User:Bigmoney/Sandbox13

Lost Decade (Pulacan)

The Lost Decade was a time of protracted economic recession in Pulacan. Beginning in 1992 with the collapse of the X Steel industrial calpolleh conglomerate, the ensuing contraction spread to connected economic sectors and neighboring countries as a series of Pulatec governments were unable to provide long-term aid to affected workplaces and industries. The recovery was slow, and affected sectors of theeconomy of Pulacan only returned to pre-recession growth rates in 1999; repercussions continued until 2002.

The steel industry in Pulacan, already in decline before 1992, would never recover to pre-1992 levels of production. A lack of mass orders for cheap steel from Zilung Chen in the early 1990s caused over-leveraged steel plants to overproduce, flooding the market with so much steel that prices became unprofitable. The Lost Decade prompted a dramatic shift in industry for much of the Pulatec industrial sector, with additional focus on manufacturing finished products such as automobiles and on emerging work in the digital sector in order to "future-proof." The Lost Decade forced a political reckoning, with many political parties either reshuffling, rebranding, or disbanding entirely. Pulatec political society polarized during this period as diverging methods for resolving the economic slump grew in popularity then came into conflict.

Background

For much of the twentieth century, Pulacan's industrializing economy was buoyed by the twin pillars of resource extraction and steel production.

Zilung Chen derived much of its steel intake from the neighboring nation of Dzhuvenestan.

Political situation

The 1990s saw more general elections than in any other decade in Pulatec history.