Governance
The Congressionalist Government of Prime Minister Bayon had a quiet and modestly productive few months in office.
Then they had to present a budget for the 1942/43 fiscal year.
The budget had been planned as a "stay-the-course" document, with no substantial new funding or new programs. The February budget address itself was full of platitudes and cliches, and the public at large did not seem greatly interested. Headlines in major newspapers were along the lines of, "New Budget Not Really New".
This proved to be a problem for the various parties and independent members in Congress, who wished to see their own agendas captured in the budget, wanted certain other agendas left out, and - most importantly - controlled more than half of the seats.
National Restoration made clear that it was voting against the budget, hands down. The Marina was being gutted, the nation was making no impression on the world stage, and the Congressionalists had (allegedly) basically frittered away nine months since the election.
Peru First expressed significant reservations about the budget. The party believed that too much investment was going into the military, and not enough into basic infrastructure problems, particularly linkages between the densely populated coast and the isolated interior.
Peruvian Workers and the Marxists both agreed that the budget was a dismissal of the legitimate concerns of workers, peasants, and poor people across the nation. Military funding was a ploy to ensure that industrialists had the force of arms necessary to cow the population from seeking their just economic deserts. The two parties also managed to trade barbs with each other about which party would stand taller for the working masses, thereby ensuring that both would vote firmly against the budget.
The Progressives were generally satisified with the budget, but made some noises about social issues, such as education and the status of uncontacted Indian tribes in the interior.
Of the independent candidates, the two sitting with the government were not at all interested in rocking the boat, and the third was tuned out, given that the math in any kind of whipped vote would make his yea or nay irrevelant.
Prime Minister Bayon dealt with the Progressives first. The budget was amended to include some additional educational programs targeting basic literacy and numeracy. The Department of the Interior was provided with additional funding to research (from a distance) the uncontacted tribes.
For Peru First, the Prime Minister proposed to improve river ports and establish some basic airstrips in interior. He also promises to fund the conversion of the Ferrocaril Huancayo-Huancavelica to standard guage and marks additional monies to re-examine the long-proposed and long-stalled extension of the Ferrocarril Central del Peru to the river port of Pucallpa. Peru First stated it was prepared to abstain in return for these measures, which was good enough for the Prime Minister.
In the end, the budget passes by a measure of 52-48, with Peru First abstaining and one Congressionalist back-bencher absent due to medical issues.