Factbook: People's Republic of Mevraq

[Mevraq]

QUICK STATS:

Full Name: People's Republic of Mevraq

Capital: Minafi Aleasifa

Official Language: Teimani (Judeo-Arabic)

Demonym: Mevraqi

Government: Unitary semi-presidential syndicalist republic

Premier: Miri Saleh

General Secretary: Salomon Brukhis

 

HISTORY:

Mevraq was founded as a safe haven Jewish Arabic pirates. It became a magnet for Jewish settlers, and eventually a government of sorts formed. Over time, piracy declined, and the nation adopted a republican structure of government. The Republic of Mevraq was very much a plutocracy, with power held by wealthy merchants and industrialists. This all came to a head in the 1909 Mevraqi Revolution, when striking dockworkers in Minafi Aleasifa seized control of a battleship they were building, and successfully drove off government forces. This established the People's Republic of Mevraq. Things eventually stabilized under the more or less benevolent dictatorship of Premier Nathaniel Kahlon. Unfortunately, Kahlon died in 1944, and was succeeded by the much less benevolent Ari Berkane, who ruled Mevraq with an iron fist for twenty-four years. He died without publicly naming a successor, and the head of his security detail, Ibrahim Kohen, tried to seize power, but had zero support. His regime lasted less than a month, and was overthrown by a coalition of labor unions, which established the modern People's Republic.

 

GOVERNMENT:

Mevraq is classified as a "unitary semi-presidential syndicalist republic". The head of state, known as the Premier, is elected directly by the people, and has oversight over the various People's Commissariats (equivalent to ministries), with primary responsibility for defense and foreign policy. The head of government, known as the General Secretary, is elected by the legislature, the General Assembly, which has primary responsibility for not only creating legislation but setting economic policy. The General Assembly is organized on the basis of union membership. People vote for their delegates based on their profession, not their residence.

 

ECONOMY:

Mevraq has a large and diverse economy. The nation is blessed with significant mineral resources and exports steel, aluminum, and some uranium. Shipbuilding is the single largest manufacturing sector in terms of GDP, although the aerospace industry has been growing rapidly. Mevraq is theoretically self-sufficient in terms of food production, but currently imports significant amounts of food (mostly grains) while exporting fish.

Mevraq's economic structure is often described as "centrally guided". All businesses are organized as worker-run cooperatives, with day-to-day affairs handled by elected managers. Most businesses are under the authority of their respective industrial unions. Each union maintains an effective monopoly on its sector, although most unions are somewhat decentralized, allowing for some competition. This is particularly true of some of the service sector unions, which do little more than set professional standards. Some industries have varying levels of government control (whether national or local), if they are viewed as public services or critical to national security. Economic policy is set by the General Assembly, which is composed of delegates from each union.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Mevraq was initially settled by Mizrahi Jews (mostly from Yemen) and Mizrahim make up 58% of the population. Ashkenazim follow at 17%, Africans at 10%, Sephardim at 7%, South Asians at 4%, non-Jewish Middle Easterners at 3%, and others at 1%. Judaism is the most popular religion at 84% of the population, followed by Islam at 4%, Sikhism at 3%, Christianity at 2%, Hinduism at 1%, non-religious at 5%, and others at 1%. While Mevraq is officially a secular state, Judaism is the "unofficial official religion".

Teimani, a dialect of Judeo-Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet, is the official language. Yiddish, Swahili, Balochi, and Marathi are also spoken in many communities. Most Mevraqis learn English and Standard Arabic in school, and can get by in countries that speak either.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Mevraq (see edit history)