Relatively Homogeneous population with about 7% total minorities.
Literacy Rate: Less than 60%
Economy: Your country is one of the poorest in the continent. GDP has been negative in the last few years as you have been entangled in civil war for over 10 years. There are serious health concerns in some part of the country because of poor access to doctors and health care.
Your country has been free of European colonialism for nearly two hundred years. This, however, did not do much to change the place. Throughout your first 100 years you were basically in constant war with your neighbors and your most stable institutions were the Army and the Catholic Church. So your country has been basically dominated by a succession of dictators, some more infamous than others—you have experienced democratic elections only briefly.
The most despicable dictator you’ve had was probably the one that started ruling the country about sixty years ago. This guy—we’ll call him Roberts—brought order to the country, but also used the place like his personal ATM. You literally could not go to this country without giving him your money because he owned the airline, the hotels, the coffee companies, etc. His empire was estimated to be about a $1 billion a year business. Although dictator Roberts was assassinated, his legacy continued because power was passed on to his sons—first Luis who died of a heart attack about twenty years ago, and then James. Given their incompetent rule and hard-handed tactics, an armed rebellion of leftist revolutionaries began in the country, which eventually succeeded.
About eleven years ago, the popular Leftist Revolution toppled the last dictator Roberts and began to try to rescue the country from crushing poverty. Although dictator Roberts was no longer in the country, however, there were many people faithful to him who began a right-wing counterrevolution. This counterrevolution prevented the original revolutionaries from opening up the country or creating stable institutions (at least that’s the explanation given) with a continued civil war that was at times backed by the United States. About a year ago, the stalemate, led the original leftist revolutionaries to agree to open up the country to free and fair elections. These elections resulted in the choosing of a center-right woman as President. The leftist revolutionaries have claimed loudly that they will respect the outcome, and will work diligently to improve the country through peaceful means.
What do you think? Is this a watershed for the country? And will it result in a democracy or not? Will it be immediate? Why or why not?
Sample Solution