Paráense Journais

[Lestari]

The landscape of South America was changing.

 

The Imperio Republica had expanded, a move which had caused Isabel some trepidation, given the expansion more or less jutted right into Paráense territory. Further south, Argentina had used its pursuit of Nordic Socialist elements to justify a wide-scale inflation that enabled it to absorb Chile, as well as a number of nearby islands, into its territory. Several new nations had come to fruition, one of whom shared a border with Pará itself. Meanwhile, she assumed some shit was happening in Uruguay, but then, you never really could know with Uruguay. The whole country coulda just up and died and nobody woulda figured it out for years.

 

More to the point, however, with many of South America's older nations gobbling up more land, and nascent nations rising to alter the status quo, Isabel felt it was necessary for Pará itself to burgeon. It wasn't for any nationalistic or egotistical reason-- [I]hell no. It's never been about anything like that. It's purely... stability.[/I] South America had seen a largely peaceful status quo-- what better way to maintain the status quo than by ensuring more land was under the auspices of the continent's oldest and most stable nation? To prevent that land from falling into the hands of a newborn nation whose development was an unstable variable, to prevent territory from being absorbed by larger, more powerful nations whose stability could not be guaranteed?

 

Isabel knew the only certain way she could guarantee the stability of South America was if she ensured at least much of it was not subject to that uncertainty. And in the interests of pursuing this aim, she had been discreetly but surely increasing the presence of Paráense peacekeepers, personnel, and administrators involved in volunteer work with the SAO in the territory of former Venezuela, for the sake of easing a future transition to Paráense authority, for the purpose of manufacturing a sense of alliance and siblinghood between Venezuela and Pará, with the end goal being that ultimately, it wouldn't even be necessary to deliberately and openly pursue the integration of Venezuela into the Republic. The people of Venezuela themselves would go to the South American Organisation and request that they be permitted to become a part of the Paráense Republic-- and Isabel, naturally, would oblige the wishes of the people, as she always had.

 

[I]Admittedly a little Harkonnen-esque, but it's like they say-- you can't bring peace to a continent without a few devious, needlessly complicated plottings. At least, I think they say that.[/I]

 

Well, it'd worked: gradually, voices speaking of the possibility of integration with the Republic began to appear within Venezuela, and they gained traction quickly, until it was no longer a possibility, but a general consensus amongst much of the populace that they wished to share the nationality of the volunteers who had given much to a territory that had endured much hardship in its times of independence. The days of the Tianxian invasion still hung heavy over the heads of Venezuelans, to say nothing of the subsequent collapse of their sovereign nation, and now they sought stability in the arms of the continent's most long-lived nation.

[Lestari]

With the recent acquisition of Venezuela and Guyana, it was necessary to begin immediate measures to bring both these new territories 'up to speed', so to speak, in terms of civil and military infrastructure. Civil infrastructure development was, of course, more or less straightforward: one feels little compunction to expound in detail upon the transition of administrative duties, maintenance of highways, electric and water systems, etc, etc.

 

Colonel Renan Veloso was assigned by the premier to oversee the conduction of her military reforms in the newly acquired territories, though he functioned in all truth as little more than a method of systematising Isabel's ability to apply her will to the more distant reaches of the Republic-- calling him an instrument would have been to lend him far more autonomy than he really possessed. Therefore, though the order to begin the facilitation of a large air base amidst the Maracaibo Lowlands emerged from his lips, it was well understood every decision he issued had long since been mulled over and made by the premier herself.

 

Meanwhile, a wide-scale training programme was being initiated across the army, focusing in particular on the marines as the spearhead of the Paráense army: equipped with specialised tactical battle armour and Warrior-X Boomerang acoustic triangulation systems, the Paráense marines had adopted a doctrine of quick, tactical strikes, using to their significant advantage the integrated nature of the Paráense military. Each soldier was equipped with a Warrior-X Boomerang system which could zero in on the origin of a gunshot, triangulate range, elevation, and azimuth, and feed this information to all integrated forces in the region, and was linked up to a software/radio system built into the gear based on Enhanced Position Location Reporting System, a secure, jam resistant, computer controlled communications network that distributed near real-time tactical information, generally integrated into radio sets, and coordinated by a Network Control Station. Each soldier's armour was similarly tailored to provide an integrated, advanced, tactical combat advantage: the Tactical Battle Armour was embellished with a lightweight helmet with a computer and OLED display that provided various information from digital maps and troop locations down to their weapon-mounted video camera, which would also enable the soldier to see and fire around corners.

 

As such, the new training programme was designed not only to aid marines in adjusting to this integrated combat experience and in using their technological advantages, but also, of course, it did not depend entirely on the new systems. After all, what use was a marine if they were worthless outside their armour? The training was to advance the army's ability to fight adversaries who utilised guerrilla tactics, as well as their ability to use guerrilla tactics against technologically superior opponents against whom the military's advanced integrated systems would not be such an advantage.

[Lestari]

Fervidor

 

The inevitable had at last come to pass-- the Senate had ever been Premier Vieira's foe at every turn, opposing her in every respect and foiling her campaign for a swift, efficient, streamlined decision-making process. But now, that was to be no more-- Vieira had completely overturned the civil government, dissolving the Senate with a single word... and the people, absolute in their trust of her dedication, zealously loyal to the former war hero, the figure singly responsible for the creation of their independent nation, gave no protest. If anything, there was nothing but support amongst the populace, and the precious voice of dissent was all too often shouted down by the masses. After all, it was well known that the premier only ever acted in the interests of the nation she had struggled and sacrificed to create, and if eliminating the Senate as a means of creating a more efficient government system would result in a more competent leadership, who were they to complain?

 

Replacing the Senate was the Tribune of Viziers, each appointed by the Premier and subject to promotion or removal by her own will-- a smaller, more centralised committee of regional officers with direct authority in carrying out the Premier's will over their respective territory. Overseeing the Tribune as the only other authority other than the Viziers and the Premier was the Executor-- a position to be filled by former general Alejandra Valverde. The Executor took orders directly from the Premier, issued them to the Tribune, and ensured their proper execution to the full extent of the Premier's will.

 

Beneath the Tribune of Viziers remained, of course, the general framework of the civil government-- this too was being restructured in keeping with the new, more efficient system put in place. The lower echelons of the government were reorganised into the form of a strict hierarchy-- a rigid ladder consisting of increasing tiers of civil authority leading up to the Tribune itself, with subordinates beneath to be commanded and authorities above to take commands from. The immediate nature of the hierarchy, the direct essence of its business conduction, would ensure that orders from Premier Vieira would pass through Executor Valverde, to the respective regional governors of the Tribune, down through the hierarchy, and be carried out exactly as issued from the Premier's lips. This system was designed such that if any cog in the machine proved defective, or ceased to function properly, it could swiftly and easily be replaced by the next in line, necessitating little time wasted in elections and the possibility of an incompetent successor.

 

With the dissolution of the Senate, of course, the nation was no longer a Republic, and with the acquisition of Venezuela, its primary bulk of territory was no longer centralised in Pará. This Alex Valverde addressed in her first speech as Executor, detailing to the masses of zealously supportive citizens all changes made to the government as described. "The age of the Republic of Pará is now drawing to a close," she announced with a bold smile masking the vague sense of uncertainty that dogged her even then. "We are now witness to the dawn of the day of the Federal Hierarchy of Amazonia."

Edited October 2, 2013 by dotCom