The Republic of the United States of Brazil (often simply referred to as Brazil) is a democratic state in South America.
Brazil borders the Oriental Republic of Uruguay to the south, the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Paraguay to the southwest; the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Peru to the west; the Republic of Colombia and its separatists to the northwest; the Republic of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and its puppet in Guiana-Cayenne to the north.
History[]
World War II (1939-1945)[]
During the course of the war, thanks to the Kriegsmarine's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, German submarines begin targeting Brazilian vessels, civilian or otherwise. While shipping attacks against Brazil were less common, they were much more devastating due to a lack of roads and rails in Brazil; thanks to the country's geography, the only way from Fortaleza and São Luis in the north to São Paulo and Rio de Janiero was by boat.
With common interests in fighting the Germans, the Brazillian government declared war on the German Reich on August 31st, 1942 and joined the allied powers, sending a expeditionary force known colloquially as the Cobras Fumantes (lit. "Smoking Snakes", reference to a supposed quote by Hitler) to fight alongside the allies. Stationed in Britain, the Smoking Snakes were on the front lines fighting against Operation Sealion in 1943, taking part in the Battle of Nottingham, which delayed the German advance long enough for American forces to organize a defensive line in Manchester and Leeds.
Despite their heroic fighting, the Smoking Snakes ultimately were fighting a losing battle in a foregone war, and when the FEB returned back to Brazil at end of the conflict in 1945, they were mostly shunned for their participation in the conflict.
Vargas era (1945-1949)[]
President since 1930, Getúlio Vargas continued his attempts at democratization under the principles of 'guided democracy'. His reign, however was continuously challenged by opposition and especially by the United States, which feared that Vargas, like other South American autocrats, could lean towards the Nazis and become fascist puppets in their backyard.
In late 1949, Carlos Lacerda, Vargas' foremost political opponent, survived an attempt on his life orchestrated by Vargas' personal bodyguards. Although Vargas neither ordered nor was aware of this action - the assassination was ordered by the chief of his bodyguard, not by Vargas himself - the Brazillian public, already disillusioned with the government, began calling for Vargas' resignation. With protests intensifying and radical socialists and fascist legions in Brazil beginning to groom radicalization from the instability, the Brazillian military chose in 1949 to intervene, ousting Vargas from office. Fearing a military dictatorship, however, Marshall Henrique Teixeira Lott, previously a general of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and a member of Vargas' inner circle, struck a deal with the military to hand power over to the civilian government, rather than the junta from ruling the country. In exchange, however, the military was allowed to push the "National Security laws" through parliament, banning communist and fascist parties from running in the elections.
Democracy in Brazil (1949-start date)[]
After this, Brazil saw a rise of many new political parties; the centrist PSD, leftist PTB, conservative UDN, and populist PSP. The first post-Vargas era election was won by Eduardo Gomes of the UDN, who focused on pushing Brazil closer to the OFN. His presidency is generally considered successful but is criticized for lack of interference into the military and rising corruption.
In 1955, Juscelino Kubitschek of the PSD won the election, however, Carlos Lacerda and Plínio Salgado do not recognize the election as legitimate, with both groups planning coups against the government. Marshall Lott, minister of war at the time, however, moved in to disturb their plans. After this, Lott's popularity grew and began to be known as a defender of democracy all throughout Brazil. In the 1960 election, Marshal Lott running in a coalition of the PSD and PTB wins.
In-game[]
parliamentary elections GUI
Army[]
At the start of the game, Brazil possesses 1 elite infantry division, 6 infantry divisions, 4 light infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, 1 marine division, 1 motorized infantry division, and 3 tank divisions. At 18 starting divisions, this makes Brazil's military the 3rd strongest in South America, only behind Argentina and Chile (which is technically second to last on the continent, as these three and Guyana are the only countries to possess a starting military).
Politics[]
Four regions and Trans-Amazonian Highway GUI
Brazil politics are dominated by the PSD, PTB, UDN, PSP, and PRP, though the player will have to deal with parliamentary elections, where they can choose to campaign for the party of their choosing (except for the PRP, possibly due to their irrelevancy).
Development[]
At game start, Brazil is still a developing nation. The player can accelerate the development by using development edicts on one of four regions (Amazonia cannot be developed in any way). Encouraging migration increases the population of the region and gives the player more building slots. Sponsoring industry will boost industry growth in the region, and give the player a small boost to their GDP. Subsidizing mechanization will boost the mechanization rate of the region and give the player a small boost to the GDP growth. Requisitioning assets will damage the region's industry growth and Brazil's GDP, but will give the player an influx of cash. Each time an edict is taken, the next one can be taken only after 60 days.
Trans-Amazonian Highway[]
Edicts
The Trans-Amazonian Highway is a Brazilian plan to connect Amazonia to the rest of the country, while also providing easier access to Colombia and Peru. The highway will be completed by a set percentage each year. The player can spend 10 political power and 2 production units to accelerate the highway's completion. During the game, scripted events will pop up, significantly decreasing the yearly completion of the road.
Lott-Quadros power struggle[]
President Lott and Vice President Quadros have promised to work together despite their differences. Their influence and relationship can be changed with; events, focuses, or decisions. If Quadros gets too much influence, and the relationship has collapsed, Lott will Resign. If Quadros manages to convince the Senate, he will be made the president of Brazil, if he fails, the "100 days crisis" will occur.
Power struggle GUI
100 days crisis[]
After Quadros is rejected by the Senate, Brazil enters a period with no de facto leadership. The military then threatens that if the Senate won't elect a president in the next 100 days, it will intervene. The Senate will have to choose between 4 candidates; João Goulart, Adhemar de Barros, Juscelino Kubitschek, and Carlos Lacerda. Brazil will enter a transitional authority, and the player will be given a focus tree all about building influence for either of the four candidates. A candidate which will have more than 50% influence after 100 days will be elected by the Senate as the new president, if no one has 50% after 100 days, the military led by Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco will coup the government.
Trivia[]
- The origins of the name "Smoking Snakes" for the Brazillian Expeditionary Force is often subject to debate. Some claim its origin to be from an expression regarding how long it took the unit to prepare. ("Until snakes start smoking.") Others trace the origin to a claim Hitler made that Brazil would never join the war. ("Snakes will smoke before Brazil joins the war")
- Getúlio Vargas, who ruled Brazil as a dictator from 1930 to 1946, is still alive at the start of the game (but can't become leader), whereas in real life, he committed suicide in 1954 after he became indirectly linked to a failed assassination attempt of Carlos Lacerda.
- Brazil originally did not have any content planned, and instead, content for it was added in the "Cold Southern Springs" submod. Because the devs of the submod and the main dev team got along, and it did not conflict with the lore, the submod was eventually incorporated into the main mod.
- Before this, the country was a liberal democracy under Juscelino Kubitschek. After the submod's integration, Kubitschek can still lead Brazil under certain circumstances.
