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Modérna Dictaturé
1970-1973[/center]
Before 1970
In the 60s, corruption was endemic for Meridia, and minorities were rebelling. The Ossitanians and the Faranze independence rebels were conducting a bloody terrorism wave, making the south incredibly dangerous. At the same time, communists in the Miradié mountains stubbornly fought the government, restricting travel from regions like the Trentosta Valley or Caleion. It was safer to take a plane than to traverse the mountains to go to the rest of the country.
In this political environment, populism, which was often racist, grew and grew, culminating in the election of Maurelíano Acúra in 1965. Campaigning for a new party, the big tent, populist Popular Front, his election was certain.
During the first years of his reign, Maurelíano attempted to push for corruption reform, but also began to spend wildly, creating an untennable deficit. This money was used to give people public sector jobs, cut taxes, and other populist pledges, which could not be sustained for long. Maurelíano defended himself, saying that "the people deserve the wealth of the nation, and it is a stimulus for the people". His popularity grew massively, the people not knowing exactly what he was doing.
But, in 1968, he began to show a glimpse of his true colours. He demanded that a newspaper that had been critical of him to "shut it", and raided their offices with police. Maurelíano proceeded to justify his actions by accusing the paper of "spying for the enemies of Meridia" and of "corruption", but this was not proven. In 1969, he led a military campaign against the rebels in the south, but was extremely brutal. The army was given way to act however it wished, often leading to violations of human rights, and the air force bombed any town remotely suspected of harbouring rebels. The Ossitanian people call him "Lo Demòni", or The Devil; the Faranze, practicioners of the Firineire faith believed that he either had an evil spirit that never went to the Spiritual Realms, or that he did not have a soul at all.
But it seemed to have effect: the terrorism waned, but it was out of desperation, as the rebels were so horrified and scared that they stopped fighting in order to save their people from further devastation.
The ethnic Meridian peoples in the south, however, revered him. As Acúra had been careful to not strike any Meridian populations, he earned great praise in this area for finally bringing down the terrorists that had plagued them for so long.
In early 1970, he ordered the military to crack down on the communists in the Miradié mountains. Again, he used the cruel tactics he used in the south. The resulting bloodbath for the communists became horrific when they fled to the Trentosta Valley, hoping that Maurelíano would not dare to strike Sartorians. And they were correct: unlike in the south, Sartorians and Meridians lived together in mixed settlements. It was not uncommon to find completely bilingual communities in the area. But Maurelíano quarantined the area, imposing a media blackout. He justified this as "an action to prevent the communist dogs from deceiving the world. We are righteous in our cause, and we will kill all who made us suffer". It looked more justified when local militias formed, fighting the communists. Some militias were formed out of pure intentions, the fighters determined to kill the communist pigs. Others wanted to avoid a repeat of the southern massacres, and fighting for the government could dissuade them from all-out butchery.
Indeed, this turned out to be true. Acúra did not repeat his sanguine strategy, but killed communists left and right, violating their human rights.
1970: The Coup
Acúra was popular, but, as reports of the massacres carried out by his forces began to emerge on a nationwide scale, his approval waned. Seizing the moment to prevent a collapse of his regime, Maurelíano ordered his most loyal army units to stage "communist" terrorist attacks in major cities. As the people were terrified, Maurelíano declared a state of emergency, declaring that "the current constitutional order prevents me from eradicating the communist swine, and thus, the constitution is hereby suspended indefinitely".
Popular support allowed this to be a bloodless coup. The army didn't have to capture anything, although it did restrict access in the capital while he got his affairs in order, and to arrest opposition legislators.
As the coup deepened, in the coming months, the army seized opposition newspapers, and detained Maurelíano's critics. In show trials, the accused were either convicted of corruption, treason, or any other charge applicable. As the death penalty was legal at the time, many were shot.
1970-1975: Modérna Dictaturé and L'Crisé d'Militarié
In 1971, his power was cemented. The army and police ruled in his name through an iron fist. Corruption skyrocketed, but everything was censored. However, as his rule became more cruel by the end of 1972, even forcing minorities to abandon their culture and language, senior leaders in the military began to entertain the possibility of a coup. They feared that his policies would trigger a war with Sartoria or Parthenopias, or both.
So, in early February of 1973, Maurelíano was deposed. He was sadistically murdered by troops, as the group that was supposed to detain him resulted to have Ossitanians in it. The other soldiers in the unit did take notice, but they did not stop them, as their group knew of the Ossitanians' miseries. It is reported that one of the Ossitanians kept a piece of his intestines in a bag and blood on a water bottle, but this has not been confirmed.
A military junta took control of the country, but, as unrest developed, the armed forces promised free and fair elections under the previous constitution, as long as no military personnel went to prison for any war crimes. Instead, they paid hefty fines and were drafted into infrastructure projects.
Aftermath
After this, racial tensions in Meridia drastically decreased. The new elected government had ethnic classes mandatory for all citizens, so they could understand each other better. The new government also held a referendum to create two autonomous regions: Ossitania and Faranze. A majority of Faranze districts joined the new region, but, surprisingly, more than half of the Ossitanian districts voted against integrating into Ossitania.
These were mainly Canartese Ossitanians, who had felt quite comfortable and happy within the region of Canarto. They saw themselves as fellow Meridians, just with a different background. This was the result of Canarto treating Ossitanians well, and the fact that Ossitanians here were more peaceful with the Meridian majorities. Kareguism, a religion prevalent in Canarto, also held a small sway over the vote, as Canartese Ossitanians are majority Kareguist.
The ones who defected were mostly the Tigurian Ossitanians, who were disenfranchised in Tiguria, even before the dictatorship. Tigurian Meridians and Ossitanians often had hostile relations, and were more perjorative towards each other. Tigurian Ossitanians were also a religious mix of Valianity and Firineire followers, so it did not hold any sway when voting. As a result, all the districts ceded were from Tiguria.
In the case of the Faranze, a considerable majority of their districts flipped to create the new region, but, prevalently in Loreira, some districts refused. This did not have to do with cordial relations or whatever, but either that these Faranze were more connected to their regions economically, and opted to stay, or that the regions campaigned fiercely to convince them to stay, pledging to enfranchise the Faranze. Usually, it was both. Another reason has been recently entertained, and that was that Loreira had set up the districts before to "divide and conquer" their Faranze minorities in certain areas. This was for electoral purposes in the past, and this gave way partially to the result as a directly unintended consequence. Other Faranze are not even natives, but migrants that moved to other areas of Loreira and, in less numbers, Tiguria.
Populism's appeal also plummeted. Today, the Meridian populace is well-informed on average about at least main issues in politics, or as well-informed as the average citizen can be. Many are also critical of deficits, and the government is very transparent (until recently), publishing their monthly transactions online.
Corruption is now seen as such a stigma, that even the most faint accusation has the potential to unseat a politician, unless it is obviously a politically-charged, baseless attack. They rarely engage in it these days, as it can be their downfall. In the national curriculum, there is an entire class dedicated to shaming corruption, and private schools are required to give it too.
One good thing came out of this, though: rebel groups were eliminated. Meridia is a peaceful and prosperous nation nowadays, but the military is underfunded because of its past brutality.