[Expansion] San Castellino : Montemadian protectorate

[Florentia]

As you have in the thread "The Traitor, the Bad and the Puppet", I would like to expand "a bit" and make of this thread an expansion one. In fact, San Castellino will not just annex the country but establish a kind of protectorate : the local power will still have some autonomy but San Castellino will controle the foreign politic of Montemadia and its army forces, deepen economic ties, and put his nose deeper in the internal affaires of Montemadia.

This expansion is mainly due to the desire to unite all the 'castellino races' in one country. This idea had been the main project of General Di Foxycionni, which actually led him to a catastrophic war against New Lyria a few years after he came to power. Since then, Di Foxycionni had turned off the project. Until, in view of his impending death, Di Foxycionni felt that he had achieved nothing concrete in his mandate, which led him to revive this pan-Castellinos nationalist agenda. This feeling of broken unity is present especially in the popular circles of the castellinos countries (San Castellino, Eldorado, San Lorenzo, Montemadia, Rio de Enero and Devérèto), in which people fantasise a lot about the myth of the virile caudillo, the "jefe maximo", who fights for the greatness of his country while offering a helping hand to the poorest. It is therefore not uncommon to see these populist autocrats glorified in these countries, the most famous of them all being Francisco Cobacco, the leader of the Castellinos independentists, who is almost considered of a demigod father of all Castellinos.

The expansion will go like this :
- Francisco Francisquèz, unpopular and too attached to Montemadian integrity for the taste of the Castellinos government, is forced not to stand again in the free elections of 2022.
- In the free elections, the liberals joined forces with the entire Montemadian left, composed of social democrats, democratic socialists and communists, under the banner of the centre-left candidate Nicolàs Sqanova to prevent at all costs the accession to power of the new nationalist candidate, General Acapulco, who also has a social agenda.
- Sqanova is supported by the middle class and the bourgeoisie, worried about the return of the dictatorship and the appearance of a social agenda, while Acapulco is supported by the Montemadian army and the working class, attracted by the mix of pan-Castellinos nationalism and social demands.
- Acapulco won the presidential elections. The left and the liberals revolt, and threaten to take power by force if General Acapulco does not renounce to the exercise of power.
- Acapulco called in the Castellino army, which came to put down the insurgents in a bloody manner.
- In order to "preserve Montemadian democracy" from another possible coup, San Castellino proposes to reinforce the Castellinos presence in Montemadia by establishing a sort of "protectorate", which Acapulco, convinced by the pan-Castellinos ideal, accepts.

If the population and economy of the new Montemadian "protectorate" are added to those of San Castellino, this adds up to 11,392,017 people and an increase in nominal GDP of 39,920,000,000.

Edited March 2, 2022 by San Castellino (see edit history)

[Xio]

Just some questions for clarification:

Is this meant to be a retroactive expansion post (i.e. what you've written thus far in the thread is the expansion) or are you planning to continue the thread so that everything written past Part 3 is the expansion?

And secondly, how do you see this expansion being seen on the map? Should/would Montemadia remain on the map or be gobbled up by San Castellino? The use of protectorate is rather vague as throughout history there are instances where Protectorates/Clients are seen as separate from their guardian entity (Warsaw Pact & USSR) or within their guardian entity (Trucial States & British Empire). This is up for you to decide.

[Florentia]

1. They are both at the same time. The expansion has already begun in part 3 with the placing of the Montemadia under the castellinos tutelage because of the Montedoux agreements, and it will continue after part 3.

2. I base the system on that of the French protectorate in Morocco, with the difference that the executive is indeed provided by the head of state (in this case general Acapulco), although the dominating country must validate the laws (probably through a prime minister named by San Castellino). This protectorate does not call into question the independent existence of Montemadia, in the sense that it is not annexed as a province or department. Its territorial existence is maintained and the sovereignty and rights of the President of Montemadia are recognized. But from an international point of view, Montemadia loses its independence since it is no longer treated on an equal footing with other nations, can't control anymore it foreign politic and is no longer recognized as a sovereign state. That's why I would prefere Montemadia to be gobbled on the map by San Castellino.

[Xio]

Alrighty. As long as the post after Part 3 are of sufficient quality this is alright . Though Parts 1-3 will not be counted towards the overall number of posts for the expansion, as they were done before the request, hopefully this will not cause any issues on your end.