Araucaria

Araucaria, officially the Araucarian Republic (República Araucano), is one of the four semi-sovereign states that make up the Baliscan Confederation. is one of the four semi-sovereign states that make up the Baliscan Confederation. The state is named after the trees of the same name that are abundant in the region. At ?? Km, it is the ?? Largest state in Latin America and the ?? Largest n the world. To the north, it is bordered by Santo Antonio and Cordova and completely surrounds the Sofia Metropolitan Region. It is separated from Cerdanya to the south by the Straits of Fortuna. On the Araucarian West Coast is the Baliscan Sea, and to the East is the Atlantic Ocean. The relatively flat Southern area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Araucaria expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Northern Araucaria is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.

With over # million inhabitants in 2019, it is the ?? most populous of the Baliscan regions. If it was its own country, Araucaria would be the ?? Most populous country in Latin America, and the ?? Most populous in the world. Araucaria is home to Balisca’s fifth largest metropolitan area, Bayreut, which also serves as the Araucarian capital. Other large cities in the region include Elijah, Iskandar, Alexandria, Koliniopolis, and San Miguel. It is made up of seven regions, called states; Juju, Pampas, Botanica, Kopi, Libertas, Adayemi and Soussa. It is the only Black-majority state in the Baliscan Confederation, with most of its inhabitants being descendants of African slaves brought to Balisca in the colonial era. It is home to significant minorities of Asian and Indigenous Baliscans. Around 17% of the region’s population are immigrants, either from another Baliscan region or an entirely different country. The percentage of people identifying as solely "black" in the region has steadily declined from an all time high of 80% in 1948 to 55% in 2019, largely as a result of increased immigration from other regions in Balisca.

Originally, what is now Araucaria was known as La Pampa (“land of the plains people”) after the native society that was spread throughout the land. Aranese exploration of the land was quite limited, as the Aranese Captaincy General of Balisca attempted to delineate native-only territories. The land remained largely untouched by Europeans up until the 1610s, with the outbreak of the Reaper’s War between Aranese and Portuguese settlers and the eventual expulsion of the Aranese. The Baliscan Civil Wars and the Maroon Settlement Act of 1840 greatly changed the region, which was renamed to Araucaria, establishing it as a separate autonomous state for former slaves and their descendants.

Baliscan Social Revolution
Araucaria was the birthplace of the Baliscan Social Revolution.

Government and politics
Araucaria is a semi-presidential constitutional republic, with a bicameral parliament, the Araucarian Assembly. As stated in the Araucarian Constitution of 1955, the President of Araucaria is elected by popular vote, every four years. The Assembly is made up of the Chamber of Representatives, with 147 representatives who are elected on block lists by proportional representation for four year terms, and the Senate, with 35 senators (five for each nome), who are directly elected by popular vote for four year terms.

The current President of Araucaria is Miguel Christovam, from the Araucarian Social Democratic Party, who has been in office since 1 January 2016. The Vice President is Sani Anjoduma, also from the Araucarian Social Democratic Party.

The last congressional elections were held on 17 October 2016, concurrently with the presidential election. The current Senate has a 21–11 split in favor of the governing coalition and 3 independents. The current lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, contains 84 members of the governing center-left coalition, 38 from the center-right opposition and 25 from small parties or independents.

Prior to the Baliscan Social Revolution, Araucaria maintained a largely two party system. The two dominant parties were the nationalist All Maroon League, and the liberal-reformist Democratic Alliance. Both parties fell in popularity and eventually dissolved in the social upheaval of the Social Revolution. In their place, a vibrant multi-party system has flourished.

Economy
The economy of Araucaria ranks amongst the largest in Latin America. As of the first quarter of 2019, Araucaria’s gross domestic product was estimated at US$1.3 Trillion, making it the third largest economy in Balisca after Cerdanya and Cordova. Araucaria is responsible for ??% of Balisca’s economic activity. Araucaria’s economy strongly benefits from high rates of worker participation, a highly educated population, low levels of corruption, and its comprehensive social safety net.

In 2019, Araucaria alone was responsible for 30% of Balisca's mining output. As a mainstay to the economy, mining directly contributes around 25% of Araucaria’s total gross domestic product and 38% of the country’s exports. In addition to being an important supplier of energy, Cerdanya is now becoming an increasingly relevant consumer of energy. The region has established a long tradition of responsible energy stewardship as it develops and diversifies its economy, accelerating the development of new hydroelectric energy sources.

Per capita GDP in the first quarter 2018 was $36,892 ranking fourth in the nation, after Cordova, Cerdanya, and Sofia. Araucaria overall has an average poverty rate of 9.2%, one of the lowest rates in Latin America. Many coastal and mining cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the Baliscan Confederation. Araucaria has the highest tax burden of all Baliscan regions, reflecting high government spending on welfare programs; in 2018, total tax revenue reached 45.4% of the total GDP, while government social spending reached 32.8% of the GDP. Adversely, Araucaria has the lowest levels of income inequality than the rest of Balisca, and in 2019 earned a GINI score of 24.9 (compared to the Baliscan average of 32.7).

Economic history
Araucaria emerged from the Great Recession as one of world’s fastest growing economies. In 2012, the Araucarian government declared that the country had officially exited the Recession, and in 2015 Araucaria’s GDP surpassed pre-2008 levels. Together with Santo Antônio, it is described as one of the new drivers of the Baliscan economy; between 2012 and 2018, Araucaria recorded an average growth rate of 8.2%, far above the Baliscan average of 4.1%. Araucaria is estimated to overtake Cordova as Balisca’s second largest economy in 2021, and overtake Cerdanya to become the largest in Balisca in 2024.

Araucaria‘s miraculous economic turnaround has been attributed to generous stimulus spending by the Baliscan government along with the establishment of the Xavier Special Economic Zone (more commonly known as Xavier City) as a regional tax haven. The ongoing Araucarian construction boom has left Araucarian cities such as Bayreut and Iskandar with some of the tallest skylines in the Americas.

Demographics
Araucaria’s 2019 census reported a population of 30,621,209 (the second most populous in the Baliscan Confederation, after Cerdanya). Its rate of population growth has been the highest in the Baliscan Confederation for the last three decades, averaging 3.8% growth per year. By 2050 the population is expected to reach approximately # million people, to become the most populous country in the Confederation. About 90 percent of the country's population lives in urban areas, with 40 percent living in Greater Bayreut. The largest agglomerations according to the 2002 census are Greater Santiago with 5.6 million people, Greater Concepción with 861,000 and Greater Valparaíso with 824,000.

Ancestry and ethnicity
Prior to the Second World War, was never a particularly attractive destination for migrants, owing to its remoteness and distance from Europe. The Araucarian government, dominated by the All Maroon League, actively worked to prevent and discourage European migration to Araucaria (which it denounced as “inviting ‘passive colonization’”). European migration did not result in a significant change in the ethnic composition of Araucaria. Aranese people descended from the original Tarracos were the only major European migrant group to Araucaria, and there was never large-scale immigration such as that to Cerdanya. Between 1851 and 1930, Araucaria only received 2.5% of European immigration to the Baliscan Confederation, compared to 50% to Cerdanya, 30% to Cordova, and the remainder to Santo Antonio.

Instead, Araucaria accepted significant numbers of Asian migrants who faced harsh treatment at the hands of European dominated states such as Cerdanya and Cordova. This hastened in the 1920s and 1930s with the passage of exclusionary immigration laws in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Today, Asian-Araucarians make up around. Araucaria’s acceptance of tolerance of was decried in

European Araucarians have grown in numbers since the liberalization of immigration laws in the 1960s. The vast majority of White Araucarians are migrants (or descendants of migrants) from another Baliscan region. As of 2019, White Araucarians number # million, or just under #% of the Araucarian population, making them the smallest ethno-racial group in the Araucarian Republic.

Language
There is no legally recognized official language of Araucaria. However, thanks to years of interaction with Aranese, Spanish, and later Cerdanyan peoples, Spanish has grown to become the most commonly spoken language in Araucaria. As of June 2019, 82% of Araucarian residents primarily spoke Spanish at home. Araucaria introduced mandatory English classes for all students in third grade and above in 1989, prior to the Baliscan introduction of the “English Brings Opportunity” Program in 1996.

Araucarian Spanish is considered similar to its Mercedi Spanish counterpart, with both being highly influenced by their historical connection with the Catalan-speaking Aranese settlers. However the Araucarian dialect is also permeated with words borrowed from the various African languages that were spoken by the slaves, and has developed its own form of slang that has become integral in everyday speech. Araucarian Spanish is officially known as Araucarian Vernacular Spanish, reflecting the severe difference between it and Standard Spanish.

Education
Like the rest of Balisca, the educational system is divided into preschool (for those under age 6), basic education (9 years, in three stages, compulsory), secondary education (3 years, compulsory since 1968), and higher education (subdivided in university and polytechnic education). Starting with preschool, total emersion learning of English is a mandatory; this is reinforced further in each stage of education, with students required to pass progressively harder English exams in order to move on to the next stage.

Total adult literacy rate is 100 percent in Sofia. Primary and secondary school enrollments are also both 100 percent, while 53% of college-age students choose to attend a higher education institution, higher than the 47% rate seen nationally, and the 35% average rate in the OECD countries. Public education is fully funded by the government, and thus there are no tuition fees levied on students who attend public learning institutions. In 2019, 64% of all students attended a publicly-run institution of learning. Some of the largest universities in Araucaria are public: Adeymi University, Kopi State University, Alexandria State University, and Kolinopolis City University.

University admission is highly competitive and selective in Sofia. Long-term residents of Sofia often find themselves having to compete with prospective students from across the Baliscan Confederation and international students for the few available admission slots at one of Sofia’s # universities.