I want to post my general experience with "Hidden Agenda", not to spoil the fun for anyone
but to see if there is anything I missed... Newcomers are better advised to find their way by themselves.
1) I do not believe that "Chimerica" is just any Latin American country. Based on what happens in the game, you will end up with a "Nicaragua", a revolutionary government fighting a rightist insurgency supported by the US, or an "El Salvador", a rightist government supported by the US fighting against leftist insurgents.
2) This not your average developed world democracy, where everbody is entitled to form his or her own opinion and then choose the appropriate political party, which will be elected in a transparent way and rule according to law and constitution (well, this doesn't work all the time either).
This is a small country of the Americas, torn almost to the point of civil war between a revolutionary movement dedicated to communism, marxism, working class solidarity etc. and which has been instrumental in overthrowing a blood thirsty dictator; and an elite of land-owners, military officers and state functionaries which had only abandoned the dictatorship at the last moment to protect their own interests.
These guys will do anything to get their hands on power.
3) The only way to observe popular preferences is through elections. In the game mechanics, calling for elections means civil war, with you taking the side whose policies you supported mostly before. If you end up with a rightist government facing a marxist revolution, the elections will be a sham. If you end up with a left of centre coalition, then the elections will be mostly free (judging from the newspaper clippings) and there is no way in my knowledge to win them if you are not the National Liberaation candinate.
The people of Chimerica are programmed to be leftist, and in this way the game is biased, yet arguably close to the political situation in the countries' mentioned at the time.
4) If I read the political situation correctly, then both extreme parties' behaviour makes sense: National Liberation feel it expresses the "will of the nation" and will resolve to violence to guarantee your policies won't stray to far from its programme. In the same way, Popular Stability feeels it is an embattled minority and will try to thin the ranks of the marxists (or any form of opposition, in that matter) through the use of LIMPIA and death squads targeting the land reform.
The Centre has a limited role to play in this polarised coutry.
5) There are certain important policies you must decide upon on the game, like impose rationing, selling or giving the Farsante estates or your intenational relations. But the game's key policy and this which makes you leftist, rightist or centrist, is land reform, if you decide on a radical reform, a moderate\restricted one or none at all.
6) Be too radical in the beginning and you will end up with a military coup, which you will lose. I have not seen any direct relation between the side of the army you favour or the military assistance it receives. There is only one thing you can do to survive coups and that is proceeding with land reform:
At some point, land reformers are targeted by army death squads and their leader goes into hiding. Now, if you have a leftist ministry of agriculture (or defense?) you can arm the peasantry: apart from securing the land reform, rightist coups against you will fail.
On the other hand, if you do not do nothing, land reform will collapse by itself and you will be secure from leftist coups. Or at least that is the idea: in general playing as a rightist is much more difficult than the Left.
7) If land reform is the place where you choose sides, peace and stability of Chimerica (that is, not plunging into civil war) hangs from what you do with LIMPIA. Pushing for the imprisonment of Padilla means a rightist insurgecy no matter what your policies are (and if your policies are too right, you are left without death squad protection from National Liberation coups). Calling for elections will also result into a split in the army, with the game defining you as right- or left-of centre and the other side taking to the mountains.
From 1-7, my games have had one of the following conclusions:
1) Radical Land reform
1.1 Did not call elections, despite US and Church pressures, CHimerica rlatively peaceful, apart from LIMPIA, not much to do in the last season or two
1.2 At some point I either ordered Padilla arrested or called for elections and had to fight an violent insurgency supported by the Americans
1.2.1 fight the insurgents all the way (i.e. draft the population and denounce US imperialism) the country was left in ruins, bankrupt and USSR embassy advised me not to stray too far from the Western hemisphere political norms
1.2.1.1 Try to stem back the tide by agreeing with the US ambassador for a mre nuisanced policy: the national liberation parliament removes me from power
1.2.2 do not call a draft, financial collapse is slower but does indeed occur due to the cost of the insurgency to the economy
If your policies make you a NAtional Liberation candinate, you win what international observers (again, see the newspapers) recognise as relatively free and fair, but still get denounced by the Reagan administration.
In general, you get the feeling of sticking out for the People, defying the US imperialists and their stooges and becoming a revolutiionary super star in the likes of Fidel Casgtro and Hugo Chaves
On the other hand, US embargo, terrorism and maybe your planned economy policies deal a heavy blow to Chimerican economy
2) Moderate Land Reform
2.1 Do not call elections, despite US and Church pressures, CHimerica rlatively peaceful, apart from LIMPIA, not much to do in the last season or two
2.2 At some point either arrest Padilla or call elections. In the first case you will end up in a situation like that described above. In the second one, you will be judged by your general policies, to see if you are more to the rght or to the left
2.2.1 like above, but I've never won the election against National Liberation
2.2.2 you end up as a titular president with titular centrist inisters, while the army and LIMPIA fights a left wing insurgency by eliinating all opposition, from the National Liberation leader to the country's moderate archbishop. You still win the election, but what luck you will have later is left unclear...
3) No Land reform
While the Right's best bet is to proclaim land reform to keep the peasants happy, then use death squads to de facto block its implementation, refusing land reform will probably lead to a decisive leftist coup. I only managed to do it once, and then could not repeat it. I remember I had to be completely leftist in other fields, like pro-Soviet foreign relations, social rights and I even ordered Padilla arrested in the last meeting every season to forestall the end of season coups, knowing I could release him in the next season.