Aztechnology
Aztechnology is one of the biggest and most powerful megacorporations, a member of the Big Ten, and a member of the Corporate Court. The company has a global reputation for dealing in a wide range of business from consumer goods to cyberware to weapons. In the corporate world, however, Aztechnology is more well known for their business practices, as they tend to be cut-throat when it comes to dealing with other companies. They are also one of the only companies known to integrate magical practices into their personnel. This includes using spirits for security purposes, employing mages to forecast changes in the economy, and using blood magic to keep their opponents in line. Although they are generally seen as being the puppetmasters behind the Aztlan government, Aztechnology itself stresses that the two are separate political and economic entities.
Structure
At the top of the corporate ladder is the president and CEO of the company, currently Juan Azcapotzaka, who is nominally in charge of the company. PR holds Azcapotzaka up as the embodiement Aztechnology's values; he was a farmer boy in Guadalajara, grew up amid the growing Aztechnology, and rose to the top thanks to his hard work. Whether there is any truth to this story is unknown. Azcapotzaka makes very few public appearances, very rarely interacts with people outside the company, and based on insider reports has very little actual sway even within the company. He is, for all intents and purposes, a figurehead to maintain good PR.
The real power within the corporation is the Board of Directors, a shadowy group of people elected by standing members of the Board. Although Aztlan law requires the disclosure of major corporate executives, the country conveniently turns its head away in regards to Aztechnology. As such, there is no reliable way to know who sits on the Board at any given time. Several leading figures in the company are suspected of being Board members, including the Aztechnology Corporate Court Justice Anna Villalobos, Domingo Ramos son of founding member Julio Ramos, and known corporate raider Thomas Roxborough. What is known about the Board is that individual members tend to conflict with each other, each pushing their own agenda presumably with the end goal of increased power.
Below the Board is a vast network of divisions and subsidiaries. Aztechnology is famous for its ruthless attitude toward corporate trading, with an extensive list of owned subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are the main production force of the corporation; Aztechnology itself produces very little, instead using owned assets to create gains that are funneled up the megacorporation proper. Between the subsidiaries and the Board are a small group of major executives who run the various division, each of which is assigned based on geographical location. Control of each of the divisions is a major source of tension for the Board, meaning that VP positions within the divisions tend to change hands frequently.
Public Agenda
Aztechnology walks a delicate line between extending its political influence with Aztlan and pretending that it isn't doing exactly that. Numerous high-ranking executives have expressed desires to see the return of the Aztec Empire across the Americas, but official policy from the Corporate Court dictates that Aztechnology must remain a non-political entity. As such, the biggest focuses for the corporation are goals that help it grow in political power while maintaining deniability; further subtle control of Aztlan and its people, the weakening of power within the Corporate Court, and the acquisition of potentially useful corporations as subsidiaries.
History
Establishment of ORO
In 2007, a group of drug cartels banded together to buy out a resource development company to take advantage of growing corporate power in the early 2000s. Three of the bigger cartel leaders (Oriz, Ramos, and Ortega) split the companies assets between themselves and renamed it to ORO, using their initials to form the Spanish word for gold. The company then started buying up exploitational rights across Central America primarily through the use of strong-arm tactics. When a molybdenum deposit was located on the coast of Panama, where ORO happened to have exclusive exploitational rights, the company saw massive profits that catapulted them on to the global corporate stage. They reinvested these new funds into a wide variety of industries until ORO was involved in every major industry within the countries of Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and of course Mexico. With such massive control of the industrial sector, ORO now had the resources and backing to start manipulating the political sphere of Central America. Government officials were forced to either make deals with ORO or find themselves cut off from any asset or industry ORO had control over. Those government officials would then go on to make policy changes that favored ORO and expanded the range of business they could get involved in. One particularly profitable venture was the de-regulation of piracy laws, allowing ORO to copy, repackage and resell software coming into Central America all with the tacit approval of regulatory powers in the region.Fall of Mexico, Rise of Aztlan
The next big leap for ORO occured in 2010 when the VITAS plague hit Mexico. ORO gained a massive PR boost by being at the forefront of humanitarian efforts, endearing themselves with the people who were fed up with Mexico's failings. When the government fully collpased in 2011, ORO had enough goodwill to steer reconstruction efforts in their favor. The new government's polling machines were fully built by ORO, who the people trusted to be on their side. Instead, ORO rigged subsequent elections, putting their own political party, the Azatlán Party, in charge. When party member Francisco Pavón was elected to the office of president in 2015, ORO officially gained almost complete control of the country. Pavón ran on a platform of returning Mexico to its roots, and he wasted no time in officially declaring the company renamed to Aztlan. The following decade saw Aztlan central power in Central America, subsuming weaker nations into its fold. ORO's PR team made sure the people of Aztlan knew that it was ORO's industrial prowess that allowed Aztlan to prosper where the rest of Central America did not. ORO set up headquarters in Mexico City, now renamed to Tenochtitlán, where it could effectively apply pressure to the Aztlan government. In 2022, the company formally changed its name to Aztechnology, a move that helped synergize their image as the saviours of Aztlan with their goals of establishing a political empire. For the next two decades Aztechnology maintained an iron grasp on Aztlan. Public outcry was limited, thank to Aztechnology's excellent PR team, and what few outbursts boiled over were quickly dealt with by Aztechnology's increasingly competent magical security forces. Under Aztechnology, Aztlan gained stronger infrastructure, a beefed up intelligence service, and a stronger more centralized military. To the average citizen, Aztechnology was nothing but good for the people of Aztlan. They protected the country, provided important services, sold most goods the average consumer would interact with, and "rooted out corruption" within the Aztlan government. This was, of course, propaganda, but Aztechnology was extremely effective at turning any publicity into good publicity. If things ran smoothly, it was because Aztechnology was operating with free rein. If problems arose, it was because the corrupt government was interfering.Repercussions
Aztechnology finally overstepped their power in 2044 when the company pressured the Aztlan government to nationalize everything that belonged to a megacorp that wasn't them. This obviously angered several other major corporate powers, so in 2048 the Corporate Court decided to retaliatory action. A coalition of corporations launched Operation Reciprocity, a series of air strikes against Aztechnology's Ensenada facility. Aztechnology got the message and began negotiating with the offended parties. The resulting Veracruz Settlement worked out well in Aztechnology's favor; the megacorp had to pay compensation to corporate losses due to the nationalization, but in exchange other megacorps could only establish local subsidiaries on Aztlan soil and only Aztlan born citizens could operate those subsidiaries. Two years later Aztlan faced another major conflict. Although Aztlan had generally succeeded at conquering Central America, one hotbed of rebellion remained in the Yucatan peninsula. Rebels in the region slowly built up power before launching an assault at Campeche. The resulting massacre galvanized Aztechnology, who saw it as an attempt to shake their control of the region. The resulting civil war has yet to cease, although many in the region suspect this is primarily due to secret support of the rebels from Amazonia, a long-time rival to Aztlan and Aztechnology.
Rivalry
Although Ares and Aztechnology aren't actively at each other's throats, both megacorps have an interest in political power. Control of the former South US region is a high priority of both corporations, leading to tensions.
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