Costa de la Plata
| |
| Flag of Costa de la Plata | |
| Motto: Construimos el futuro | |
| Region | South America |
|---|---|
| Capital | Santa Trinidad de la Plata |
| Official Language(s) | Spanish |
| Leader | President General (7 stars) Miguel Fernandez |
| Government | military dictatorship |
| Population | 5 million |
| Currency | peso de la plata ($) |
| Internet TLD | .cdp |
| Calling code | +467
|
| ISO Code | CDLP
|
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Democratic Capitalist Republic of Costa de la Plata (es: la república democrática y capitalista de Costa de la Plata) is a mostly mountainous nation, notorious for its isolationist military government.
Contents
People
Platans are mostly Hispanic whites. The indigenous Andean minority peoples (the most numerous of whom are the Cheq'uetqhine) are heavily segregated: many are confined to reserves high up in the mountains, under military guard, while smaller numbers have found their way into urban slums.
Geography
Most of the country consists in high mountains, reaching almost to the coast, with a strip of fertile land in between.
Government
The Platan government is essentially a military dictatorship, with a small dose of plutocracy. General Miguel Fernandez is President-for-life, backed by the military, and rules with a Cabinet composed essentially of high-ranking military officers, along with a few supportive, wealthy civilians. An Advisory Council of 19 members consists in ten military officers appointed by the president and nine members elected by wealthy businessmen. In order to vote, a person need not have Platan citizenship, but must be at the very least a millionnaire, must have "contributed significantly to the wealth of the nation", for instance through investments and the opening of companies or factories, and must be approved by the president. In this way, foreign businessmen residing abroad may be eligible to vote.
The Advisory Council meets only when summoned by the president, who may ignore and/or dismiss it as he pleases. Elections are held in theory every six years, but this may be overruled by the president.
The president's succession is not clearly defined, but it is widely assumed he will be succeeded by his daughter, Conchita.
Economy
The Platan government prioritises economic development and encouraging foreign investment. Large companies (particularly foreign ones) may operate with little or no government interference. Labour is extremely cheap, and there are no minimum wages. There have been reports of people being rounded up by the police and forced to sign countracts submitting them to virtual slave labour in the employ of foreign corporations.
Political dissidents are often sentenced to slave labour in the country's infamous silver mines. Expatriate dissident Manuel Reyes published a grim comic-book depicting the reality of the mines: Silver and Tears: Slave Labour in the Mines of Costa de la Plata.
Language: "español modernizado"
Indigenous Andean languages are prohibited, and their usage is violently repressed. The official language is Spanish. The military authorities have enrolled linguists in a campaign to "modernise" the language, producing "español modernizado" (EsMod, for short). EsMod can roughly be compared to Newspeak. The aim is to control, limit and simplify thought by reducing the number of concepts expressed in the language.
A wealthy élite is authorised to study English at prohibitively expensive universities.
News services
News providers are entirely controlled by the military. There is only one newspaper, Hoy en la Costa, published by the military. It contains a mixture of military spins on the news, blatant falsehoods, and advertisements for local and foreign companies operating in the country. There are four television channels. Channel 1 provides round-the-clock "news", often read by young, smiling and attractive female news anchor Gloria Perez, a junior military officer. Channel 2 provides "documentaries" and "in-depth reports". Channel 3 broadcasts comedy, games and locally-produced soap operas. Channel 4 is run by a consortium of businesses, who are free to air whatever they wish, as long as it does not displease the military.
The four radio channels mimic the four television ones.
There is no access to foreign news or media. Access to the Internet is restricted to a privileged few, and heavily censored.
Visiting Costa de la Plata
While business and investor visas are easy enough to obtain, tourist visas are far more restricted. The military allows an average of 900 tourists per annum into the country. All tourists must travel in groups, on pre-arranged circuits, and are accompanied by military-appointed guides at all times. Tourists are generally housed in Puesta del Sol, a tourist resort built on the coast, far from major towns or cities. Tourists are driven by coach into Santa Trinidad, the capital, via a road from which all slums have been forcefully cleared.
