Perón Quits! 11/22/18

Miranda, 42nd NCL Congress

On the eve of the second day of the 42nd Congress of the National Confederation of Labor, General Secretary Leon Silas de Perón of the Waguanian Worker's Front honorably resigned his post as democratic head of state before the People's Commissariat, ahead of the expiration of his second term next year. The venerated former union boss and labor organizer cited his fiance's illness and advancing age as the prime factors of his resignation, but all Commissars and Deputies present were well-aware that he was seeking to distance himself from public blame for the recent spate of attacks perpetrated by the terrorist Sovereignist Movement, or Integralismo. Comrade Jabcovsky, Chairman of the People's Commissariat and Deputy Secretary of the WWF, known for her fiery disposition and sympathies toward the Anarquistas, publicly applauded Perón for his actions and met quickly with Guzman and the Communists to discuss their plan of action in the interim government.

Per the Waguanian Constitution, Deputy Jabcovsky was immediately appointed by the NCL as acting General Secretary of the WWF for at least the remainder of Perón's term, and is expected to reaffirm her public mandate next year by plebiscite; in the hours following the snap resignation, the Anarquistas and the Communists formed a coalition to appoint the ambitious Maurice Bolívar, the young heir to the Communist Party, as the new Chairman of the Commissariat. The appointment was arguably a larger shock to the populace than the former GenSec's resignation, especially considering Nestor Guzman's seniority in the Communist Party and Bolívar's firebrand rhetoric; Guzman cited his personal comfort in remaining leader of the Communists and the need for visionary change from Waguania's next generation as the primary reasons for the appointment. Jabcovsky promptly confirmed Comrade Bolívar as the new Chairman of the Commissariat and nominated him as her first Deputy Secretary.

With Perón's approval slowly dipping over the past few months due to the lack of action in response to the Sovereignists and increasing belligerence from Valencia across the sea, public reaction to the change in government was quite welcome overall, though some of the more orthodox syndicalist communes immediately recalled their Commissars for rejecting the status quo of the WWF. Still, Comrades Jabcovsky and Bolívar enjoy a comfortable majority in the WWF and foresee no serious risk of a direct ballot referendum until next year's elections.

It remains to be seen what the new coalition of Anarquistas and Communists will achieve in the NCL, though the further centralization of the trade unions and an increase in the budget of the Revolutionary Guard to combat the Sovereignists have been cited as priority items for the next Congressional agenda.

"The spirit of co-operation will steer Waguania towards prosperity," Chairman Bolívar stated. "It always has."