Asterian Spring
| Asterian Spring | |
|---|---|
 Gapolanese State Police during the Hibiscus Revolution, Gapolania | |
| Date | 1973-1983 |
| Location | |
| Caused by | Authoritarianism corruption Human rights violations |
| Goals | Democracy Free elections regime change |
| Methods | Civil disobedience Civil resistance Insurgency Protests Revolution Riots Uprising |
| Resulted in | Full Result by country
|
The Asterian Spring was a period of protests, revolutions and democratization that saw many right-wing and authoritarian governments collapse across Asteria Inferior and the Arucian. The period is widely regarded to have begun with the 1973 Satavian Riots before ending with the culmination of the Satavian Crisis ten years later, in 1983. Notable events included the collapse of the National Government of Satavia in 1976 and the ensuing Satavian Crisis, the Velvet Revolution in Aucuria, the election of left-wing Félix Bragança in Belmonte, the Peony Revolution in Adamantina, and the Hibiscus Revolution in Gapolania.
Causes
Aucuria
In 1945, Adrianas Volpis was elected President of Aucuria after forming a coalition between the Social Democratic Party and the Aucurian Section of the Workers' International. Volpis pushed for a series of major social, economic, and political reforms as president, including nationalization of the commanding heights, legal recognition of the right to unionize, debt relief, large-scale land reform, expansion of public education, the creation of a public healthcare service, and limited self-government for majority-indigenous regions of Aucuria. These proposals antagonized economic interests, political conservatives, and the leadership of the Armed Forces of Aucuria, which was closely tied to the former groups. Increasingly worried by military opposition to his reforms, Volpis pushed unsuccessfully to reorganize the country's military and gendarmerie in early 1949; he was deposed and murdered in a military coup in August of the same year.
The de facto leader of this coup, General Albertas Kalvaitis, unilaterally declared himself president following Volpis's death, enacting a state of emergency and promising eventual elections following a "cleansing" of the government. Kalvaitis suspended the country's constitution, banned all political parties and most labor unions, muzzled the country's press, and created the National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NŽIRA, to forcibly suppress dissent. He reversed Volpis's economic and social reforms, enacting a series of neoliberal policies with the support and collaboration of the country's economic elite, weakening labor laws, cutting taxes, and repealing consumer protection laws. A concurrent purge of the country's bureaucracy, meanwhile, allowed Kalvaitis to staff the country's governing bodies with military men, political allies, and cronies who had purchased the positions in exchange for money or favors.
The often-brutal suppression of dissent resulted in the outbreak of the Aucurian insurgency, a prolonged low-level conflict between the regime and left-wing and indigenous groups. [further detailing of the early insurgency, its strengthening by the 1964 Sugar Crash, operation of dissidents inside and outside the country - SDP in exile, DIAS underground, the KIDF and other militant groups]
[kalvaitis dies in 66, is succeeded by Liudvikas Šrioderis, srioderis gets pushed out in favor of Martynas Sprogys in 69; sprogys stays the course on neoliberal economics and doubles down on suppressing dissent, intensifying anti-insurgency campaigns]
[the 71-74 "sugar high" combined with this repression *seemingly* restore stability in the early 70s, but inequality continues to skyrocket, the economy's stagnating, and average folks are suffering, anger is mounting; the 76 collapse of satavia's national gov't and the 79 start of gapolania's hibiscus rev increase agitation]
[finally, in 1979, a large-scale economic crisis in south coius severely spooks investors in euclea and asteria, increasing economic insecurity; the dam now breaks and public anger explodes]
Belmonte
After the liberation of Belmonte in 1934, many sections of the Armed Forces, after spending years fighting the functionalist regimes of the Entente, started to oppose João Berquó's 20-year dictator rule and demanded new elections to happen on the following year, a decision which was agreed by the government. However, after a hardliner coup made by Berquó supporters failed, the military decided to overthrow him on January 15th 1935, with a provisional government taking place thus starting the Third Belmontese Republic, more known as the New Republic.
During the country's first democratic election, the right-wing National Republican Union (URN), heavily backed by the Armed Forces, won the majority of seats in Congress, with its leader Júlio Lobato leading the country for the next 11 years. Through his tenure, the Armed Forces would start to exert a powerful influence over the government and its decision-making, effectively beginning the Sword's Republic. At the same, a hardliner wing, known for its staunch anti-communism and disdain of democratic institutions, grew in size and importance.
In 1945, after elected to a third term, Lobato announced that would resign next year citing health reasons, starting a succession crisis within the party. By the narrowest of votes, the reformist wing (also known as the left-wing) managed to appoint Cédrico Alvim as Lobato's successor in a tense transition of power in which a coup attempt almost was successful. To maintain itself in power, Alvim was forced to make several concessions but, after the 1949 coup in Aucuria and a recession on the following year, his position became unsustainable and resigned afterwards. The next four years were unstable with multiple short-lived premiers whilst the military further solidified its power, which occurred after the election of hardliner João Filgueiras to the premiership in 1954. With Congress under total control, a series of acts banning left-wing activities alongside other laws with authoritarian nature was passed, effectively ended any type of opposition. Many leftists, as a response, resorted to guerrilla fighting in what became known as the Mauá's War.
The regime found its height in popularity between 1955 and 1963, also known as the Golden Years, during the premierships of general Jorge Proença and Vincente Cunha, in which was characterised by intense economic growth and prosperity. In 1963, a series of terrorist attacks issued by left-wing terrorist groups led to Cunha's forceful resignation and the ascension of hardliner general Lourenço Bittencourt. Bittencourt's government was marked by its authoritarianism, support of military dictatorships on the region and the absence of civil and political freedoms.
In 1969, journalist Anderson Figlioli was murdered under government orders, triggering national-wide revolts and protests. In response, preparations for a military coup were underway, but a rift among the hardline and moderate sectors of both the Armed Forces and the URN led to an impasse. As civil war became a true possibility, Bittencourt was forced to resign on the same year, ending the Sword's Republic.
The 70s would be marked by a severe economic crisis and Operation Catrina, which discovered and investigated corruption schemes during the URN tenure. The government, led by Sotirian democrat Henrique Cotrim and later by centrist Aldo Cabral, were unresponsive towards dealing with the crisis, leading to wide-reaching unpopularity and more protests. The left, without being oppressed anymore, united themselves into what became known as the Democratic Front, becoming a major political force rallied around Félix Bragança.
Gapolania
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The Gapolanese military seized power in the country following the coup in 1966 and introduced the National Restoration (Restauro Nazionale), establishing a military dictatorship led primarily by Eugenio Giovanardi. Giovanardi's mission was to revert the changes made by socialist leaning former president, Augusto Norta, resulting in a deep economic crisis. The National Restoration was initially thought to act as a transitional period that would create a way for new elections in 1967 or 1968, yet the junta lasted until 1981, using well-executed propaganda and neoliberal economic reforms to stay in power.
Giovanardi's dictatorship was characterized by an intense political oppression, mostly against left-wing parties and politicians. The military was tasked with fighting the guerillas hidden in the nation's interior - this resulted in a terror and antagonization of the local rural populations, often favoring and supporting socialist groups. It's estimated that between 1966 and 1975, nearly 5000 people were killed, with another 2 to 3 thousand exiled or missing. During the initial years, a curfew was introduced and a right to social gatherings was harshly tightened. Political opposition was surveilled and most already existing parties were either disbanded or banned.
Following the recommendation of several economists, the National Restoration implemented a wide set of economic reforms, focusing on free market, fiscally conservative and neoliberal economy. The main Gapolanese industries: banana cultivation, citrus cultivation, oil production and copper mining were de-nationalized and opened to private investments, with mediocre success. The government also decided to introduce a fixed exchange rate, leading to a surge in exports and imports, though a significant import surplus and a collapse of domestic production led to a crisis, with GDP decreasing by nearly 15% in 1971 and unemployment reaching over 25% the same year.
In 1973, Gapolania was devastated by one of the strongest hurricanes in the nation's history: the disaster affected mostly the eastern part of the country, a major crop producing region. The capital, Nassea, was flooded, together with several other major cities. The agriculture production decreased by over 80% and state-wide repairs and rebuilds of infrastructure caused the government to get into massive external debt. Many citizens were forced to assist in the reconstruction works and some needed to change professions in order to meet a growing demand on food, pharmaceuticals, clothing and building materials. Organized crime groups, Elenditi, reached prominence during these years, offering first need items, smuggling food and people in exchange for money or work.
Continuous economic collapse resulted in a meltdown of the financial sector. Nearly one third of the financial institutions faced bankruptcy. In 1974, four major banks were nationalized and another two a year later. The central bank took over foreign debts, destabilizing the currency. Rising inflation resulted in a devaluation of moneta, causing a massive uproar within the middle and upper classes, on which the military junta was relying. While the protests were quickly prevented before gaining momentum, Giovanardi stepped down as the president. The public calls for elections were disbanded, with the junta explaining the National Restoration had not ended yet and that the elections were unnecessary expense. To calm the population, the junta installed Marco Furigioni, the leader of the centre-right Supportist Party, as an acting president. Realistically, Furigioni had little to no power and most of the decisions were still made by the military.
Efforts to stimulate the market and further privatize economy were not as successful as the government expected. By 1978, the average income had risen only by 10%, compared to the levels of late 1960s and the gap between high and low income households doubled. Unemployment was still high, especially within the youth and women, while privatized higher education facilities proved to be unaffordable to the citizens. The net migration rate was one of the lowest in the world and black market share was continuously increasing, consuming labor force and the national GDP.
A serious cut in social benefits and pensions in late 1978 caused people to go on the streets. Despite the military presence and a limited right to social gatherings, left-wing politicians rallied people to the city centers, announcing a general protest. On 17th February 1979 the people went on the streets of Zeta, marking the beginning of the Hibiscus Revolution.
Adamantina
Nuvania
Satavia
Timeline
1979
February
- On 17th Feburary, protests arose in the city of Zeta in Gapolania. The military attacked the protesters, killing 7 people.
- Amid the 1979 protests, premier Cotrim's government falls after a motion of no confidence is passed on Congress. New elections are scheduled to happen on March 18th.
- The Democratic Front launches a single bid to the premiership, led by PSD politician Félix Bragança.
March
- Protests spread in Gapolania, mostly in the interior. On 6th March, the government imposes a nation-wide curfew.
- Election results shows that the Democratic Front won the majority of seats in both houses of Congress. Premier Cotrim resigns and Bragança is immediately sworn in, being the first left-wing premier to be elected into office since 1913.
April
- On 15th April, the far-left guerillas attack the military base near Duclea, Gapolania, killing one and injuring three other soldiers.
- On 22nd April, the Pensioners' March in Gapolania is disrupted by the military. Twelve people were injured.
May
- Beginning on 5th May, students from all over Gapolania protested in the biggest cities. The military intervened, injuring thirteen participants.
July
- Gapolanese far-left paramilitary groups started an active fight against the junta government. At least fifteen incidents were reported, taking place mostly in the south of the country.
September
- Members of the Workers' Union in Gapolania met together with protests' leaders, Bartolome Sentù and Gino Tuttini, discussing the development of the protests and the future of Gapolanese industries and politics. An act of cooperation is signed, creating a formal opposition to the government.
November
- On 10th Novemeber, several banana plantations in Gapolania were shut down following the general strike of its workers. They were supposedly supported by the one or few of the Elendisti groups.
December
- On the Nativity Day, a group of unknown people vandalized the building of the Senate in Nassea, Gapolania. They painted red hibiscus flowers on the walls.
1980
January
- On 6th January, a large scale protests took place in Gapolania, including the capital. The protesters were seen giving hibiscus flowers to the military and police forces, titling the protests Hibiscus Revolution
- On 15th January, the president of Gapolania, Marco Furigioni, announced his willingness to organize the new elections in April. The riot's leaders met with the representatives of the Workers' Union and the far-left Rossopello group leader, Diego Amandura, to discuss and put forward a joint presidential candidate. During the talks an umbrella party Blue Hibiscus was formed, uniting various centre and left-wing groups, with Tuttini as their official candidate. Amandura didn't acknowledge the results, rejecting the unification.
February
- On 10th February, a member of the military junta in Gapolania, Admiral Nestor Zilli, was assassinated by an unknown shooter. As an answer, the remaining military leaders imposed a national emergency state and called off future elections.
- On 11th February, despite the emergency state, thousands of people gather on the city streets in Gapolania. The military shot 25 of them.
- On 15th February a revenge attack took place in the town of Carsá, Gapolania, where the Bleeding Hibiscus group, a branch of Rossopello, attacked and killed 3 soldiers stationing in the area.
- On 27th February, a group of people entered and took control of a radio tower in Orenda, Gapolania. The government decided to shut down all radio transmissions in the country.
March
- On 7th March, part of administration and bank workers joined the Gapolanese protests, following a substantial salary cuts. By that time, most of the sectors in Gapolania had stopped operating.
- On 10th March, General Antonio Vartá called for a meeting with Blue Hisbiscus party leaders in Gapolania. His speech was disrupted by an assassination attempt prepared by a Rossopello member.
- On 13th March, a conference took place in Gapolania between the military junta, president Furigioni and various opposition leaders. A consensus was reached to organize new elections in the summer.
- On 15th March, a rioters took over several administration buildings in Nassea, Gapolania, demanding the military government was dissolved immediately and that Furigioni took responsibility of preparing the elections. Their demands were not met and 5 people were injured in a counteraction taken by the police and army.
April
- In Gapolania, shortages of food caused a widespread looting and devastation of public places, shops and warehouses. The opposition pressed for international help and more dynamic organization of the elections.
May
- The most violent fire exchange between Rossopello and the military took place in the Ellorio governorate of Gapolania, with over 50 people killed. Despite calls for a peaceful resolution of conflict between the government and the group, the paramilitary group continued to terrorize nearby settlements, burning a major weapon depot near the town of Froscá.
June
- On 11th June, a general elections took place in Gapolania. With a turnout of over 80%, Gino Tuttini gathered nearly 90% of all the votes. With no answer from the government and media access limited, the people stormed the major buildings, including the Senate, the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Palace. Furigioni resigned the same day.
- In a statement, Gapolanese General Antonio Vartá accepted the elections results but refused to step down, as the National Restoration process was not yet completed because of the Rossopello warring groups. With a Senate and most of the administration building in their hands, opposition parties and Gino Tuttini assumed their offices.
- On 18th June, a Brigadier General of Gapolanese forces, Tiziano Morensi, was caught and imprisoned trying to flee the country to Adamantina.
September
- On 2nd September, the President of the Junta of Gapolania officially transferred the power to the president Tuttini.
- On 11th September, a constitutional referendum took place in Gapolania. Most people decided to support the transition from presidential to parliamentary republic.
November
- On 4th November, in Gapolania members of Rossopello group attacked and killed Natalia Vaídoni, a newly-named governor of Missano-Alessandrou governorate, and her husband. The government responded with a war declaration towards the Rossopello movement.
1981
January
- On 7th January, a new constitution was ratified in Gapolania, finalizing the transfer of power.
Summary of conflicts by country
Aucuria
[outbreak - junta initially hopes it'll just blow over if they let people release steam, but after a week or so they're properly worried as the protests only seem to swell]
[there's a sort of nervous stalemate for a bit where the protesters and dissident orgs basically get to the point of starting to organize an alternative government, beginning to work on post-sprogys aucuria before they've even formally removed him]
[in late dec-very early jan the decision is made to try and forcibly suppress the protests, but all this does is cause rank-and-file defections and turn protests into outright riots; things spiral out of control]
[desperate, a clique of army leaders depose and jail sprogys on jan 6 hoping to placate anger, but this doesn't work and a few days later they concede power]
Belmonte
After Bittencourt's resignation and the end of the Sword's Republic, Belmonte would be ruled by centre-right Sotirian democrat Henrique Cotrim. An important member of the previous government, Cotrim oversaw the end of the 1969 protests in an orderly way and started transitioning the country into an functioning democracy, releasing political prisoners, limiting the hardliner influence over government affairs and reducing the power the Armed Forces had over the political framework itself. However, an awful economic situation and large popular disaffection towards the political establishment led to his defeat in 1974 to centrist outsider Aldo Cabral.
Chosen as a conciliatory candidate, Cabral's tenure was compromised by his poor response towards the economic crisis and Operation Catrina, which tainted the image of his government as corrupt. In 1978, the government lost that year's snap election, with Cotrim being once again elected as premier.
Meanwhile, the left, without suffering the same restrictions from before, started to position themselves again as a major political force but, given the majority of political parties founded at the time, none of them managed to get a bigger number of seats. Thus, in 1977, the Democratic Front was established, being a coalition of left-wing parties which ranged in ideology from social democracy to council communism and had as its purpose to elect a leftist candidate into the premiership. In 1979, amid that year's snap election, the Front appointed left-wing nationalist statesman Félix Bragança as their candidate, with the bloc winning a workable majority in Congress. Bragança would become the first left-wing premier in Belmontese history since 1913, ruling the country for the next 12 years.
Gapolania
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Anti-government protests began on 17th February in Zeta, the second most-populous city in the country. With lower military and administrative presence, Zeta was the main hub of the protesters. Mostly pacifist, the rioters were often met with a solid answer from the government, which did not hesitate to attack the protesters. Initially, the protests had no organized form but quickly a few opposition arose, including centre, centre-left and liberal parties. Initially, there were only two sides of the conflict, however the protests proved to be an opportunity for the Rossopello group, a far-left revolutionary group active in the country since the Great War.
Starting in September 1979, various opposition leaders, as well as representatives of the workers' unions cooperated and coordinated their activities, creating a foundation for the future elections in the country. Despite the numbers, the opposition lacked the resources and the protests continued into 1980. Faced by an army, the rioters were told to answer peacefully, with many of them placing hibiscus flowers in front of the soldiers and police officers. The hibiscus, a common flower found throughout Gapolania, soon became a symbol of the political change, nicknaming it a Hibiscus Revolution. In January 1980, major political figures formed Blue Hibiscus party, an umbrella term for various opposition parties with a goal of rallying as many supporters as possible under one banner. The revolutionists, led by Diega Amandura, rejected the popular consensus and created the Bleeding Hibiscus, a political-military branch of the Rossopello.
Seeing the popular arrest, fueled further by most of the administration and finance sector joining the protests, Gapolanese de facto president, Marco Furigioni, declared his willingness to step down and prepare free elections. His decision was not supported by the military junta, who later imposed an emergency state and violently answered the protests, shut down most television and radio transmissions, initially dismissing the calls for new elections. However, growing economic problems (with most of the sectors not operating), increasing international pressure and difficulties with providing basic necessities, like food or electricity, in March the General Antonio Vartá agreed to organize new elections.
The elections took place on 11th June, 1980. The Blue Hisbiscus candidate, Gino Tuttini, gathered a majority of the votes. Despite that, the military government did not acknowledge the results and took another three weeks to step down, after the citizens took control over the Senate and the Presidential Palace. With the power fully in the hands of the opposition, a referendum took place, in which the Gapolanese voted whether they approved a new constitution. The constitution would shift most of the power from the president to the Senate, justified by a fear of giving one person too much influence. The new constitution also pushed for the equality, especially for the women and the indigenous groups, recognizing Chanuche as a regional language and presented government responsible for its choices, granting the general population more rights to demonstrate and express their views. The new constitution was ratified on 7th January, 1981, marking the beginning of a more democratic period in Gapolanese history. Since 1981, centre-left and left parties won every elections until 2013, with more nationalist or conservative candidates being still associated with the military junta or the right-wing nationalist Sollegiato Regime.
The Hibiscus Revolution, although successful, awakened the far-left groups that formed in Gapolania during the Great War. In 1966, the military junta overthrew a socialist president, Augusto Norta and established fighting socialism as a main principle of the military rule. Far-left and anti-capitalist groups were prosecuted: tortured, banished or even murdered, causing many of them to emigrate or hide in the less accessible Gapolanese interior. The more revolutionary movement, the Rossopello (Red Hats), formed an armed resistance against the junta, often disrupting the military from taking control over rural areas. Supported by the low class and the indigenous populations, Rossopellos saw the Hibiscus Revolution as an opportunity to introduce socialist state once again but their ideas on how to lead Gapolania differed too much from the already organized centre-left and liberal opposition. Struggling to gain followers in the cities, the revolutionaries went back to the guerilla warfare. After the elections in 1980, its leader, Diego Amandura, refused to acknowledge them as a final step of the revolution, calling for far more radical reforms. Amandura called the constitutional referendum rigged and believed that its results were not what the people from the rural Gapolania want. The group proceeded to attack different points and people in the country, resulting in the shooting of Natalia Vaídoni, an official elected to govern Misano-Alessandrou region. Their action resulted in a formal declaration of war by the government of Gapolania and banning any political activity of Rossopello. The internal conflict, while frozen, has not been resolved to this day. Since the death of Amandura in 2002, Rossopello have failed to gather any popular support and they supposedly split into several different groups, most of which are deemed terrorist rather than revolutionary.