Antillean independence movement
The Antillean independence movement, also referred to as the Antillean nationalist movement is a political movement in the Antilles that advocates for the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Antillean nation state, opposed to American unification and the current status quo in Cross-Sea relations.
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The political status of the Antilles has long been ambiguous. The United Commonwealth currently recognizes the Antilles as a continental republic. The government of the Antilles, currently led by Arian Lawrence, maintains that the Antilles is already an independent nation as the United Commonwealth of America and does not need to formally push any declaration of independence. As such, the UCA constituting the Antillean islands (Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) already conducts official relations with, and is recognized by, a number of League of Nations member states.
Although the use of "independence" can be interpreted as ambiguous, the Antillean independence movement generally believes in the declaration of an independent and sovereign Antillean nation state and the disestablishment of the United Commonwealth of America and its claim to the American Mainland. Proponents of Antillean independence argue that the Antilles continuing to operate as the United Commonwealth of America is no longer viable, as reclamation of the mainland under the UCA has been logistically and politically impossible since the Great War. Along with that, proponents argue that the continued existence of the United Commonwealth of America is harmful for the Antilles internationally, as it is an unrecognized state that is unable to seek the support of, or protection of, other nations from Continental aggression.
The Antillean independence movement has had a long history within the nation, but its current form first appeared in 1983, during the Antillean Constitutional Convention, where a notable group of convention delegates advocated for the establishment of an independent Antillean nation state. Although this push had failed, the idea of an independent Antilles became popular with many Antilleans, and became an official ideology of a number of political parties. In the modern era, Antillean independence is supported by the Civic Democratic Party, as a contrast to the Federalist Party, which seeks to retain the United Commonwealth of America and its claim to the American Mainland.
The government of the United Commonwealth of Continental States (UCCS) opposes Antillean independence as it maintains the claim that the Antilles and the American Mainland comprise two separate portions of one single nation. Since the early 1970s, the United Commonwealth has conducted a "One-America policy", where in order to conduct relations and business with the Continental States, foreign nations must all diplomatic relations with, and sovereign recognition to, the Antilles.
Background
Current political situation in the Antilles
Currently, the Antilles has continued to operate as a partially recognized state within its ambigious political status, one in which informal relations between the island state and other countries can be conducted through trade relations as layed out during the 1998 Saint Anthony Conference. As of 2022, only ten countries recognize the Antilles as an independent state and have formal diplomatic ties as a whole. While diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state and formal denounciation of Continental claims to both the Antilles and the region as a whole are the main goals of the federal government and Antillean foreign policy, said recognition has been viewed by modern independence advocates as a greater reason to declare independence citing to long process it took to acquire recognition and a sign that the Antilles must make major changes to be fully accepted into the international community as all states that currently recognize the Antilles have done so due to past or present support for anti-Landonism, anti-Continentalism and/or opposition towards the Continental States and its allies.
Due to democratic reforms, the Antillean independence movement has been able to gain significant support from large parts of the Antillean population and is one of the nation's biggest political movements with it being a recurring focal point in modern Antillean political discourse and discussion. The Civic Democratic Party is currently the only major national political party advocating for proclaiming independence, a stance that was seen in the previous parties that existed before the enactment of the Unity plan and the party's formal establishment in 2017, in contrast to the continued opposition from the Federalist Party that has continued even after the death of Amelia Abarough in 1983.
Internationally, Antillean independence has garned both supporters and opponents alike in other countries, especially in the Conference of American States where many CAS political leaders, parties, affiliated organizations, prominent officials and others have stated their support for the movement with many claiming that it would be instrumental in allowing the Antilles to apply for full membership, a process that is improbable due to its current ambigious political status.
Legal basis for Antillean independence
Responses
Support for Independence
Domestic
Generally, the Civic Democratic Party is one of the biggest supporters of Antillean independence in general with large factions in the party openly supporting independence and identifiying as Antillean nationalists. Several other political organizations and advocacy groups also advocate for independence as well. Proponents argue that due to the Antilles and the Continental States being a century old, the differences in societal, social, political, and ideological development has made it so that neither side is remotely capable of governing the territory of one another. Proponents of independence highlight that such differences make any possible re-established American Commonwealth would be unpheasable given these major ideological differences, especially how deeply ingrained Landonism is in Continental society and politics and that said differences have effectively established two seperate, contrasting nations that can only coexist as separate sovereign states within the Caribbean as neither of them is capable of properly governing the other's territory.
Despite claims made by opponents of independence, pro-secession activists cite the Continental government's official opposition towards independence as proof that Antillean indepnedence has no ties to Landonism nor a desire to legitimize it. The Landintern's opposition and that from other communist and socialist organizations has also been cited and is used to argue that independence would be just as much, if not a greater act of defiance towards the Continental States than maintaining the current status-quo.
Notable organizations that advocate for independence includes the Nationalist Caucus, a caucus in the House of Representatives that supports Antillean nationalism and independence, the Antillean Statebuilding Alliance, and the New American Society, and the Provisional No More movement. Media organizations such as the Montgomery Media Organization have also voiced support for independence along with the New Antillean Press organization.
International
The United People's Committees have been supportive of Hispano-Antillean independence since their inception and became a safe haven for exiled Cuban and Hispaniolan nationalists since the end of the Cuban insurgency. As the state's raison d'etat is the support of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movements internationally, the Andean state has refused to recognize the current government of the Antilles as legitimate and considers them to be an occupational colonialist force. Andean support for Antillean independence is largely focused on Cuban and Hispaniolan-Haitian independence struggles, which it supports through covert monetary and military support. The claim of the UCCS is considered to be a "social-imperialist endeavor" that is opposed to the principles of proletarian internationalism by the Andes and by extension the International Conference of Marxist and Maoist Organizations. The Andes also host the Cuban government in exile and the Cuban Liberation Brigade - José Martí, the UPC's foreign legion, has the official goal of establishing an independent Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Anglo-American independence movements are not supported by the Andes and the ICMMO, which are viewed as colonial and a continuation of the Anglo-American cultural and economic hegemony over the native population of the islands.
Opposition to Independence
Domestic
The Antillean independence movement is opposed by the Federalist Party and a number of political advocacy groups. Opposition to Antillean independence centers around the belief that the Antilles is already an independent nation as the United Commonwealth of America, and that the establishment of a sovereign Antillean nation state would damage the credibility of the islands, as according to anti-independence advocates it would acknowledge the superiority of the mainland United Commonwealth of Continental States. Much of the opposition to Antillean independence is rooted in Anti-Landonism and American nationalism, with many opponents equating the creation of a sovereign Antillean nation state as a betrayal of American ideals and values and the acceptance of Landonism as a legitimate governing ideology.
Opponants to Antillean independence have routinely referred to supporters of the movement as traitors and foreign dissidents, and during the Martial Period supporters of the independence movement were routinely imprisoned for "anti-American thought" or more commonly "foreign espionage and dissent".
Along with the Federalist Party, political advocacy groups such as the Alliance for American Exceptionalism, the American Reunification Center, the Alliance for a Free America, and the 1776 Society, think tanks such as the Washington Foundation and the Institute for Jeffersonian Thought, and various media organizations and outlets such as the New Charleston Enquirer and the Hispaniola Media Group all have opposed the Antillean independence movement.
International
The United Commonwealth has publically opposed Antillean independence, viewing such a move as a violation of Continental anti-secession laws. The Continental governmen has viewed the Antilles as rightful territory since the 1920s and as such, views independence as an illegal act and would be viewed as a vindication of the Continental claim that the Antilles is a rightful territory lead by a rogue government. The Landonist International, the leading political international advocating for Landonism and world communism, has also voiced opposition towards Antillean independence along with the Marxist–Maoist Conference.