and a ranked choice voting system, all of which is administered by an independent federal agency known as the Bureau of Elections. These deputies are elected directly by the voting public and the number of deputies assigned to each district is dependent on population statistics of a given voting district. It is not required the national voting districts align with state borders, however the Bureau of Elections has maintained this policy of its own volition for purposes of avoiding confusion and conflicting interests, such that a group of Earth Deputies will always directly correspond to a specific group of Cloud Deputies. Per the census which informed the round of elections that same year, 619 Earth Deputies were assigned to all voting districts across Zacapican. Proceedings in each House of the Popular Assembly are led by their respective speaker, who is elected by their corresponding House to hold a ceremonial Tlatoani title. The Tlatoani Mixcalli ("Speaker of the House of Clouds") and the Tlatoani Tlallcalli ("Speaker of the House of Earth") are the only official Tlatoani titles which are elected democratic offices.

Administrative Subdivisions

Zacapican is a federal state made up of 37 Atlepetls operating as the principal political subdivisions within the federal structure of the country, each possessing a state level authority based in the focal (capital) city of that state. The atlepetls are grouped into five overarching regions, which are based on geographic and climate factors and have no administrative or political purpose as they are used largely for the purposes of statistics and other organizational factors on the federal level.

Armed Forces

Main articles: Zacapitec Armed Forces, Zacapitec Ground Force, Zacapitec Air Force, Zacapitec Navy, Military Intelligence Group (Zacapican), and Red Banner Guards

Tlalliyaoquizque armored vehicles undertaking training exercises in the Zacaco region

The Zacapitec Armed Forces (Nahuatl: Yaoquizquemeh Zacapiyotl, lit. "Zacapitec State Armies"), know by its Nahuatl acronym YQZY or informally by the corrupted term "the Ikzi", are made of the Ground Army (Nahuatl: Tlalliyaoquizque or TYQ), Air Army (Nahuatl: Ihuicayaoquizque or IYQ) and the Zacapitec Navy (Nahuatl: Acalchimaltica Yaoquizque or AYQ) and the Military Intelligence Group (Nahuatl: Yaotlapixque Olochtli or YPO). The YQZY and its four branches recognize the Huetlatoani or Cihuahuetlatoani of Zacapican as their Commander in chief and operate under the Secretariat of Defense. These forces are considered to be the professional military body of Zacapican, acting as a standing army in peacetime. YQZY personnel live and work in special military calpolli communities on the grounds of military installations and barracks complexes, and are formally forbidden to practice any other profession for the duration of their service in order to restrict them to training activities and military functions. However, in practice YQZY personnel and recourses are often used by the federal government for civilian functions such as engineering projects, public works and disaster response. In peacetime and under most wartime conditions, the YQZY consist almost entirely of active duty or active reserve personnel.

The Red Banner Guards (Nahuatl: Quitlapiallimeh Panchichiltic or QPC) are a paramilitary force organized around calpolli militias and operate with a command structure entirely separate from the YQZY. The QPC command structure and organization are directly descended from the rebel army of peasants, the eponymous Red Banners, which demobilized at the end of the Red Banner Revolution. The two House Speakers of the Tlacacallique function as the co-commanders in chief of the QPC, while the organization and daily operation of the force is left to the calpolli governing bodies. The QPC function as the main reserve force of the Zacapitec military and double as a gendarmerie in peacetime to serve as law enforcement and security forces for their respective calpolli. Guardsmen of the QPC do not loose their QPC status if they join the YQZY forces, allowing the QPC to be mobilized and lend their manpower to the YQZY during wartime and then returning to their separate QPC status upon the cessation of hostilities to resume their normal duties to the calpollis. Because of this system, the QPC are often considered a part of the Zacapitec military despite their function as a distinct organization with a separate chain of command and leadership.

Economy

Agriculture

Agricultural staples such as cereal grains are produced in large volumes on the fertile Zacaco plain

The economic and political significance of agriculture in Zacapican is of central importance despite the increasing role of modern industrial activities, thanks in no small part to the central role of agricultural communities in the political system since the Red Banner uprisings. An estimated 9 million Zacapitecs, roughly 15% of the population, are farmers or belong to a farming household according to the 2019 census. All land in Zacapican is publically owned and held by the state, which subsequently divides lands designated for farming into individual parcels which form agricultural calpolli. Under the Zacapitec Calpolli system, usufruct rights for portions of the publically held land are granted to individuals and households to use exclusively or in common. While most often these small family operated farms are held exclusively by that household, the land is owned by the federal state and administered by committee under the local calpolli. A plot of farmland which falls into disuse for a certain period or is voluntarily given up by the rights holder returns as state property to be reissued again to peasants applying for their own rights to use the land. Under the Red Banner constitution, it is illegal for any tax or free to be charged to registered land users for their farmland, however profits from agricultural activities may be taxed by the calpolli, the Atlepetl and the federal government. Because only monetary profits from sale may be taxed, portions of an agricultural calpolli's land may be used to produce food for the farmers' own subsistence for free not accounting for any labor costs. Land use rights once granted do not expire and cannot be revoked so long as the land remains in agricultural use except by criminal penalty for misuse of the land or a separate conviction rendering the rights holder unable or unfit to exercise their use rights. Land rights can be inherited, particularly within the same farming household typically living on the granted lands allowing for inherited multi-generational farms without the need for private land ownership. Direct contribution of agriculture to the GDP has fallen to less than 15% since the waves of industrialization in the 1960s and the rapid expansion of other areas of the national economy and today contributes roughly the equivalent of $247 billion. However, agricultural products both raw and processed make up a significant portion of national exports. These exports have arguably served as the catalyst for the growth and modernization of the Zacapitec economy. Agriculture which considered to include pastoral farming as well as fishing is overseen nationally by the Secretariat of Agriculture, which also oversees the National Agrarian Registry responsible for issuing usufruct rights to farmers.

Agriculture in Zacapican is primarily based on cereals but includes a variety of other crops to maximize yields across Zacapican's many climate regions and soil types. In particular, maize, wheat and barley form the common crops and are used to produce most of the staple foods of the Zacapitec diet. Sunflower seeds, soybeans, sugar cane and grapes are also cultivated both for food and as the base elements of processed goods such as sunflower and soybean oil, refined sugar and wine. Orchards of lemon, orange and apple trees are also common particularly in the Zacaco region. Zacapican is the world's largest producer of Ca'a tea, which is a culturally significant beverage in the country but has also become popular in foreign markets. A significant portion of the agricultural sector in Zacapican is devoted to livestock, especially in less fertile steppe ecosystems such as those found in the Aztlacapallco region which are poorly suited for crop cultivation. Cattle are the primary livestock in Zacapican and are raised primarily for beef, desired as a dietary staple across much of the country as well as an important export since the advent of refrigeration. Poultry such as chicken and turkey are also raised, typically alongside crop fields as part of the average farmstead, for both eggs and meat. Historically, the pastoral regions of Zacapican also hosted large herds of sheep which produced wool for export. This aspect of pastoral agriculture has largely faded, as sheep are now far less common in Zacapican and are raised primarily for mutton.

Manufacturing

Chemical plant in Amegatlan, western Zacapican

Heavy industry and industrial manufacturing has been the cornerstone of the Zacapitec economy since a wave of modernization and industrialization swept the country in the 1960s. The manufacturing sector is the product of a massive and ongoing investment by the state and the national treasury, which has been focused not on any particular finished product or process, but rather on the general capability to establish industries in new and varied sectors as they emerge or become relevant. This has led to a focus on industrial production of machinery and other industrial equipment, defined by influential Zacapitec economist Calcui Xipil as "machines to build machines", alongside the industries for the processing and mass production of steel and other key materials required for many kinds of manufacturing and construction such as glass, plastic, concrete and cement. As a result of this industrial policy, Zacapican lacks many world renowned producers of finished goods but is well a well established exporter of components used in almost all industries, securing Zacapican a spot in the global supply chain. Aerospace, automotive, elecronics and paper industries are represented in the Zacapitec economy, but are either local subsidiaries of international companies or are domestic firms which largely confined to markets within Zacapican as they rely on protective tariffs to operate.

Under the Calpolli systems, factories, workhouses and other manufacturing facilities operate in a similar system to that of the agricultural calpolli, with some minor differences. All industrial facilities remain publically owned, but cannot be individually granted for use to each worker or worker's household due to economies of scale and their effect on the workplace, putting the facility under the control of the calpolli community the workers belong to which holds and exercises their use rights on their behalf. Because the industrial calpolli is no longer based on the management of individual use rights for fixed assets which can be revoked or granted to others freely, manufacturing assets as well as other enterprises of a non-agricultural nature are effectively the property of the local calpolli or in some cases the atlepetl above the calpolli which uses it. In this way, the Calpolli system when applied beyond the agricultural context creates communities specialized in a particular industry or more often a particular element of an industry, in which all or most of the working adults of that community participate in that specialized economic role by way of the publically owned factory or work facility which forms the economic centerpiece of the community. These calpolli units often serve as individual links in a supply chain, with multiple adjacent calpolli entities each operating facilities which compliment each other or add complexity and value to a product in a linear sequence from one calpolli to the next. The industrial aspects of these communities, such matters concerning the output, technical processes or quality of a manufactured product, or broader economic concerns affecting the factories held by industrial calpolli are governed by the Secretariat of Trade and Industry. Human aspects of the manufacturing process, such as workplace safety, working conditions and requirements or duties regarding the workers are governed by the Secretariat of Labor. These two government bodies, along with the Secretariat of Transportation, are known as the "Industrial Trifecta" and are responsible for administering the bulk of the Zacapitec economy.

Energy

Ahuizotzi Power Plant, Zacapican's first nuclear power station

The energy infrastructure of Zacapican has undergone several transformative processes since the electrification of the country at the turn of the 20th century. Initially, the nascent national power grid was supplied entirely by coal power plants, although in a short amount of time minor rivers were being dammed for hydroelectric power. This status quo remained in place until the massive industrialization of the country in the 1960s, shortly after which federal authorities began experimenting with alternative sources of power in response to the generally negative view of the public towards coal power which was somewhat exacerbated by the proliferation of factories and other heavy industrial centers. Hydroelectric power was expanded first, with new dams built and many old ones undergoing retrofits or in some cases being completely rebuilt. In the following decades of the late 20th century, domestically manufactured wind turbines were being installed in wind farms across the country. Early solar power initiatives consisted of thermal solar plants, which have been largely discontinued in favor of solar plants based on photovoltaic cells as the technology has become cheaper and contrasts favorably with the costlier and technically complex thermal solar plants. The most recent addition to the Zacapitec energy sector is nuclear power which has been introduced recently and is not yet widespread in the country. Only two nuclear power stations exist in Zacapican, the first being the large Ahuizotzi power plant completed in 2014 which serves the considerable energy demands of the Tecolotlan metropolitan area, while Yatlaxapan power plant intended to serve the Tequitinitlan area is still under construction. Electric power is considered a public service nationwide guaranteed by the government and provided by the Secretariat of Energy and its subsidiary organizations. Power plants and other electric infrastructure are operated by the federal government and provided directly to the individual users bypassing the atlepetl and calpolli tiers of government. A controversial electricity tax is levied at the federal level, and contributes directly to the national treasury. This tax charges a flat rate to each household connected to the national grid rather than charging per kilowatt hour, although tax exemptions have been implemented to provide relief under certain conditions to the moderately high tax rate charged for electricity. These exemptions were put in place in response to criticism of the tax which claimed that it would disproportionally affect poorer households which typically use less electricity in their daily lives, while officials have stated in defense of the tax that when adjusted for purchasing power and inflation, the monetary cost of the tax for a Zacapitec would still be less than the electricity bills paid to private companies for the same amount of power usage in foreign countries, arguing that even with the tax being levied power is still cheaper in Zacapican than in most other developed countries.

Infrastructure

Calaxima Narrows Bridge, Tecolotlan

In Zacapican, there are 179 airports with paved runways including 22 international airports, out of over 1000 airports and local airfields across the country. Air travel is the primary means to transportation to and from many Zacapitec territories such as the outlying islands of the Aztlacapallco region, the islands of the Michnamanalco archipelago and many particularly isolated locations in the inaccessible mountains and highlands across Aztlacapallco, Xallipan and the Mixtepemec. Itzcoatl International Airport serving the Tequitinitlan metropolitan area is the largest and busiest of Zacapican's airports since its opening in 1941. Tequitinitlan serves as the central hub for a network of roadways consisting of 71,361 km (44,342 miles) of paved roads out of roughly 255,000 km (158,450 miles) of total roadways. A large number of expressways were established in the mid 20th century connecting many of the major Atlepetl capital cities, the national capital and several sub Atlepetl grade urban centers especially across the Zacaco region and along the coastal strip of western Mixtepemec. The inadequacy of these expressways and modern road systems has been noted, specifically citing poorly maintained roads, which may have contributed to the increasing demand for rail transportation particularly between major urban centers.

The Zacapitec public transportation system is organized around the National Transportation Service (Nahuatl: Cecnitlacayoh Tlacazazacalo Atlepetequipanoliztli) known by the nahuatl acronym CTA which serves as the standardized national transportation system governing most forms of rail transit as well as some bus services particularly those in the major cities. CTA was formed in the year 1960 through the unification of over 200 individual light rail, commuter rail, heavy rail, inter-city rail, tram and bus networks which existed within and between numerous Atlepetl level transit authorities. While many mid-sized cities had in the previous decades developed extensive public transportation systems of their own to keep up with a growing population and more interconnected economy, the federal government found that such systems in very large cities such as Tecolotlan and Tequitinitlan were underdeveloped, and moreover that connectivity between city-state level territories was in a poor state. Under the CTA, all levels of a city's transportation scheme are integrated with one another and linked into regional and national transportation networks, allowing for seamless transition from local light rail and bus systems to city-wide and regional heavy rail as well as the national high-speed rail network. CTA fares vary depending on the number and type of connecting services involved in any one journey and are usually specific to the atlepetl, but are typically flat fares for subway, light rail and bus systems within a city or town, switching to a distance based fare for regional, inter-regional and national systems such as the high speed rail network. With maintenance and extensive network expansions as well as heavily subsidized fares, the NAT has operated at a net loss since its inception and requires a yearly subsidy from the national treasury to balance its internal budget. Public transportation and specifically the massive expansion and integration of transit systems under the CTA is correlated with the so called Second Wave of the 1970s, an period of explosive economic growth in the cities of Zacapican which occurred several years after the initial economic boom of the industrialization years of the 1960s had slowed down, particularly leading to great stimulation and growth of the economy in previously isolated suburban areas which became connected to metropolitan transit networks. The CTA operates as a subordinate organization to the Secretariat of Transportation and is considered a part of the federal government.

TV Tower in the southern Aztlacapallco region

Communication law in Zacapican generally follows the trend of nationally operated and regulated public services. Internet services operates under a public option system, in which residents or visitors in Zacapican have the option of using the Zacapitec state ISP, the National Public Telecommunicatins Service also known as Cecnitlacayoh Nuhhuian Macho Huehcacaquiztli Atlepetequipanoliztli or CNMHA or their choice of alternatives including community owned local providers or even domestic subsidiaries of foreign providers. CNMHA operates as the state owned telecommunications company and is also the sole provider of fixedline and mobile telephone service in Zacapican, in addition to providing much of the communications infrastructure used in digital and analog TV broadcasting. As such, major Zacapitec TV networks such as the news network Tzatzihua broadcast using CNMHA's telecoms infrastructure. A majority, however not a totality, of Zacapican's communications infrastructure is owned and operated by CNMHA, which itself operates under the auspices of the Secretariat of Communication. CNMHA has been accused of carrying out censorship of the internet on behalf of the Zacapitec government, however accusations of censorship do not extend to CNMHA's other services which are considered to critics to be more openly run and lacking apparent censorship. Spokespeople of CNMHA and the government have independently asserted the state owned company's adherence to the principle of net neutrality, claiming that the ISP does not block or restrict access to content of any kind except in collaboration with the government when shutting down access to sites that are in clear violation of criminal law. Similar to its transportation counterpart in the CTA, CNMHA has rarely seen a year of net profit and generally looses money due to its low prices on the user end and high costs of relatively high end infrastructure. Both CTA and CNMHA as state owned companies are considered to be maintaining public infrastructure at a loss using tax revenue to make up the difference, with the understanding that the vital services these companies provide in the name of the state foster economic growth and prosperity that, if quantified, would be greater than the subsidy paid by the national treasury to each of these companies in a given year.

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1919	33,124,894	—
1924	33,974,251	+2.6%
1929	35,025,002	+3.1%
1934	36,084,261	+3.0%
1939	36,820,675	+2.0%
1944	38,354,870	+4.2%
1949	39,541,104	+3.1%
1954	41,188,651	+4.2%
1959	43,817,714	+6.4%
1964	46,172,513	+5.4%
1969	48,348,182	+4.7%
1974	50,362,690	+4.2%
1979	51,760,216	+2.8%
1984	53,361,048	+3.1%
1989	54,729,281	+2.6%
1994	55,960,411	+2.2%
1999	56,986,162	+1.8%
2004	57,853,972	+1.5%
2009	58,438,356	+1.0%
2014	59,630,976	+2.0%
2019	60,785,909	+1.9%

Zacapican is considered a medium to large nation relative to the world standard, playing host to a variety of unique ethnic groups and populations. There are 60,785,909 people living in Zacapican according to the 2019 census carried out by the Statistics and Data Collection Agency within the Secretariat of Internal Affairs. 63.6% of the recorded population, roughly 38,659,838 people, is between the ages of 15 and 64 while 24.2% (aproximately 14,710,189 people) are under 14 while only 12.2% or 7,415,880 people were recorded as being over 64 years of age. In general, the population has a mostly balanced sex ration averaging 0.98 males to females across all ages, with a surplus of males under 15 at a ration of 1.05 males to females in that cohort, compared to a ratio of 0.72 males to females 65 and over. The average life expectancy is 77.14 years at birth. More than 80% of Zacapitecs identify as Nahua ethnically, while 88.9% speak Nahuatl as a first language compared to 97.9% of the population which are proficient in Nahuatl. 99.6% of those aged over 15 can read and write in at least one language. Over the past 40 years, Zacapican has maintained a relatively stable rate of population growth averaging at a 2.1% increase every 5 years. The nation experienced its most precipitous growth in the past hundred years between 1954 and 1964, a period of Zacapitec history marked by industrialization and urbanization, following which the growth rate stabilized towards its current norm.

Ethnicity and Language

Ethnic Composition of Zacapican
Central Nahua			49.08%
Northern Nahua			16.19%
Eastern Nahua			8.85%
Selk'nam			8.51%
Western Nahua			5.98%
Mapuche			5.10%
Yaghan			2.1%
Guarani			1.9%
Quechua			1.1%
Mutulese			0.8%
Values represent self identification

Zacapican is not officially an ethnically oriented state despite its strong nahuatl affiliation and history, as the Red Banner constitution defines a “Zacapitec” person as "any person born within the territories and possesions of the Panchichiltic Tlatoloyan, or any person having naturalized into the Panchichiltic Tlatoloyan by legal and social processes". Consequently, the term Zacapitec does not officially carry any ethnic connotation as a person so described could be of any number of ethnic inclinations which may or may not be nahua in character. The stance of the Zacapitec government is that nationality and ethnicity should not be equated in the contect of Zacapican, and that therefore the many peoples native to Zacapican as well as those who have migrated into the country should be considered by others and should consider themselves as members of the Zacapitec nation without conflicting with any ethnic identity they may hold. However, Zacapican is a heavily Nahua-inclined nation with an almost unbroken history of rule by Nahua groups as well as the historical and allegedly ongoing Nahuanization (assimilation into the Nahua ethnicity) of non-Nahuas.

Cultural assimilation is a controversial topic in Zacapican, which is claimed to have been resolved in the 1980s with a number of protections particularly preserving regional languages and enabling their public use to prevent their disuse and extinction. Statistics of self-reported ethnic identity show the proportion of Nahua groups growing relative to the whole. Disputed claims suggest this trend could be the result of higher population growth rates in majority Nahua areas, or ongoing processes of assimilation on non-Nahuas into the Nahua identity despite national intervention to halt this. Roughly 20% of the Zacapitec population self reported affiliation with a non-Nahua ethnic identity in 2019, including at least two groups considered to be non-native immigrant communities. However the majority of the non-Nahua population of Zacapican represent native cultures which have existed in the region for centuries or millennia and have become entrenched within their local communities to resist assimilation.

Nahuatl is the official language of Zacapican and is taught across all communities uniformly, irrespective of any secondary recognized language. Many regional dialects and variations of nahuatl are present in politics, within the workplace and in everyday social life and are nominally mutually intelligible with one another and the national standard verion. The Nahuatl League is an independent academic body endorsed by the federal government which serves as the pre-eminent authority on the Nahuatl language in both spoken and written aspects. Nahuatl Zacapiyotl, also called Zacapiyotl or "standard nahautl", is the state sanctioned dialect of the nahuatl language which is used in all official government documentation, is taught as a standard part of the curriculum in schools, and is utilized by most national and local publications. The council of the Nahuatl League advises the government as well as dictionary publishers on changes and updates to the standard nahuatl lexicon to be accounted for and acknowledged as an accepted common use of the national language.

Under the No True Foreigner Act (Huecachane Iztlaca Itlatlalil Tl.Itl 339) put into place in 1984, regional languages and the languages of recognized immigrant enclaves are protected from state repression and discriminatory treatment. As a result of this law a variety of local and federal government offices are required to offer documents and forms in multiple languages and to provide interpreter services at courthouses, hospitals and certain schools. Officially, language recognition and protections are applied at the calpolli level, allowing small minority enclaves to enjoy language protections within their neighborhood. Informally, large regions where a minority language is prevalent may form atlepetl and inter-atlepetl level organizations to standardize the status and treatment of the local language. In these regions, the recognized local language may be taught in schools alongside nahuatl through the calpolli level control over schooling, as well as used in public signage and government announcements. Publications in any language are freely permitted anywhere in the country under the constitutional documents of Zacapican since the 1780s.

Urbanization

Zacapican is a urbanized nation with close to 50% of the nation's population living within the city limits of the country's twenty largest urban centers. However, it is not uniformly urbanized across all regions. Most Zacapitecs live on the Zacaco plains and on the coastal strip of the Mixtepemec. These areas boast the most concentrated and densely packed population centers, as the Mixtepemec coast plays host to almost no rural communities although such towns and villages may still be sound in some quantity across the Zacaco. Conversely, the Mixtepemec highlands as well as the Xallipan, Aztlacapallco and Michnamanalco regions play host to few significant urban centers and host a widely dispersed rural population. According to the 2019 census, 82% of the Zacapitec population live in urban zones, whether inside city limits or within urbanized satellite communities.