Manuel Bolívar

**Manuel Eduardo Telesforo Bolívar** (July 1, 2283 - July 4, 2484) was an American politician who served as the 8th President of Earth and the 118th President of the United States of America concurrently from 2353 to 2361 and who also served as the 120th Vice President of the United States from 2345 to 2349. As well Bolivar served as Mayor of Belmopan, Representative Senator and Governor of Belize. One of the longest serving politicians in American history, he was elected Mayor of the Capital of the State of Belize at the age of ten becoming the youngest serving officeholder in American history.

The first President from the Boxer Party his administration saw the rise of the ideology known as Bolívarianism.

Historians rank Bolívar in the top tier of U.S. Presidents.

## Early Life

Bolívar was born on July 1, 2283, to two impoverished parents, Ande and Angelina Bolívar in Belmopan, Belize. As a child, Bolívar would face the corruption of the Belmopan Slum Lords, as most of the city, at the time, would not be controlled not by its democratic government, but instead by private owners who largely made their own rules on their own land.

Given that politics directly impacted his life, Bolívar would spend any spare time he had researching why his family was in such a dire condition. What he found, over the course of five years, was that the slum lords often bribed the Belmopan political elite to stay out of their affairs, in addition to the fact that the law enforcement in Belmopan and Belize as a whole simply did not have the funds to prosecute them. Thus, they were able to profit off of the average Belmopan resident's suffering.

## Entry into politics

With his findings, Bolívar declared his candidacy for Mayor of Belmopan in 2292 at age 9. In his campaign, Bolívar would be very emotional and was considered an excellent public speaker, publicizing the records of the other five Mayoral candidates and criticizing them all for their blatant corruption. From this campaign, Bolívar would say a quote through tears that would prove to be iconic across the nation:

"I am not one of your zealots who is using this campaign to preach an end to corruption or a selfless yearn to help people. I just want to help my family and stop our abuse from these rich maniacs. I don't promise not to be corrupt out of populism; I do it because corruption *hurt* me and I can't handle doing that to anyone else."

Policy-wise, Bolívar made three promises to the people of Belmopan, those of which included an increase on property taxes, a law which guaranteed land-rent to all who sought it and increased negotiating power for tenants, and a government program which would sell city land which was not owned by anyone.

Bolívar's campaign would make national news and prompt action. The Leclair Administration would use Bolívar's cries for help as justification for investigating the entire State of Belize and would already be underway in prosecution of all of Bolívar's competitors. Come time for the election, his publicity would see him win by a landslide, obtaining 75% of the vote.

## Mayor of Belmopan

As Mayor, Bolívar would see his cabinet write the "Take Back Our Land Act" and successfully see Belmopan's City Council pass such. In doing so, he would successfully fulfill two out of his three promises: An increase on property tax and a mandate that property owners leasing land must create a deal which tenants can afford. In the case that a tenant and landlord cannot agree on a deal, a judge would be able to settle an agreement.

On the passage of this bill, many Slum Lords began selling their land back to the Belmopan government, thus leading to the enactment of his third campaign promise, that being the sale of city land to Belmopan residents. In doing so, Bolívar's Department of Land Distribution ensured that all sales were affordable, and would additionally be selective in who they sold land to in the first place: Individuals already owning land would take a lower priority than those with none.

In 2297, a scandal would arise in the proceedings of the Bolívar Administration. Erik Rado, Bolívar's Chief of Staff who was a large driving force of Bolívar's Mayorship, was revealed to have used blackmail on City Councilmen to get them to pass Bolívar's agenda; Rado preemptively threatened prosecution for Corruption if they didn't comply. On hearing this, Bolívar immediately fired Rado and made a public statement that he would not tolerate blatant corruption in his administration. In the speech, Bolívar's independence had become abundantly clear; although he was only 14, he had matured vastly for his age.

In the same year, Bolívar announced that he would not seek re-election for Belmopan Mayor, stating that his one-term administration was largely a success for Belmopan and that he possessed no need nor desire to continue his work for the city; Bolívar stated that as he ran for Mayor with the goal of helping his family, he no longer possessed any further goals. In the same speech, however, Bolívar announced that he would continue to serve the people of Belize in a different manner; in this very speech, he declared his intentions to run for the United States House of Representatives as an independent.

## Representative (2299-2309)

In the 2298 Midterm Election, Bolívar would run unopposed for the House of Representatives. When questioned in his campaign, as to whether he leaned closer to the Union Party or No. Party, Bolívar stated that he was neutral on the issue of a united Earth and only wanted to serve in Congress so he could help people.

"I also recognize," Bolívar continued, "that my district's people are not voting for Union nor No. policy when electing me; therefore, it is my job to represent both sides and pledge neutrality."

In the first year of his Congressional tenure, however, Bolívar would be forced to take action against No. President Tyree Castaneeda when his impeachment for oppressing many Unionists was on the table. In Congress, Bolívar would fight vehemently against Castaneeda, famously stating that "This is not a matter of politics. It is not a matter of which side should get ahead. It is a matter of treating people with the humanity our Constitution mandates!". Although it is disputed the effect Bolívar had on the House's vote to impeach Castaneeda, many scholars conclude that Bolívar's persuasion convinced even No. Representatives to see their President prosecuted.

Additionally, Bolívar would oppose No. President Norris Frelinghuysen's agenda to mandate United States isolationism in the Constitution, claiming "No policy which does not directly protect the people should be Constitutionally mandated". Overall, historians largely conclude that Bolívar might as well have caucused with the Unionists during his first term.

Come time for his second term, however, Bolívar's actions would begin to shift. Staying true to the word he made for his constituents, Bolívar remained neutral in the creation of the United States of Earth. Once the union was formed, however, Bolívar's attitude toward President Vincenzo Stone shifted from one of neutrality to distrust. Noticing that President Stone moved his location every month in accordance with the shifting capital of the USE, Bolívar largely criticized Stone for this, saying that the President of the United States should be with his people. In 2309, Bolívar would also vote in favor of the proposed "Washington Restoration Amendment", which would see the President limited to a total of two terms in office; over the course of the Stone Administration, Bolívar would reject the claims that the President needed to retain his office to maintain stability in the USE and firmly believed that Stone should have left after his second term.

Over the course of his tenure in the House of Representatives, Bolívar would be extremely popular amongst his constituents, facing ever increasing pressure to run for a position that would see him represent the entire state. After 5 terms in Congress, Bolívar would heed these calls and run for Governor of Belize.

## Governor (2309-2321)

Bolívar won Belize's 2308 Gubernatorial election with over 85% of the vote. During his inauguration, he announced that he was honored to serve the entire State of Belize as its Governor, and that he would keep his word of making sure everyone in the state had a stable life. Additionally, he honored his previous position in the House of Representatives by "passing the torch" onto the successor for his seat, John Hapens, which proved to boost the popularity of Hapens in his future endeavors.

Over the course of his 12 years as Governor, Bolívar reduced crime in Belize by 66%, and also worked vehemently to reduce corruption in the state. By 2311, over 100 corrupt Belizean state officials were imprisoned, and as Bolívar's Governorship progressed, receiving an endorsement from Bolívar would provide near guaranteed victory in an election. With this influence, Bolívar would largely reduce corruption, as he made sure everyone he endorsed possessed selfless intentions and no history of prior crime.

After serving three terms, Bolívar would step down as Governor and proceed to endorse his former state Attorney General and second Lieutenant Governor, Udall Clark, to become his replacement. Although stepping down from public service temporarily, Bolívar's influence would continue to bear complete prominence over Belizean politics, both in regards to his endorsements, and philosophically.

## Founding of Bolívarianism

Despite calls to run for President in the 2320 Election, Bolívar would act as a political philosopher over the course of the next 12 years. During this time, he would publish several books, present speeches, and would even act as a professor for the University of Belize. This time of philosophy for Bolívar would lead to the rise of his own ideology which he used to explain all of what he has seen politically over the course of his life: Bolívarianism.

Bolívar called into question the very idea of what government itself *was*; not its purpose, not what it should do, but what it was. Bolívar alleged that a government was any entity which possessed control over people, and that "governing" was simply a manner of saying organized control. Scholars theorize that Bolívar likely believed this due to how the Belmopan Slum Lords, despite being private citizens, exploited his family and established power over him; due to their control, Bolívar saw them as a "government". With this philosophy, Bolívar exerted the claim that all "governments" in a nation needed to keep one another in check so that the people could live stable, free lives. "Just as the people are freer to choose high quality products with more competitors in an industry," Bolívar alleged in his book *Dictatorship: The Strongest Monopoly,* "so too should higher competition with governments increase the quality of all governance."

Bolívar's notion on the importance of competition as a result of Bolívarianism is often referred to as "Original Bolívarianism"; and would be used in Bolívar's return to public office.