Lusitanian Press - Augusto Morais in Campaign talks about abortion, post-delegationism and war

[Lusitania]

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jornal oficial do partido comunista popular​

Ricardo Falcão é o Novo Presidente da República Popular
Ricardo Falcão is the New President of the People's Republic

Today, Comrade Ricardo Falcão was confirmed President of the People’s Republic of Lusitania, after contesting the PCP Congress with Bernardino Machado, by the Supreme People’s Congress.
Comrade Falcão, a close friend of the deceased Comrade Vasques, is a young, energic and fresh-minded leader, and will lead to a sweeping of the remnants of corruption within the People’s Republic and to the ultimate reunification of Lusitania under its proletarian vanguard. In the same day, the Supreme People’s Congress elected its Speaker – Father-Comrade Roberto Palma, a Christian priest on the vanguard of political thought, which was prosecuted by the Integralist regime for authoring revolutionary doctrine on the true socialist essence of Christianity.

Nevertheless, after spontaneous celebrations in all of the People’s Republic, from Ossónoba to Castelo Negro, and military parades demonstrating the full revolutionary potential of the People’s Volunteers Army (Exército Popular de Voluntários, new President Comrade Falcão issued a small statement:

”As all Party Chairmen have done since its inception, I will author short texts on my interpretation of the evolution of class struggle in Lusitania and the guidelines for it during my tenure as President. I shall inspire myself in the writings of the gone Comrade Vasques, of the intellectual founder of the PCP, deceased Comrade Alexandre Gomes, and of several socialist and communist theorists, modern (from sources as varied as Carentania and Kryobaijan) and ancient (the founders of scientific socialism and unveilers of the mechanisms of History, Marx and Engels). We must learn from both the older theorists who discovered the true mechanism of History and from modern experiences. We need to be strong in the coming years, as the capitalist occupiers in the North are planning to recreate their alliance in the Civil War, and possibly attack us – we need a strong, unified, organized, free and fraternal State.”

 

[Lusitania]

Hoxe
o xornal número un de Galicia



Primeiro Ministro Fala da Posibilidade de una Reunificación
Prime-Minister Talks About the Possibility of a Reunification

Today, in a routine press conference in A Coruña, Prime-Minister Xosé Peréz said that he is ‘receptive’ to unification proposals, should the proposed new constitution of the Republic of Lusitania come into force. He said that the hypothetical constitution respects ‘regional and local populations and cultures’ and has ‘local autonomy as a cornerstone’, being the ‘only way’ of Galicia integrating Lusitania again. He justified his position on the fact that, despite being a separate nation, Galicia has ‘unbreakable’ historical links with Lusitania, cultural and economic alike.

The hopes for a Northern reunification have been re-sparked since new Lusitanian Republic Prime-Minister, Augusto Morais, proposed a new constitution totally reorganizing the political, administrative and judicial machine of the Republic, creating a much more Council-friendly administration, much on the way the United Free Councils are doing, creating a multi-party Directory to replace single-party Government, revive old judicial magistrates and give great legislative autonomy to the Councils. With a new leadership in the centre-left opposition party, more supportive of the reform, the new constitution will probably be approved.

Of course that these declarations have provoked enormous controversy within the Galician National Assembly. Despite the fact that the major Galician parties, Xosé Peréz’s Socialist Party and the centre-right opposition party, the Civic Junta, have stated, in the past, that they were not against unification. However, the third party, the Galician Nationalist Party has violently opposed such a scenario. The GNP’s leader, Xoán Bahamonde, has declared Peréz ‘a traitor’, and accused the SP and the CJ of being ‘sold out to Lusitanian interests’. In a dinner with supporters in Santiago de Compostela, Bahamonde questioned how could ‘Peréz and Alvarez [leader of the CJ] defend for so long Galician independence’ and ‘then, stab the people in the back like that.’

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The Prime-Minister Announced His Intention After a Meeting of the Xunta

A recent poll showed that the majority of Galicians were pro-unification under the condition of respect for autonomy. That study showed that there was more resistance in rural areas, with the rate of ‘yes’ in cities like Santiago, Corunha and Ferrol was around 60%.

 

[Lusitania]

O Primeiro de Janeiro​

Assembleia Aprova Constituição, Mas Ainda Há um Referendo!
Assembly Approves Constitution, But There is Still a Referendum Left!

The new Constitution, as proposed by Prime-Minister Augusto Morais, was approved in the Assembly of the Republic today, with the three parties of the Democratic Alliance (Party of Freedom, Liberal-Democrats and National-Democrats) voting for (despite some protests from two deputies of the National-Democrats), plus the Social-Democratic Party, who also voted favorably. The Communists, the Social Union and the National Front voted against. The new Constitution will only come into force after approved by a referendum to be held next week

In total, the favourable votes represented 73% of the Assembly, more than enough to approve constitutional reforms, but the Prime-Minister added the last minute alteration, submitting the new constitutional document to popular approval, possibly influenced by the numerous critical voices who demanded a referendum for such an important change in Lusitanian politics. The final version of the constitution includes 293 articles, divided into various chapters – I- the Republic; II – Fundamental Rights; III – Basic Economic Principles; IV – Organization and Limitation of Power.

The new political structure of Lusitania will function in two levels: the Republic and the Council. The Republic has many competences, but they are considered to be delegated by the Councils, and can be revoked at any time by pre-defined majorities, without prejudice of constitutional impositions of exclusive permanent competences – the main fields of action of the Republic will be defence, national-level taxes, diplomacy and enforcement of fundamental rights, especially in what concerns criminal law. The Councils will have a wide array of competences and, most importantly, will have subsidiary competence (i.e., if there is no disposition conferring competence to the Republic of the Councils, it is presumed to be a competence of the Councils). The Councils can delegate their competence in what concerns the enforcement of one law, for example, to the Republic by a majority in Congress, but cannot delegate exclusive competences, except on national emergency. Hence, most of the competences traditionally resting on the State will now be resting on the Councils. The Councils will be able to choose between various constitutionally allowed models – Council-Directory or Council-President (choice between having a headless directory in the executive branch or a president with a ‘government’) and Undelegationist or Delegationist Council (whether the assembly of the Council admits the participation of non-elected citizens on decisions or not). Councils with over 500,000 inhabitants will have a special statute of Free Cities, which will adapt the nature of the Council to a massified city.

The Congress will replace the Assembly of the Republic, with congressmen being direct representatives of the Councils, the Council of the Republic will replace the Government and will be multi-party instead of the traditional single-party government, and will have no ‘Prime-Minister’, only existing the office of
Spokesperson of the Council. The office of the President of the Republic, elected by universal suffrage, will remain untouched. More changes in judiciary and administration will be explained in detail in future editions, when the constitution is approved.

Augusto Morais and Isabel Tavares, being in opposite sides of the political spectrum, appeared side by side, announcing that the ‘dawn of a Republic that is not only more democratic but closer to the citizen is closer’.

 

[Lusitania]

O Século​

Ex-Primeiro Ministro Frederico Saraiva Faz Campanha Pelo 'Não'
Former Prime-Minister Frederico Saraiva Campaigns For the 'No'


Frederico Saraiva, recently voted-out Prime-Minister and ex-Chairman of the PSD, has joined a press event by the Social Union to urge people to vote ‘No’ for the new Constitution. Appearing side by side with Carlos Amado, the leader of the left-wing conservatives of the Social Union, Saraiva said that ‘Lusitania was better off with this model’ and the other was a ‘stratagem’ to ‘de-responsibilize’ the State, in order to impose a ‘hidden libertarian and post-delegationist agenda’.



Besides the Communist Party, the National Front and some members of the National-Democratic Party, the other party publicly opposing the new constitution is the left-wing conservatives of the Social Union. They oppose it on grounds that is ‘erodes sovereignty’ and on the fact that it will ‘wreak havoc’.

With their little expression, they managed to bring in a big name of Lusitanian politics to a campaign meeting in Lumiar – Frederico Saraiva, recently voted-out Prime-Minister and Chairman of the PSD. Though assuring that he would not return to politics soon, he then dismissed this declaration, motivated by the ‘attempt of a constitutional overthrow of the democratic and social State’. He said that decentralization would not be ‘good for social services, good for public health and education, good for the poor’, since it created great descoordination, and would polarize differences, since the tax system proposed by the Government does not consider redistribution of tax incomes to poorer regions.

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Frederico Saraiva speaking in Lumiar

He added that this extreme decentralization would be an excuse for the Government to stop large-scale social policies implemented by his former Government, since it would take responsibility away from the central State. So, he concludes that this is probably a ‘stratagem designed with a hidden libertarian and post-delegationist agenda in mind’, that would harm the ‘enormous social and economic progress of the Republic of Lusitania in the past few years’.

The first poll concluded for a great support for the new constitution, with 63% of the inquired answering ‘Yes’. However, this percentage is clearly lower than the 73% that approved the constitution in the Assembly, showing that many who voted in the parties in favour of the new constitution are not totally satisfied with the idea of it. The referendum is in Sunday.

 

[Lusitania]

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jornal oficial do partido comunista popular​

Supremo Congresso Popular Rehabilita Igreja
Supreme People's Congress Rehabilitates Church

Today, with an enormous majority, the Supreme People’s Congress approved the ‘Rehabilitation of the Church Act’, which will relegalize the Christian Church and Christian rites in public, under strict supervision of the Congress itself. The motion came to be by a suggestion of new President Comrade Ricardo Falcão, who has a long-standing position that socialism and Christianity are not enemies, but rather complement each other.

Comrade Falcão, himself a Christian started his speech with a passage of Holy Scripture:

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

After reading it, Falcão explained why he thought Christianity and socialism were compatible and the Church could only join the Revolution. According to the President, Jesus Christ was a revolutionary of his age, defying the establishment, fighting the rich and the powerful in name of the poor and the defenseless and establishing everlasting and brotherly morals. However, the institutionalized robbery that was Slavery, and then Feudalism and now Capitalism, prevented the forces of good to defeat the forces of evil behind the oppressors. He also repeated a conviction supported among many historians – the fact that the Church corrupted Christian morals, beginning as a true band of brothers and ending up as an elite and secret institution bent on world domination in alliance with capitalism.

That is why the rehabilitated Church will not be submitted to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church – to promote the true socialist nature of Christianity, a new Church is born – the People’s Catholic Church (Igreja Católica Popular), which will provide a new model for Christians all over Europe who seek to discover the true nature of the Kingdom of God. With less hierarchies and elimination of pagan and capitalist elements, a new Reform is underway, in which Jesus Christ and Karl Marx will walk side by side with the workers of all over the world. Father Roberto Palma, current Spokesman of the Supreme People’s Congress, was appointed as provisional Shepherd-General of the People’s Catholic Church.

 

[Taley]

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While we are wary of the potential for heresy in this new church created in Lusitania, we do applaud the the re-legalization of Christianity in Lusitania and the freedom of religion for its citizens. The church, especially the Orthodox Church, are the largest supporters and funding of charities around the world and it continues the most Christian tenet of charity and supporting the poor. The Orthodox Church looks forward working with the governments of the Lusitanian Union to build Orthodox Churches and allow the free preaching of the Orthodox faith.

Bartholomew
Ecumenical Patriarch of Talemaniki​

 

[Potenza]

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While we approve the legalization of the Christian faith in neighboring Lusitania, it is clear from this report that the faith is being abused by the Lusitanian government to enforce her political views upon the populace. All relations with the Igreja Católica Popular will be taken with caution, and we will not forfeit the Catechism for the interests of any revolutions or political agenda. We do, however, offer assistance from our staff to help assist the Lusitanian Christians to learn the true, historical, apostolic faith, so that they can know the love of our Lord and His Mother Church. All Lusitanian citizens interested in learning the Tiburan Catholic faith will be welcomed with open arms by our teachers and leaders.

 

[Lusitania]

O Primeiro de Janeiro​

Milhões de Lusitanos Decidem Hoje o Futuro da República
Millions of Lusitanians Decide Today the Future of the Republic

Today, millions of Lusitanians left the comfort of their homes, and headed towards the nearest voting station. Today is the day that will decide the future road of our Republic, telling us whether she embraces an innovative, democratic and decentralized political structure or if she remains in the comfort area of ‘mainstream’ liberal democracies. By 8 PM, we will know the answer

With a participation already exceeding 40% by 14:20, it is expected a high turnout in this referendum, in which citizens will have to choose to maintain the current regime or to change to the joint AD-PSD proposal, the so called ‘Council-Constitution’, for the importance it gives to these entities. Polls have shown ties since last week, but recently, the ‘Yes’ seems to have been gaining momentum, especially in the rural areas, in which its inhabitants feel much better living in autonomy within their Councils than in massified cities.

Prime-Minister Augusto Morais and leader of the PSD Isabel Tavares have campaigned hard for the ‘Yes’, galvanizing the so called ‘Centrão’ (big centre) electorate, always disputed between the centre-right and centre-left parties. The other members of the Democratic Alliance also campaigned for the ‘Yes’ albeit less enthusiastically, with the suspicion that some Liberals and some National-Democrats are against their party’s official position.

On the other side of the barricade, the left-wing conservatives of the Social Union, with the help of some PSD members within the circle of former Prime-Minister Frederico Saraiva, vigorously campaigned for the ‘No’, denouncing that the model could bring upon corruption, inefficiency and could kill the Welfare State.

Together with the Social Union, both the Communist Party of the Republic of Lusitania and the National Union (the integralist remnant) vehemently opposed this proposal, with the former stating it had a ‘capitalist neoliberal anarchist agenda’ behind it and the latter stating it was a ‘anarcho-communist plot’.
In a few hours, the results will be known – stay tuned!

 

[Lusitania]

O Primeiro de Janeiro​

A Nova Constituição Foi Aprovada no Referendo!
The New Constitution Approved in the Referendum!

It is confirmed – 71% of the Lusitanians want the new Constitution, as it was seen today in voting ballots all over the Republic. With this, it is legally confirmed that the project approved in the Assembly of the Republic last week will be the new Constitution of the Lusitanian Republic, opening the doors to a new democratic experience, which everyone hopes will bear fruits.

At 8 PM, one hour after the closing of the ballots, the official number was confirmed: 71% of the voters picked ‘Yes’, 27% ‘No’ and the other 2% were blank or null. After an intense week of campaigning, it is no surprise that most of the Lusitanians voted ‘Yes’, since all major parties supported the new Constitution. Augusto Morais, Prime-Minister, praised Lusitania’s ‘wise choice’, Isabel Tavares, leader of the opposition, talked about ‘a deepening of the roots of democracy’, Manuel Garcia, leader of the Liberals, saw the approval as ‘an opportunity to create a freer Republic’ and a spokesman of the National-Democrats was glad that ‘the Lusitanians rehabilitated old traditions, traditions of freedom’.

And what are the main changes brought upon by this new Constitution?

The Council (O Concelho)– the Council, which corresponds to a small territorial unit usually, but not always, growing around a city or a big town, will now be the most important entity in Lusitanian political life. With an estimated number of 70 Councils all over the Republic, they will have a large array of competences under the principle of delegated competence – the Councils have the competences given by law and the ones for which the law is silent. The Councils can function within these constitutionally permitted models – the Council-Directory (Concelho-Directório) or Council-President (Concelho-Presidente), i.e., in the former, the executive is a multi-party organ with rotative presidency, while in the latter, the winner of the election chooses a single-party executive; Council-Delegated (Concelho Delegado) or Council-Semi-Delegated (Concelho Semi-Delegado), in which in the former, the Council Assembly has representatives elected by the citizens by parishes, and delegate their power on them, in the latter, thought for smaller Councils, citizens can freely participate in Council Assemblies next to those in which they voted, and their vote has the same weight. For Councils with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the statute of Free City (Cidade Livre) is constitutionally granted, working compulsorily with a Council-Delegated model and having administrative specificities. The Councils and Free Cities will approve, in the shortest time possible, a Foral Charter (Carta de Foral), in which they indicate the chosen model and establish general laws of the Council. When functioning normally, they can approve Council Laws or Council Decrees (depending if it comes from the Assembly or the Executive), which are always subservient to the Constitution and cannot contradict the Base Laws, special laws the Congress of the Republic will have the power to approve with a large majority, establishing guide-lines for civil law, petty criminal law, etc.

The Republic is the representative of the people and the Councils of Lusitania, and has competence to legislate on foreign affairs, defence, criminal law, tax law with the Republic Laws (Leis da República) and establish guide-lines to a wide range of issues through the Base Laws (Leis-Base). Its main democratic organ is the Congress of the Republic (Congresso da República) with two representatives for each Council. The Congress issues Republic Laws and Base Laws, approves international treaties and chooses the Directory. The Directory (O Directório) is the executive branch of the Republic and, in a small set of issues, can edit Republic Decrees (Decretos da República). It is different from traditional governments because the Consuls come from different political backgrounds - the Directory is, thus, a truly multi-party organ. The President of the Republic’s powers are mostly the same, namely the supervision of the functioning of the democratic institutions, the possibility of dissolving Congress and the supreme command of the Armed Forces.

As to the judiciary, it will remain independent of political power, with judges being regulated by the Superior Council of Magistrature. But the SCM will regulate a new Magistrate – the Justice Provider (Provedor de Justiça), existing one in every Council and being the only magistrate that is elected by popular vote. It will absorb the functions of the old Prosecutors and have new ones. In what concerns civil procedure, it will have formal powers to deny actions that are illegitimate or false and to correct procedural problems that have to do with class actions, incapacity, etc. It most important function is to prosecute crimes and represent the Council in the Council Courts.

Between the Republic and the Councils, there are going to be Regions, which have no legal personality, serving only as form of cooperation between neighbouring Councils, namely in what concerns educational, health and social services.

In the following weeks, the Councils will hold elections and elaborate their respective Foral Charters, and then, the first Congress of the Lusitanian Republic will be elected – let us see if we are before a new dawn for our democracy or if not.

 

[Lusitania]

O Correio do Minho

Com uma Nova Constituição na República, a Reunificação Pode Estar Próxima
With a New Constitution in the Republic, Reunification Might Be Close

The constitutional reform in the Republic of Lusitania is creating a wave of enthusiasm here in the United Free Councils. Feeling that the Republic has finally renounced the way of centralism and state control, many people now demand that the United Free Councils join the Republic of Lusitania, with our values being now compatible with theirs.

In the new constitution of the Lusitanian Republic, the Councils have the same competences they have here, the electoral model is similar to ours and there is, overall, a democracy closer to the citizens and closer to the problems, as it exist here.

Co-Consul Roberto Torres has already stated his desire for reunification, saying that ‘until yesterday, there was much that separated us from the Republic. Today, there is nothing, and our existence makes no sense if the new Constitution of the Lusitanian Republic protects the precious rights we fought so hard to gain.’

Generally, it is believed that most of the population of the Free Councils now supports reunification. Those opposing it, do it on the grounds that the small size of the UFC gives it a ‘uniqueness that is important to the Council Democracy model’ (António Almeida, President of the Council of Carrazedo) or that it will anger the People’s Republic and trigger a new civil war with more bloodshed. Nevertheless, the dominant opinion, both among the people and among the politicians, seems to be that continued separation is useless.

It was reported today that, Roberto Torres has travelled to Galicia today, in order to urge Prime-Minister Xosé Peréz to join the UFC in the reunification, though it will probably be more difficult because Galicia has a distinctive culture and language. While many say there would be no political problem if the issue were to be debated within the All-Council Congress and there approved, in Galicia, there would probably have to be a referendum.

 

[Lusitania]

O Correio do Minho

Congresso Geral dos Concelhos Aprova Reunificação Por Larga Maioria
All-Council Congress Approves Reunification Through a Wide Majority

Today, the All-Council Congress has voted, within a large majority of 80%, the dissolution of the United Free Councils and its integration in the Republic of Lusitania. The State of the United Free Councils will soon legally cease to exist and will be officially part of the Republic of Lusitania. This decision was well-received in the streets, with thousands celebrating and waving Lusitanian flags in the streets of Braga, Moreira de Cónegos, Vizela and Santo Tirso, while a much smaller number protested the decision.

Roberto Torres and Lúcio Loureiro are now in Lumiar negotiating with the Government the terms of the transition of power. Though a final deal is yet to be decided, preliminary information reveals that there will have to be no Council elections in the 15 Councils of the former UFC, as their leaderships were subjected to popular scrutiny two years ago. The representatives of the Councils in the former All-Council Congress will be transferred as representatives to the Congress of the Republic.

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Roberto Torres talking to the press after the decision

Roberto Torres, co-Consul in transition, was satisfied with the recent events, saying that the raison d’être of the UFC was the ‘preservation of the traditional liberties of local autonomy of the Lusitanians’, and that, with the new political-administrative framework of the Republic, there was no longer a reason for the UFC to exist, as there are no cultural, national or language differences between the two areas. He saluted the Republic for its ‘wise decision’ and promised to ‘work hard and dilligently’ to assure a ‘peaceful and lawful’ transition.

Some people, including the representative of Carrazedo, Carlos Rodrigues, criticized the other Councils for ‘rushing in with reunification’, adding that the UFC had generated a ‘unique culture and way of life’. Furthermore, most of the Councils who voted against did it so due to a lack of referendum, with was deemed unnecessary due to the little that still separates Lumiar from Braga.
The flag of the Republic of Lusitania was hoisted in all government and council buildings tonight, symbolizing the transition.

 

[Free Cities League]

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jornal oficial do partido comunista popular​

República Popular Sai da União Lusitana!
People's Republic Is Out of the Lusitanian Union!

It is a scandal and a betrayal! Our ‘fellow-members’ of the Lusitanian Union, the capitalist occupiers in the North have stabbed the People in the back! Without any warning, any invitation or any indication, the capitalist forces in the North gather! The Republic annexed the anarcho-capitalist dystopia of the United Free Councils and is now prepared to subdue Galicia, in an effort to gain power and wealth to restart the counter-Revolution! Their devilish ways are worse that we thought.

But the workers and the peasants of Lusitania only fear God and His revelation through the dialectical dynamics of History, and they know for sure that the final victory will be theirs, the Final Judgment will bring to justice those who could fled to the Judgment of History! And so, in a courageous act, President Comrade Ricardo Falcão announced that the People’s Republic of Lusitania was to renounce to its membership in the Lusitanian Union, and denounce the treaty that establishes it, namely, the unmilitarized zones clause.

After visiting several Churches in reconstruction around the Province of Alzamal, President Falcão, outraged with this insidious act by the Republic and its lackeys of the United ‘Free’ Councils, said: ”The People’s Republic cannot tolerate such betrayal. As a proof of good faith, as a token of trust, we enthusiastically supported the establishment of the Lusitanian Union, but now, we knew that all along the devilish capitalists had plans. Now, they are gathering their forces and strengths. When the capitalist Republic annexes Galicia, they will be ready to ravage our land and destroy the working-class. But the future belongs to us, the working class. Blessed are those who hunger, for ye shall be filled and blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God! For the People’s Republic of Lusitania, the Treaty Establishing the Lusitanian Union is now void!”

The capitalists in the North are now surely trembling with the strong words of our President, as they try to postpone the inevitable and the inexorable God's Revolution.

 

[Lusitania]

O Primeiro de Janeiro​

República Popular Sai da União - Tensão em Alta!
People's Republic Out of the Union - High Tension!


The People’s Republic has left the Lusitanian Union yesterday, as President Ricardo Falcão announced on the southern State’s media. This move has the potential to create an atmosphere of tension almost as high as before the Civil War, and many see a war in the horizon, with the Lumiar Stock Exchange pluming into the red zone. Augusto Morais has summoned an emergency meeting with the Galician Prime-Minister Xosé Peréz, and the former co-Consuls of the UFC, currently handling the transition of power.

The People’s Republic of Lusitania was greatly outraged to find out that the UFC’s All-Council Congress approved the entrance of their 15 Councils in the Lusitanian Republic. In declarations yesterday, Ricardo Falcão publicly renounced to the Treaty to Establish a Lusitanian Union, rendering the Union useless. Although the meeting is ongoing, there are rumours that Morais is pressuring the Galicians to start a reunification process similar to the one of the UFC or, at least, to guarantee their cooperation in case of war. In the Galician media, although there is a great support for reunification, many voices demand a referendum, but , will there be time for one? If the People’s Republic takes an even more aggressive stance, many Galicians fear that that could serve as an excuse to conclude the process without a referendum.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Falcão is undertaking an odd turn in the policies of the People’s Republic. Appointing a priest as a Speaker, creating a new Church, quoting Christ in his speeches and changing the flag to a cross and a sickle, raise suspects that he might be trying to create some brand of Christian Communism in order to increase popularity through an extremely populist syncretic ideology. Many fear that, PRL’s armies motivated by religious rage against the ‘devilish capitalists in the North’, could ravage Lusitania, once more.

The People’s Republic’s justifications of these actions are a suspect of ‘capitalist gathering’, but many talk about the fact that Falcão felt insulted and disrespected for not being invited to any of these negotiations, accusing the Republic of disrespect the Treaty.

The demilitarized zone of the PRL is already occupied with troops, and so is the one in the Republic, with Lusitania engulfed in an atmosphere with tempest.

 

[Potenza]

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The Grand Duchy would like to urge calm to the various parties within her western neighbor. The region is starting to enter a calm after the war in Montelimar is dying down, and further conflict would not benefit anyone else. We offer ourselves as mediators between the two parties.

Franco Frattini
Foreign Minister
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[Lusitania]

Hoxe
o xornal número un de Galicia



Primeiro Ministro Convence Presidente a Convocar Referendo de Emerxencia.
Prime-Minister Convinces President to Summon Emergency Referendum

Prime-Minister Xosé Peréz met with the President of the Independent State of Galicia, Manuel Reynaldo today, in order to discuss the use of the presidential prerogative of summoning a referendum without the normal 3 month anticipation due to national emergency. After Peréz convinced President Reynaldo of the eminent danger coming from the aggressive stance of the People’s Republic of Lusitania.

‘The issue of reunification must be decided as soon as possible’ said Peréz ‘the People’s Republic is returning to its earlier days of threats and menace, and democratic Lusitania must stand up against the totalitarian regime in the south’. In the end, Reynaldo accepted, and scheduled the referendum on reunification to next week: ‘I know the parties won’t have time to prepare for campaigning, but that’s actually good – the campaign will be a good old fashioned exchange of words and ideas, without political meetings and party games’.

The Prime-Minister’s hurry has been criticized by nationalist parties. Xoán Bahamonde, of the Galician Nationalist Party, has said it was an ‘insidious attempt to deliver our hard-earned independence in a silver platter to Lumiar’. The Civic Junta, the main opposition party, though allied with the Socialists for a ‘yes’ in reunification, has been reserved in what concerns today’s audience.

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The President and the Prime-Minister

This climate of tension rose from the People’s Republic hostile reaction to the UFC’s decision to join the Republic. The communist regime in the south is currently transforming into a strange and syncretic Christian communist theocracy and has left the Lusitanian Union and is mobilizing its army, which has created great concern among our politicians.

 

[Lusitania]

Hoxe
o xornal número un de Galicia



Debate Tenso Nos Últimos Días de Campaña - Mañá Decídese o Destino da Nación
Tense Debate In the Last Days of the Campaign- Tomorrow, the Fate of the Nation is Decided

A day away from the decisive referendum that could make Galicia a part of the Republic of Lusitania, the debate is as tenser as ever. With Xosé Peréz, Prime-Minister and leader of the Socialist Party and Roberto Manuel, leader of the centre-right opposition Civic Junta, fighting side by side against the populist and charismatic campaign of Xoán Bahamonde, leader of the Galician Nationalist Party, who vehemently opposes the referendum, stating it is ‘an insult to ask the People if they want to lose sovereignty’ and repeating that Peréz and Manuel, two apologists of Galician independence in the past, are now ‘stabbing Galicia in the back’ and probably because of ‘promised political positions of some importance.’ He also stressed ‘Peréz’s hurry as a tactic to frighten the Galicians with the red menace’.

Although polls suggest that Bahamonde’s tactic is working, since tendency to vote for the ‘No’ is rising (30% last week, currently 39%), Peréz and Manuel argue that they were supporters of independence ‘in the submission context in which we lived under’. ‘Now’, say the two political leaders, ‘it is different’, since ‘Galician councils would function autonomously and without much interference from central power’. Pérez added that he had personally requested, during talks in Lumiar, that the linguistic rights of Galicia would remain untouched, and that all official documents in a Republic level would have to be in Portuguese and Galician. ‘The languages are quite similar and mutually intelligible, but it’s a question of cultural pride’. They also exposed more advantages, namely economic development due to increased commerce ties and business, and also more protection from eventual attacks from the People’s Republic – ‘the free people living North of the Lima cannot be subjugated by the yoke of totalitarism.’

Tomorrow, Galicia will decide its fate.

 

[Lusitania]

Hoxe
o xornal número un de Galicia



O Pobo Di 'Si' á Reunificación
The People Says 'Yes' to Reunification

Today, the people from Galicia expressed their wish for the future of Galicia, in a nation-wide referendum, which gave victory to one of the possible answers of the referendum – ‘yes, the Independent State of Galicia is to be dissolved and its Councils to join the Lusitanian Republic’. (the other was ‘no, Galicia should remain an independent state’).

Though the adherence to the ‘yes’ was expected to be bigger (63% of the electors voted favourably, compared to the expected 70-75% shown in the polls), the answer was unequivocal, and, since most of the electorate (71%) participated, the referendum is legally binding. The reasons pointed to this less favourable result of the ‘yes’ are probably the aggressive campaign from Xoán Bahamonde, leader of the Galician Nationalist Party and the allegations of unconstitutionality by some scholars. For example, Xorxe Mirandela, Constitutional Law professor in the University of Compostela, argued that it is ‘materially unconstitutional for a constitution to allow the dissolution of its own State’, while a colleague from his university, Octávio Paulo, responded saying that the Constitution of the Independent State of Galicia is ‘naturally temporary’, since it was made to be a ‘temporary guardian of Galicia’s freedom’ while the central Lusitanian State could not guarantee its autonomy.

Xosé Pérez delivered a speech in Plaxa da Liberdade, in A Coruña, where he stressed that the Galician people had only taken advantages from their decision. According to Pérez, this was a ‘good deal’, since Galicia will enter an ‘exciting new project of participative democracy’, ‘will make its economy grow through tighter trade ties’ and will get to remain autonomous and, furthermore, he said that he received a guarantee from the main parties in the Republic of Lusitania that Galician would have equal status to Lusitanian, and all official documents from the Republic will be bilingual. Also, Peréz revealed that Galicia will be one of the ‘Regions’ predicted in the Constitution of the Lusitanian Republic, the larger of them all, whose purpose is to ‘coordinate Council action in areas such as security, communications and social services’.

The 12 Concellos of Galicia will enter the Republic, with 10 remaining Concellos and with Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña as Free Cities (Gal. Cidade Libre). The other 10 Councils are Ferrol, Ourense, Tui, Valenxia, Viana do Castello, Lugo, Pontevedra, Finisterra, Pinos Verdes and Sil.

Despite many celebrations in the streets of Coruña or Compostela with people waiving Lusitanian and Galician flags side by side, there were also some protests in those cities, though the police managed to keep the crowds separated, with no reports of violence so far.

 

[Free Cities League]

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jornal oficial do partido comunista popular​

Pastor-Geral Discursa em Beja no Dia de S. João de Brito
Shepherd-General Speaks in Beja in the Day of St. John of Brito

Today, the People’s Catholic Christian Church has announced that its Saint-Protector, and hence, the Saint-Protector of Lusitania together with St. George the Dragon Slayer, will be St. John of Brito, one of the first Lusitanian Saints and, today, one of the most venerated.

Today, the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] of February, we celebrate his martyrdom in Vangala, when he was spreading the Christian faith. But, why St. John of Brito? He was born in Lumiar in 1604, member of a powerful noble family. However, a disease and a visit to one of Lumiar’s slums awakened him to the true nature of God’s revelation in History, and he renounced to all of his riches and titles, and to a promising diplomatic carreer, joined the Jesuits and embarked on a trip to Vangala. Thee, St. John of Brito learned the native languages, went about dressed in yellow cotton and living like a Hindu Kshatriya, abstaining from every kind of animal food and from wine. St. John de Brito tried to teach the Catholic faith in categories and concepts that would make sense to the people he taught. This method, met with remarkable success. Brito remained a strict vegetarian until the end of his life, rejecting meat, fish, eggs and alcohol, and living only on legumes, fruits and herbs. He was also a bold defender of the poor, the workers and the peasants, using the word of Christ to empower them. His empowerment of the working class was so effective that he convinced the ruler of the local Kingdom to join his efforts, and he too renounced riches and luxury, embarking in a conversion of his lands. However, angered by the revolutionary change happening in the local Kingdom, a rouge noble overthrew a fair regime on the making and decapitated John of Brito in February the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] 1645.

Shepherd-General Roberto Palma spoke on the Cathedral of Beja, now in renovation, of St. John of Brito and current events:

”Brothers, today we remember one of the many martyrs of spiritual liberation, one of those many who truly understood the message of Christ after the fall of the true Church, its institutionalization as official religion of the Tiburan Empire. This man is John of Brito, who renounced a comfortable life in the Royal Court to help the poor, the sick and the defenseless in Vangala. His mission ended in glory, with the ultimate martyrdom, beheaded by the forces of oppression! Today, once more do we, now the bearers of the true message of Christ, stand against the forces of oppression. The capitalist occupiers in the North have gathered all of their forces, annexing the Independent State of Galicia, home of St. James. Now, half of Lusitania is under the demonic sway of finance capitalism and the bourgeoisie of Lumiar, and we, always the poorer, always the underclass, always the neglected part of Lusitania, stand stronger as ever, prepared to defend our way of life, prepared to martyrdom! We must learn from John of Brito – sacrifice and martyrdom are worth it, are worth it as one more step towards the Kingdom of God and the Final Judgement!

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Shepherd-General Roberto Palma Speaking

Several masses in honour of the Saint are being held in Churches all across the People’s Republic.

 

[Lusitania]

O Primeiro de Janeiro​

A Nova Democracia: Concelhos Votam a sua Carta Foral
The New Democracy: the Councils Vote their Foral Charters


Since the inception of the new constitution of the Lusitanian Republic, our 79 Councils have been discussing, preparing and approving their Foral Charters (constitutions) vigorously, within the framework provided by the Constitution of the Lusitanian Republic. 34 of the 79 have already approved their Foral Charters, and wait for the Republic-wide approval of Foral Charters in order to make Council Elections possible.

All Councils held rudimentary elections to create a committee to prepare the legal text, being subject to the popular vote. As we know, Councils can work within various constitutionally-provided options – the first is the choice between being Council-Delegated (Concelho-Delegado) or Council-Semi-Delegated (Concelho Semi-Delegado – in the first model, compulsory for Councils with over 300,000 electors, the legislative works as virtual representative of the will of the Council, with Councilmen elected by civil parish (which becomes a more symbolic institution, more like an office of the Council in a certain village or township), in the second model, that is especially adequate for smaller Councils, there is also an elected legislative, but there is a special section in the Council Assembly for individual citizens to come, propose and impeach bills, discuss with the Councilmen and participate in the vote. Should the number of citizens be enormous, the Council will be held in an open space specially designated for the effect. The second option is between Council-President (Concelho-Presidente) and Council-Directory (Concelho-Directório) – in the former, the executive is formed by the designation of the leader of the victorious party as President of the Council, with him then choosing the members of the Council Executive, usually of his own party; in the latter, the Executive is formed by several Vereadores of different parties, reflecting the electoral choice. As for now, of the 34 Councils already with a Foral Charter, 15 have chosen the Council-Delegated (especially in those with higher population density) and 19 the Council-Semi-Delegated Model; 17 have chosen the Council-President model while the other 17 have chosen the Council-Directory model.

Within these 79 Councils, there are 10 Free Cities – Lumiar, Angra dos Reis, A Corunha, Santiago de Compostela, Braga, Guimarães, Covilhã, Trindade, Barreiro and Cernache. These Free Cities, having more than a million inhabitants, have a special status to avoid loss of quality of their democracy – they have to choose the Council-Delegated model, but the Councilmen are elected by the Assemblies of the Civil Parishes, which have much more power within Free Cities than in normal Councils.

Despite the harmonious momentum we can now witness, it is predictable that, when real political elections come, the democratic battle will take place within the walls of the Council Houses, not in Lumiar. It is already known that the three parties of the Democratic Alliance will not contest the Council Elections together, but Prime-Minister Augusto Morais assured that the Provisional Government ‘is committed to the lawful transition to a new democratic system’.

 

[Lusitania]

O Primeiro de Janeiro​

Com as Cartas-Forais Aprovadas, o Caminho Está Aberto Para as Primeiras Eleições Concelhias
With the Foral Charters Approved, the Way for Council Elections is Opened


With all of the Councils having approved Foral Charters, the ground is set for the first Council Elections within the framework of the new Constitution. These elections are meant to elect the Council legislatives and executives, and also for the Councils to elect their representatives in the Congress of the Republic, in order to dissolve the Provisional Assembly of the Republic and the Provisional Government. With the Democratic Alliance coalition broken up, these elections will be one of the most contested ever

With the final popular vote in the Council of Tabuaço, the process of the determination of the Councils’ political model was finished. Now, three weeks from today, elections await the Councils, and they’re up for grabs. The three parties that form the Provisional Government have agreed in a friendly dissolution of the Democratic Alliance coalition, and so, the Party of Freedom, the Liberal-Democratic Party and the National-Democratic Party will contest these elections by themselves, without prejudice of local coalitions. The three right-wing parties will have to face the Social-Democrats, the Social Union, the National Front and the Communist Party of the Republic of Lusitania.

The elections will be interesting since, in every Council, each party will debate and propose on issues local to the Council, campaigning, at the same time, in a national level, since it is possible for a citizen to elect a party to the legislative of a Council and another one for the representative in the Congress.

In what concerns national policy, the parties are presenting their alternatives:
Augusto Morais, current provisional Prime-Minister, campaigns for his Party of Freedom (Partido da Liberdade) on a free-market platform, aiming at ‘minimizing the welfare state’, leaving the decision to the Councils whether or not to deepen social policies. The PoF also made some promises of non-economic nature, such as, decriminalization of abortion and legalization of homosexual marriage. These last measures might cost some votes to the PoF in more rural and conservative Councils. However, Morais is also pushing for a Base-Law for Gun Ownership and Self-Determination, according to which most of the gun control laws would be revoked of relaxed, as would the prerequisites for legitimate self-defense.

Fernando Nogueira, leader of the National-Democrat Party (Partido Nacional-Democrata), wishes to preserve the status quo in what concerns social policy, only tightening rules for unemployment fund access, since it creates, for Nogueira, situations of ‘intolerable dependence and fraud’. The National-Democrats believe it is a ‘moral imperative’ to keep social assistance for the ‘truly needed’. They also presented a proposal for the Base Criminal Law, according to which abortion continues to be a crime and penalties for paedophilia, rape and other sexual crimes are more severe. As to cross-Lima relations, they pursue an aggressive policy, proposing the severing of all diplomatic links with the South. They gather a lot of support in rural councils, which might give them advantage in this new ‘first-past-the-post’ system.

The Liberal-Democratic Party (Partido Liberal-Democrático), under the leadership of Manuel Garcia, seems to feel a little regret for integrating the Democratic Alliance. It seems that the ‘first-past-the-post’ system was accepted with some reluctance, as they now propose some corrections to its vices, namely, the possibility of different Councils having a different number of representatives depending on their population. This might be due to the fact that the Liberals have most of their electorate in Free Cities, which puts them on a disadvantage compared to other smaller, more conservative Councils. They are currently pursuing, according to their proposed Base Criminal Law, the decriminalization of abortion and euthanasia, the controlled legalization of soft drugs and prostitution and the legal possibility for homosexual marriage and adoption.

The Social-Democrats (Partido Social-Democrata) under Isabel Tavares are making similar social proposals, as they also defend decriminalization of abortion and euthanasia, homosexual marriage and adoption and controlled legalization of soft drugs, though there is not an enough consensus concerning prostitution, especially in what concerns pimping. Economically, they propose deepened social policies in Councils which will elect the PSD, and want to propose to Congress the creation of an Unemployment Fund to combat rising unemployment (8%), especially among young graduates (23%), which Councils could access. They also propose a tax (Republic tax) raise among the wealthier, creating a new rate (38%) for those who make more than 120,000 a year, and raising to 32% the rate for the level between 80,000 and 120,000 a year. They also defend a friendly relationship with the People’s Republic.

Among the minor parties, we have the Social Union, which is absorbing the influences of Christian Socialism from the South, combining social policies with conservative leanings, rejecting the Council Democracy model. Who also rejects the new model is the National Front, a party composed by integralist remnants, with an aggressive foreign policy, economic autarky and xenophobic leanings as its main ideas. Finally, the Communist Party of the Lusitanian Republic, recently ostracized by the People’s Republic for rejecting the new Christian version of communism, is a bit disorganized, but with a new generation of members having study in Carentania, the PCLR seems to be inclined into a more Council Communist direction.

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