WesWorld

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.

Naval News

Peru becomes the latest South American navy to deploy aircraft carriers as the Lima is handed over in a ceremony at Taranto, Italy. The carrier is expected to remain in Italian waters, working up, for three to six months.

The ship's acquisition has been marginally controversial. Some politicians have argued that it adds a new and complicated weapons system without having any "depth" in the form of a second ship. Others have noted that the ship is two knots slower than the MdG's large cruisers, presenting an inter-operational issue. Some of these latter critics have pointed to the ex-Filipino Sulu as a better carrier, but the government has shut down that line of argument by noting that Sulu was not known to be available at the time.

Italy has been training the ship's fledgling air group since the beginning of the year. At this point, approximately twenty pilots are deck-qualified, and another twenty or so should be certified by the time the carrier's shakedown cruise is completed. Consequently, the Lima will not ship anything close to her full capacity for some time. General expectations are that she will begin by fielding perhaps eight Caproni Ariete fighter-bombers, eight Breda BA.67 torpedo-bombers, and four Cierva R1 autogyros - all of which can be stowed in the hanger to allow for a clear flight deck during pilot training.

The new light cruiser Amazonas begins trials in mid-July following her completion at Callao. She is the fourth and last of a series of German-designed large light cruisers to enter MdG service in recent years. It is generally expected that she will be assigned as the major escort to the Lima.

The battleships Atahualpa and Manco Capac have been mostly laid-up since the announcement of their sale to China. That hand-over is not taking place until the end of the year, but significant portions of the two ship's complements have been poached to form crews for Lima and Amazonas in particular. The cruiser Callao, though operational, has taken on a training function as the existing Arequipa (ex-Ancash) can not turn out enough new qualified sailors to meet current demands.

Construction is now underway on three new destroyers, with five more expected to be laid down over the next eighteen months. The MdG has been critically low on destroyers for some time, forcing use of the Ancon-class torpedo-boats in the role - a role for which they are somewhat under-sized. The MdG figures sixteen destroyers - plus four to six heavy destroyers - are the miniumum necessary to effectively screen the fleet's major units.

Meanwhile, rejuvenation of the Peruvian submarine force continues as the fourth unit of the P-6 class is laid down. These mid-ranged boats have six torpedo tubes and ten reload weapons, and will be a significant part of the MdG's defensive strategy. Current projections suggest another nine boats are to be laid down over the next three years.