Mayalia
Mayalia is a republic on the north coast of the continent of Lonthra.
Structure
The Mayalian government is a representative democracy with a senate body of 500 seats. Its president is elected every five years with no term limit, with efforts to introduce a term limit consistently failing to pass a senate vote. While Mayalia maintains a privately-owned market and has constitutional amendments protecting free speech and protest, its military has recently assumed control over its police force. Military groups have formed their own political party under the title of the Ashen Lotus, gaining influence through popularism and stoking fears over international conflict in the region.
Its current president is Amanda Reith who has been in office for three terms, although many consider her to be a figurehead. Most analysts attribute the most actual authority to Lotus military commander Azu Telkendi, who spearheaded efforts to absorb the police force.
Assets
Mayalia sits on a vast expanse of rich farmland and mineral deposits that support its powerful export economy. It supports the largest industrialized farming industry in the region, and remains the dominant trade partner of both Taisha and Vaekul despite rising tensions between the two neighbors.
History
Much like Athovezia, Mayalia began as a series of disparate agricultural townships that saw the need to form a larger regional government in the midst of expanding international interests. Unlike Athovezia, however, its government took advantage of its potential as a stronghold in agricultural resources, and pursued capitalist industrialization as a means of protecting its otherwise undefended expanse of land. It has spent most of its lifetime in relative wealth, although technological development internationally has stoked nationalistic fears and a push for a stronger military presence.
The last century has seen a gradual shift towards merging its police and military forces, with the official merger being approved by the senate after a public referendum in 2005. Since then, the country has experienced a growing cultural divide between popularist supporters of the military Ashan Lotus party and those who fear the loss of constitutional checks and balances amid increasing military authority.
Demography and Population
Mayalia is a majority-Yaihese nation, although its Sziira population is not insignificant. Unlike Vaekul, both groups have mostly equal protections under the law, although societal fears over the misuse of sziioric power have led to institutional and systemic privilege for Yaihese. An increasingly unpredictable international market has caused the country's export-based economy to grow sluggish over the last decade, leading to an increase in tension between social groups as economic hardship becomes a larger issue.
In response to its escalating conflict with Vaekul, Taisha has significantly increased its efforts to aid Sziira refugee programs as a means of undermining Vaeic access to cheap labor. Due to Taisha's already dense population and issues with overcrowding in public housing, the Taishan government has partnered with Mayalian programs for refugees as a part of the North Lonthran Trade Pact of 2009. Consequentially, the Sziira population of Mayalia has gradually increased over the last decade, making them the target of certain nationalist groups and politicians attempting to place blame for economic stagnation.
Most notably, a small subsection of the Sziira population, known as Stateweavers, have become the target of an aggressive public safety campaign, entitled the People's Protection Act (PPA) seeking to protect against the misuse of possessive sziioric powers. Recent legislation has decreed that all Stateweavers be outfitted with suppressing technology to limit their access to these powers. Active refusal of this program is punishable with jail time, which has led to a number of ethics concerns. While the Mayalian government insists that Stateweavers will continue to live normally as long as they submit to the equipment, the potential for corruption and discrimination inherent in this system has drawn sharp criticism from the international community.
Various Taishan activist groups have called for an end to the country's refugee partnership, although many doubt any change will occur while the Vaeic war effort continues to thrive off the use of low-wage, unpaid, and forced labor under apartheid. Supporters of the deal argue that it provides relief for more refugees than Taisha could otherwise provide, that Stateweavers are only a small percentage of Sziira, and that the Mayalian situation is vastly preferable for those affected. Critics, however, maintain that a better solution exists in expanding Taishan infrastructure and social support systems. They argue that while this would be considerably more expensive, the gods have the means to provide for these costs, and that there are other refugee programs Taisha could coordinate with.
In Mayalia, the PPA has a decent degree of public support, owing to a broader cultural shift toward the importance of security. However, groups opposing the country's increased military presence have pointed to the program as evidence of corruption.
Technological Level
While Mayalia isn't advancing as rapidly as Vaekul, it is still highly industrialized. Its factory farms provide a significant portion of the region's plant and animal products.
Infrastructure
Mayalia is known for its robust train system, as its economy depends on the transport of goods across large swaths of land. As a wealthy nation, its infrastructure programs are well-supported, and town governments receive federal grants for improving railways.
Founding Date
1240
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Demonym
Mayalian
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