Maya Grand Council (Superpowers)

The Mayan Grand Council is the primary Parliament, or legislative body of the Tlahtocaque Maya. It is a unicameral body with the ability to propose and put new legislation into law, reevaluate old laws, and veto the powers of the Federal King when an 80% majority is achieved. Most importantly though, whenever a Federal King dies the next one is elected from out of his surviving male family members (and females since 1710) by popular vote of the Grand Council. Although the supreme power wielded by the king might make parliament seem unnecessary, the king usually requires their consent to make laws and especially to enact fiscal policy. This is mostly due to the cultural importance of Parliament, kind of a reversal of the situation in OTL European monarchies.

Members of the Council are known simply as Magistrates, each one representing one of the 900 Mayan City-States (Altepetl) that make up the main Conglomerate territory. All Magistrates are equally important, not even the Magistrate of Teotihuacan receives any special rights or abilities. In fact, to the Mayans, the only actual distinction that makes Teotihuacan its capital is that it is the seat of the Federal King. Several major cities actually have a Parliament building and although the one in Teotihuacan is the largest and probably the most used, there is nothing in law that puts it above the others. This is just one way in which Columbian politics differ from European and Asian politics.

This isn't to say that the Columbians haven't received a lot of influence from the foreigners. Even the Mayan word for Magistrate, Magestahl, has come to resemble the Latin Magistrassis. One of the primary ways in which the Conglomerate shows a Roman influence is with the position of Tribune of the Mexicans founded in 1792. The Tribune (Twekun) is elected by popular vote of all 100 Mexican Magmagestah (the plural) and given very similar abilities to the Ancient, and Modern, Roman Tribunes. Only the King is exempt from this influence, to an extent anyways. When a vote is taken to oppose the action of the King the Tribunes opposition counts for 45 votes (5%) against the monarch.

The legislative leader, who officially enact Councilor legislation and represents the Grand Council before the King is the President (Prasidlaca). The Prasidlaca is elected every 6 years by popular vote of the Council, with any Magistrate being eligible for the position. Aside from having the formal power to enact legislation from the Council, he has no ability to refuse to enact it or else risk being impeached. Popular Praprasidlak (pl.) have however managed to block some legislation, but only at great risk to their position.

Major Parties
Technically speaking, like in most Parliaments, there are no actual political organizations. However, nearly everyone in Parliament has some kind of affiliation and these kind of people usually work together towards their common goals. There are effectively only four of these major groups.

The first, and currently the strongest, are the Royals or Royalists. They are in support of the interests of the Federal King and act kind of like his representatives in the Council. As might be expected, Magistrates with a known Royal sympathy would have slightly more trouble than others to get elected in their respective State. In Mayan society though they're not actually disliked, as the people do still have a strong liking of the monarch. Only in times of great peril, such as the recent Third World War, when a strong central government is needed, do Royalists have the chance to get a majority. Such is the case right now after the last war and coming into the recent recession of 1999.

One of the two groups that are most popular in stable times are the Populists, who look after the interests of the people of the Conglomerate and try to enact legislation to ameliorate their lives, sometimes at the cost of the government or the economy. They are usually the biggest spenders, but when they are "in power" as it were, are usually able to get the most good done. The last time a Populist was elected President of the Grand Council was in the 60's, when the people became disinterested in extravagant government programs like the Mars Mission that seemed only to arrive at failure.

The other major group is the Syndicalists, the ones who look after the interests of the economy, and as they say, the country itself. They're goals center around fiscally stimulative measures, maintaining a strong government treasury and keeping the economy functioning without any issues. They are the second group who usually takes power during stable times, but usually only when the people are especially supportive of the government and its actions. As well, a Syndicalist President usually comes into power following the end of recessions, and it is believed that in the next Federal and State elections in 2000, Syndicalists will probably make up the majority of Magistrates and have one of their own elected President.

The last major group, the one which rarely comes into power, and is therefore considered the largest minor party, is the Parliamentarians. They work to serve the interests of the government and, as they also say, the country. They support large spending as well, but usually on social infrastructure that helps numerous people at once, unlike the social plans of the Populists. They have almost never taken power, but due to their occasional support of the Populists, and the unofficial "coalitions" between the two (though with no official parties its more of a moral coalition), Parliamentarians have occasionally taken center stage.

Using OTL Canadian parties as comparisons, the Syndicalists are like the "Progressive Conservatives", the Populists are like the "Liberals" and the Parliamentarians are like the "NDP". The Royalists on the other hand are somewhat like a combination of the two, almost something of an "emergency party", good when the power of the King should be uninterrupted by Parliament.