Popular Republican Movement
Popular Republican Movement Movimento Repubblicano Popolare | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Riccardo Hatoyama Alfonso Hatoyama Maurizio Hatoyama |
| Founded | July 24, 1990 |
| Dissolved | December 20, 2012 |
| Headquarters | Aquinas, Marirana |
| Ideology | Authoritarianism National conservatism Neoconservatism Neoliberalism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Colours | Blue, red, white |
The Popular Republican Movement (Vespasian: Movimento Repubblicano Popolare; MRP) was a far-right political party that existed in Marirana from 1990 to 2012. From 1994 to 2012 it was the ruling party of Marirana being dominated by the Hatoyama family.
The MRP was created in 1992 by Riccardo Hatoyama after the administration of Ignazio Antoniotto fell out of favour with the Mariranan military, who engineered his impeachment from Congress and promoted the creation of a more right-wing, conservative party. Hatoyama, a former official from the Inter-Provincial Security Agency, won the 1994 election on what was considered to be a fraudulent ballot becoming president of Marirana.
Hatoyama envisioned the party as a conservative, neoliberal and authoritarian organisation with strong militarist overtones. The MRP and the government as a whole was at first technocratic focused primarily on economic liberalisation and maintaining social and political stability, modelling itself from Senria's People's Party. In 1996 however Hatoyama purged many of his opponents in the military and held a constitutional referendum that dramatically increased his own powers; Hatoyama subsequently won another presidential election. During his second term Hatoyama focused on dismantling democratic institutions increasingly ruling by decree and invoking a state of emergency. Repression to political opponents, labour union organisers and native Asterian groups became more pronounced in the early 2000's.
By the mid 2000's the MRP had gained a reputation for corruption. Hatoyama was succeeded by his brother Alfonso who was generally seen as more hardline but less politically skilled; the MRP as such continued highly repressive measures and the personal enrichment of the Hatoyama clan. In 2012 Riccardo Hatoyama's son Maurizio was elected president in what was seen as a rigged election.
Following mass protests regarding concerns of vote rigging that led to Maurizio Hatoyama's resignation in February 2013 President of the Senate Giorgio Macciocchi took control of the presidency, instantly resigning from the party and governing as an independent. By this point the MRP no longer functioned having little support from the population and its members leaving in large numbers. As a result the party's executive committee in early March 2012 voted unanimously to dissolve the party and its operations.