2023 Danzilonan coup d'état attempt

2023 Danzilonan coup d'état attempt
Socialist Unity Coalition tank occupies the courtyard of FWCD's town hall
Date 5-6 March 2023 Location Danzilona Result Coup d'état failed Self-exile of coup plotters Cancellation of junta-introduced reforms Amnesty for Red_Steel
Belligerents
Socialist Unity Coalition Socialist Party of Danzilona (Bonapartist) The Workers' Party	Free Workers' Cooperative of Danzilona New Swisston Anti-junta protestors
Commanders and leaders
Des23 SandFalls Red_Steel	Azelair lone22wolf Lowtuff

The 2023 Danzilonan coup d'état attempt, also known as the Socialist Unity Coalition coup d'état or Operation Resurgo, was a coup attempt that took place in Danzilona between 5 and 6 March 2023 on CivMC. It started in the UTC morning hours of 5 March 2023 when the Socialist Unity Coalition, headed by Des23, SandFalls and Red_Steel, announced the completion of 'Operation Resurgo' which put a Socialist Unity Coalition junta into power and started the process of reform within Danzilona in line with the SUC Manifesto. The SUC Manifesto imposed the expulsion of most of New Swisston and its leader, Lone22wolf, from Danzilona, annulled the concordat between Danzilona and the Church of Ranubis, introduced a new citizenship system, nationalized most infrastructure in Danzilona and introduced the position of Chairperson as an executive position. Despite initial success, the junta failed to secure the support of the Danzilonan public and was officially overthrown on 6 March 2023 after an announcement by Azelair.

Background

January 2023 reforms

January 2023 Danzilona saw a wave of reforms. On 9 January 2023 the nation voted in a referendum to replace its republican system of governance with a workers' cooperative system. These cooperatives are open to the public, any citizen of Danzilona can join one, and each specializes in a specific portfolio. On the same day the nation voted to replace the old name of Free Danzilonan Republic and started the process of choosing a new name.

The first iteration of the cooperative system was implemented 19 January 2023 however it was immediately met with problems. First, the acting officers of the old republican government were inactive and no call to join the cooperatives was issued officially, second, Danzilona was thrown into a constitutional crisis over a referendum to change the nation's name. The 1st referendum on the name change on 23 January 2023 ended in a tie between the old name and the Free Workers' Cooperative of Danzilona. A 2nd referendum was held on 28 January 2023 however its results were postponed until 4 February 2023 due to a legal challenge over the name change was moved by Lone22wolf. After the legal challenge was resolved in favor of holding an instant runoff on the name change referendum, the Free Workers' Cooperative of Danzilona became the official name of the nation on 4 February 2023.

For most of the time between 19 January and 4 February 2023 the first iteration of the cooperative system showed little results and most of the cooperatives were empty or inactive. This prompted a proposal for a second iteration of cooperatives which were proposed on 14 February 2023 and were approved on 22 February 2023. The latter date marks the true beginning of the cooperative system in Danzilona.

Dissent in New Swisston

Since the original referendum on changing the national name and replacing the system of governance, most opposition to these reforms came from New Swisston and the Church of Ranubis which holds a lot of influence in the territory. The leader of the Church of Ranubis, Lone22wolf, publicly refused to join any cooperative citing Danzilona's alleged "descent into communism". New Swisston also continued to use its institutions and private enterprises which often competed with Danzilonan cooperatives. DanzRail, a private company owned by Lone22wolf, refused to give up ownership of the Colonial Express and North Line to the Division for Infrastructural Assembly & Maintenance Over National Domain (DIAMOND), and the February 2023 Census of Danzilona was started by the Danzilonan Census Bureau, another private company of Lone22wolf.

Following the official name change to FWC Danzilona, talks were started in New Swisston on a possible independence referendum and a wider debate on federalization in Danzilona was also started by Lone22wolf. Both of these proposals were perceived negatively in the wider Danzilonan public however garnered some support in New Swisston and New Melonwood.

Coup

Announcement and SUC manifesto

The Socialist Unity Coalition announced their takover alongside their manifesto in the morning UTC hours of 5 March 2023. The SUC claimed the goal of the junta was to "unilaterally update, correct, or abolish archaic laws and policies holding Danzilona back from a brighter, more egalitarian future." The junta took control over namelayer perms and Discord roles and quickly started to cleanse them of individuals which were deemed reactionary. All infrastructure within Danzilona was nationalized with the exception of the Colonial Express which was under the control of the private company DanzRail. A new 3-tier citizenship system was implemented which sorted citizens into different categories based on their activity. The SUC manifesto also introduced a new office to Danzilona - the Chairperson. The role of the Chairperson was to enforce decisions made by cooperatives and oversee their work.

The initial announcement from the Socialist Unity Coalition stated that these reforms were meant to stay in place indefinitely, however the continued existence of the junta was to be put to a vote on 1 May 2023.

Expulsion and partition of New Swisston

One of the biggest announcements by the Socialist Unity Coalition was that of the partition and expulsion of New Swisston. Under the SUC manifesto, New Swisston was to be given independence in its FWC Danzilona borders with the exception of farms in the north, which were to remain part of Danzilona under the name North Swisston, and the ice farm to the east which was to be shared by Danzilona and New Swisston. With the expulsion of New Swisston, the junta also announced the end of the Church of Ranubis Concordat, a document which grants the Church of Ranubis special status within Danzilona and regulates relations between them. Alongside the repeal of the CoR Concordat, Lone22wolf was stripped of Danzilonan citizenship. The SUC claimed this was due to the Church of Ranubis' history of harassing believers of other faiths, shooting down legislation and scheming to declare New Swisston independence.

New Swisston leaders were subsequently demoted in Danzilonan namelayer groups which led to them not being able to enter some buildings.

Anti-Junta movement

As it became afternoon UTC hours, many Danzilonan oldfriends-some previously inactive for months prior to the coup- began to wake up and immediately denounce the junta, with some calling it "anti-Danz" and "bullying." Anti-junta Danzilonans TheTrackball, Ninjajackh12, and Lowtuff joined previously pro-junta Danzilonan Azelair in making a channel to coordinate anti-junta actions in the Discord server previously used for Civcraft 3.0 and Provincia. Upon catching wind of this resistance, SandFalls locked Track and ninja out of FWCD's storage room while they were in it. After some Danzilonan re-added them to the room's door groups, Track headed to the Danzilonan nether portal in an attempt to replace its infrastructure-which he wasn't sure he was still in control of or not- with infrastructure of his own. He attempted to enlist Cortesian Yodabird19 in this effort, but upon arrival, yoda actually deconstructed Track's infrastructure with the help of Red Steel, prompting Track to return to Danzilona's capital.

Fall of the SUC junta

Although the anti-junta movement did little materially to stop the coup besides burn some flags, the coup's unpopularity among the Danzilonans was almost universal. Danzilonans who the SUC thought would be allies of the junta-such as Azelair, architect of the cooperatives, and ViktorHr, socialist leader of New Melonwood- actually opposed the coup and contributed to its undermining. Most Danzilonans dismissed or minimised the concerns raised in the SUC Manifesto. Under mounting pressure, with no allies and increasing concern among Danzilona's neighbour Nara over how the coup was going to affect the upcoming Nara-Danzilona Olympics, Des23 withdrew her involvement from the junta, handed over primary ownership of Danzilonan infrastructure groups, and abandoned Danzilona altogether. As a last-ditch effort, The Workers' Party took full control of the junta and declared the Socialist Republic of Danzilona. However, this, too, was short-lived, and SandFalls also abandoned Danzilona. Red Steel tentatively remained a Danzilonan citizen, but she stepped down from her position as foreign representative of Danzilona and relocated her main residence to the Arsenio Pact. By the end of the day on Monday, March 6th, the coup was declared a failure, the Socialist Unity Coalition was dissolved, and the three coup plotters were banned from the Danzilona subreddit.

Activation of the Lowtuff Clause

During the coup, Danzilonan oldfriend Lowtuff attempted to act as a mediator between the junta and the anti-junta movement, though they themselves were personally opposed to the coup. In an attempt to unite the community after being given ownership of the Danzilona Discord server by Red_Steel, Lowtuff facetiously declared themselves to be in full control of Danzilona and changed the name of the Discord server to "Danzilowtuff." In-game, however, things largely returned to business as usual albeit three citizens shorter than before.

Aftermath

Since the end of the junta, the Danzilonans have continued to struggle in organising their namelayer permissions. Despite the fact that primary ownership was transferred to multiple current Danzilonan citizens, Namelayer retains the new owner's previous group permissions, many of whom only held member or moderator permissions.

No criminal charges were ever brought against SUC leaders Des23, SandFalls, or Red_Steel, who all moved to Cortesia Del Mar, Proxima, or the Arsenio Pact, respectively.

The Nara-Danzilona Olympics were successfully held between March 10th and March 12th without major incident.

Two weeks after the coup, Red_Steel was officially exonerated from her role in it under the condition that she would transfer any remaining Danzilonan infrastructure groups to "neutral parties."