Latin America Project
Ryan Albrecht
What groups are involved, who had the power??
At the begginning of this very heated game the groups involved were the guerillas, the guatemalan goverment, the army and wealthy, the USA, and the peasents. The army and wealthy started off with the most military strength units, 200, but you had to remember that the USA is the strongest and most powerful nation in the world. The guerillas and USA both started off with 60 MSUs, reasonably powerful groups. The goverment had 20 MSUs and the peasents started off with 0. Since the USA is the most powerful nation in the world and had a good amount of MSUs evryone would be trying to get on their good side.
How the balance of power shifted and why?
In the first month the army and wealthy still had the most power, but the newly formed GGG was on the rise. The GGG is a combination of the guerillas and the Guatemalan goverment. Before the GGG the guerillas were gaining power on their own. They made a deal with Cuba that allowed the guerillas to gain 60 MSUs. With the guerillas on the rise the goverment decided to koin them to make a powerful group. However, while the GGG was forming the USA and the army and wealthy formed an alliance. The next month the power shifted to the GGG because of MSUs gained from a peasent joining. With the power shifted to the GGG they used to take over card. With the new form of goverment the power was equivlent among all groups. However, even though the guerillas took over, the USA and the army and wealthy cooperation was a risk to the new leaders. A USA takeover was a concern for the new goverment.
How was cooperation and conflict shown in the game?
At the very beginning of the game conflict and cooperation between groups occured. One of the first cooperations between two groups resulted in a merger. The cooperation between the Guatemalan goverment and the guerillas became so strong they merged MSUs and became the GGG(Guetemalan guerilla goverment). While the goverment was in negotiations with the guerillas the USA was forming cooperation with the army and wealthy. This also caused a conflict between the army and wealthy and the GGG. The USA also had a conflict with the guerillas. The conflict between the USA and the GGG resulted in an attack on the USA in month 2. The attack was succesful and the conflict with the USA and the army and wealthy was now greater for the guerillas. The peasents were mostly sided with the army and wealthy, but they did not have a huge impact on the conflict and cooperation between groups. The conflict between the army and wealthy and the GGG was like 2 people competing for a starting football position. One group or person wanted to better and stronger than the person, and gain the outright lead. This would show everyone they have the power, which is exactly what happens on a football field. Two people fight for a job, both people want to be better than the other, and the winner becomes the outright leader. The cooperation between groups was similar to an entire football team. Alone they aren't much, but when they all come together they create a stronger and more powerful group.
What role did the USA have on the simulation?
The USA was like the big brother in the simulation. You could be on your own and do the things you wanted but when you do something they don't like they can come in and make it the way they want. The USA is the most powerful nation in the world and when they don't like something they can go in and make it the way they want it to be. The USA has done this in the countries of Syria and Vietnam. They also did this in the simulation. First off, there was a former conflict between the GGG and the USA. Second, the USA did not support the goverment the GGG formed, communism. The USA has never liked communism, which is reason we attacked Vietnam. After the attack was launched on Guatemala we were overtaken and the goverment was in the USA's control. So, the USA didn`t like something, so they came in and fixed it. Just like a big brother does with a younger sibling.
What happens to a country when power shifts, is the effect positive or negative?
When the power in a country shifts, there is positive and negative effects in the country. A positive effect that occur is getting a better form of goverment than before. For example, if you have a tyrant dictator and the power shifts and forms a democracy, this would most likely be a positive result for the country. This has recently happened in countries such as Libya, Egypt and Iraq. Power shifting like this occurs in the NFL all the time. If a head coach is not doing well and the players are not happy, he gets fired and the power shifts to the new coach. This would most likely result in a positive result for the team. A negative effect when the power is shifted in a country is that many people could be unhappy with the new form of goverment, or unhappy that the goverment is changing in the first place. This could result in a war in the country which would have a negative effect on the country. So, when power shifts in a country there can be positive and negative effects on the country.
Apply this information to your life
One example of cooperation in my life is on the football field. To have a good team there must be cooperation among all of the players on the team. Everyone might not be friends off the field, but on the field we all cooperate together to reach our full potential. This relates to the simulation because groups of people like the guerillas have to cooperate together if want to have any chance of overhtrowing the goverment. One example of conflict in my life is with my sister. One conflict is when we have to decide who gets the TV. This is usually decided by yelling and a lot of conflict. This relates to the game because groups do not always agree with eachother and arguments and battles occur between them.