Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 334 No, why aren't these sanctions working?
With clear skies and crisp air, Central America, which had experienced an extremely turbulent year in 1995, finally welcomed a rare period of peace for most of the year, and November arrived.

This winter and spring, major events occurred in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico that could determine the political landscape for years to come.

The Guatemalan civil war has come to a complete end. Two of the three major warlords were wiped out, and the remaining surviving Ubico family was dismembered in a nanoscale manner. All that remained in their hands were two companies that were unrelated to national strategy and had government investment, which can be said to have only preserved a little face.

This long-divided country has finally achieved true unification... Although the national flag and national anthem have not changed, everyone knows that it is in fact a new country.

Honduras, a country mired in poverty and internal strife, and whose political situation is extremely unstable due to military intervention, has also undergone a political transformation. With the help of its neighboring country for half a year, the government's administrative power has finally been able to reach the local grassroots level.

Mexico's political infighting has finally ended. The former president, who had clung to the presidency under the guise of a "state of emergency," was finally overthrown and fled to the UK by plane...

Of course, the first two countries also thoroughly angered the United States during that special operation known as "Operation Falcon" in late winter, close to spring.

A whole host of top-tier sanctions, only one level weaker than those against Cuba, were thrown at them. Everyone knew that the world's largest economy was going to crush the governments of these two poor little Latin American countries with overwhelming force.

Sanctions are an attempt to undermine decision-makers at the top by exploiting ordinary people. Many international organizations have even issued warnings, claiming that Guatemala is highly likely to experience a humanitarian crisis.

Now, a full six months have passed since the sanctions took effect, and according to many experts, this newly developed country, so close to the United States, is now in a state of near collapse, much like Haiti…

Guatemala, Quetzaltenango, Day of the Dead.

Gina, the elementary school teacher who was seriously injured by government troops during a protest and was finally saved by Milton after her father begged her, is now enjoying the holiday with her children.

"Ahem! Everyone, don't grab, there's enough for everyone..." Her basket was filled with "Hulakan" bread baked overnight, sprinkled with coarse sugar granules. "Don't spill it on the ground!"

The Day of the Dead is an important festival that blends Mayan traditions with Catholic culture. It is a day of celebration, not mourning, to remember the deceased and welcome the souls of loved ones back to their homeland.

Everyone had a great time.

The children, carrying marigolds and eating bread, candy, and corn dumplings, chatted and laughed as they headed to Quetzaltenango's newly built train station.

It is said that this railway was built by Mr. "Hell Tax Collector" at a great cost, and when the railway was completed, Mr. "Hell Tax Collector" himself even came to the site.

After this railway was built, prices across the country dropped almost simultaneously, and transportation costs were often much cheaper than flying.

Gina could clearly feel that the entire country was connected by this railway...

No, not only the entire country, but even Mexico's oil fields are connected.

From then on, the cost of travel was only 0.04 qchar per kilometer, which is practically free compared to the current income of Guatemalans!
After the unification of the country, the former "border region currency" replaced the old ghachal and became the new legal tender.

"..."

Soon, she arrived at the train station with her child. After the tickets were checked, she led her child to the platform and looked at the green-skinned train that was already parked on the tracks. A sense of pride welled up in her heart.

She couldn't help but tell the children, "Remember... if Mr. Milton hadn't ended the war and established an honest government, we might not have had a railway like this for another 20 years."

Even though she had already ridden this train once, Gina still couldn't help but exclaim how beautiful it was.

The carriages feature soft-covered seats, clean tables, and special study rooms designed for children. In the frontmost carriages, even more luxurious but extremely expensive tickets are sold, and the carriages are said to be equipped with air conditioning.

If you get hungry, you can also go to the food truck for affordable meals...

“If there’s a heaven, I think this is it,” Gina muttered softly, then turned and beckoned the mischievous children, who were carrying various toys, onto the train and told them to stay in their seats. “Today we’re going to Vevetenango. If you’re interested, you can take pictures of the scenery along the way. If not, then just enjoy the ride…”

"Everyone can also appreciate how hard our country's development has been, and see just how magnificent this railway is."

Quetzaltenango is a major station, and the train waited a full 15 minutes before it started moving.

Along the way, a child accidentally spilled his food on the ground... but Gina only gave him a slight reprimand and then ordered another one.

Compared to personal hygiene and health, "avoiding food waste" is clearly a lower-level need nowadays.

Yes, after being subjected to intense sanctions for more than half a year, Guatemala's economy has not completely collapsed, but at least it is safe and sound!
In the lead-up to the announcement of the sanctions, there was indeed a minor turmoil in China. The currency depreciated on the international market, money could no longer buy American goods, orders from the United States disappeared, many cargo ships dared not come due to the sanctions, freight costs rose, and the United States, the largest financial market, was not playing their game...

The tourism industry has been severely impacted...

Even Gina estimated in her mind that the country's GDP would plummet by at least 15%, the inflation rate would likely remain at an extremely high level of over 20%, the unemployment rate would reach around 30%, and some goods in the market would be in short supply.

However, to everyone's surprise, the turmoil lasted only a month before a very serious problem was discovered.

No... these sanctions don't seem to have much of an impact, do they?

Things that were available before are still available now. Lost orders were quickly filled by the government. Milton has invested in various factories, shipyards, refineries, and so on, and there has been no shortage of jobs.

Everyday products quickly found substitutes with exactly the same effect. Of course, the prices went up a bit, but not to an extent that people couldn't afford them.

Conversely, with the cessation of imports from the United States, various alternative factories began to spring up domestically, and the civil engineering industry ushered in a golden age...

Chiapas imports cheap energy, Honduras and Ecuador import various raw materials, and Guatemala then exports the corresponding goods back to it. Surprisingly, this has even led to some signs of price stability and employment recovery in Honduras, a neighboring country on the verge of collapse!
However, this apparent miracle cannot fool those who understand economics.

Gina thought to herself, "'Hell Tax Collector' must have a huge smuggling fleet or convoy... because some industrial raw materials and goods obviously can't be restored to supply by just two neighboring countries in such a short time."

But you can always find it on the shelf! And you can always get your order shipped right away!
Moreover, they can't even build some of the production lines for these factories themselves; they obviously bought them from foreign countries secretly.

Aside from smuggling and the existence of a large "ghost fleet" (referring to merchant ships that dock cargo on the high seas), there is no other reasonable explanation.

“Let’s go… Mr. Milton will lead us to victory.” “…”

……

Presidential Palace, Guatemala City.

Milton looked at the panel and couldn't help but sigh.

"The economic sanctions imposed by the Americans really hurt."

The reason why the country can still maintain a seemingly healthy economic development is simple—Milton used the points earned from a large amount of tax revenue to purchase scarce goods.

To this end, he also established a special "Strategic Materials Reserve Department" which would provide all available materials at prices slightly higher than the market price to ensure that the factory could operate and that materials that could not be produced temporarily could be placed on the shelves.

If the manufacturer is unable to purchase raw materials, they can buy them directly from the "Strategic Materials Reserve Department" at a relatively higher price, so that the production line does not have to stop.

With the cycle of "purchases generate taxes" - "taxes generate points" - "points can promote purchases", and the panel upgrade further enhances the purchasing power of points, Milton's overall pressure to maintain the domestic economy is not too great.

This could even directly boost the primary industries of neighboring countries and stabilize the economies of allies—at least for now, President Reiner's economy has achieved initial stabilization and his approval rating has been completely stabilized due to the massive sale of resources to Milton.

Many Hondurans share the same question: why has their life improved slightly after being sanctioned by the United States?

However... the unexpectedly high consumption of points has led to some funding shortages for the modernization of the military.

"We still need money..."

"However, it's not about making a quick buck; what's needed is a healthy international trading market."

"The only way to get rid of sanctions is to break away from the United States and still have a healthy economy... At that time, the United States itself will even covet this market and will take the initiative to lift the sanctions."

"To put it bluntly... it's still a united economic entity, a 'Central American upheaval,' and a victory that can thoroughly demonstrate the value of united front work."

Only in this way can the economy truly recover without relying on financial instruments, and can the country maintain its independence and autonomy after Milton's departure.

Milton looked at the map and focused his attention on another of his neighboring countries.

El Salvador is also a staunch ally of the United States.

The CIA originally planned to overthrow Honduran President Reina and install a pure comprador who was completely aligned with the United States, which would have put Guatemala's geopolitical situation in jeopardy.

A terrifying encirclement by hostile forces would leave Milton completely breathless.

But now... the situation is completely reversed!
On the contrary, El Salvador is surrounded by Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, completely isolated and helpless, with only its southern Pacific Ocean outlet remaining.

If El Salvador can also be persuaded to defect, a completely contiguous territory consisting of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Cuba, and southern Mexico will be formed.

Milton had figured out his next plan, nodded slightly, and told his assistant to call over all the senior executives.

As for the other loose "allies," Milton did not intend to bring them in—firstly, these allies were fine when things were going well, but if things went against them, they would easily fall apart. Since Guatemala was now the core, drawing in the primary industries of the surrounding areas, it had to be on the front line.

Only by convincing other countries that the benefits of joining this "Latin American alliance" outweigh the losses of offending the United States can they be persuaded to join.

It's impossible for them to fight alongside Milton and challenge the United States in the early stages of the company's development.

Indeed, very few countries can withstand the economic sanctions imposed by the United States.

"Moreover... the amount of effort you put in will determine how much say you'll have in this alliance in the future. Latin America, like Europe, is a disorganized mess and needs a leader to keep it stable."

Flora was the first to enter the Military Council and glanced at the map, which was covered in scribbles.

"Tsk, thinking about hitting someone again? How long has it been since we had some peace and quiet?"

“It’s not peaceful at all.” Milton shook his head. “How many times have our ‘ghost fleet’ been in grave danger? The Americans hate us now. We have to take the initiative and not sit idly by. The next target is El Salvador. We must find a way to overthrow their current government and install a ruler who is at least like Reina.”

"Although we routed the CIA, that was only on the military level... In many things, especially in terms of soft power, we still have to learn from them."

"For example, how to stir up public sentiment, how to engage in color politics, how to bring down the current government and replace it with a ruler who is in our interests."

"Perhaps it would be difficult to achieve this in other countries, as our influence cannot compare with that of the Americans. But El Salvador is now surrounded, and we have many options. Perhaps we can try to compete with the Americans there... If we fail, we'll think of other ways."

Since El Salvador is already surrounded, Milton has an absolute strategic advantage and plenty of room and opportunities to try and fail.

Flora looked at Milton and nodded: "Hmm...not bad, you and the Americans think quite in sync, you're both restless after a long period of peace."

Milton laughed upon hearing this: "What, are the Americans getting anxious because they see that sanctions are completely ineffective?"

“Our spy, Riley, has already ‘escaped’ to the United States with a group of people. His information is that the Americans may launch a real military operation soon, because some people suspected to be government officials have already contacted these fleeing officials and capitalists.”

Milton laughed heartily: "He's frantic."

"Come on, tell me in detail, what kind of military operation is it?"

P.S.: The final volume of this book has begun! By the way, do you guys really want to see a farming story? Or should we continue with the fighting and killing?

(End of this chapter)