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For articles of the same name in other Tropico games, see Edicts.

Edicts are laws and proclamations that affect events in Tropico 4 by giving benefits, often in exchange for negative effects.

In Tropico 4, unlike previous games, not all edicts are available at the start of the presidente's reign. To start with, only a few edicts can be used while the majority of the edicts require the island to have appointed the appropriate minister.

General Edicts[]

Bribe Faction Leaders[]

  • Cost: $7,000
  • Requirements: A functioning Bank.
  • Effects: Gives a large sum of money to all factional leaders, raising the respect of them and their families. If this makes a leader happy enough, relations with their faction will improve too. Since there are now 8 factions instead of 7, its likely that this edict was intended to cost $8,000.

Early Elections[]

  • Cost: $2,000
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Forces elections to be held next year. This is good to use if you believe people will become unhappy and vote against you by the time a scheduled election happens. It's also good for altering the presidente's democratic expectations. After being issued, the presidente must wait for 3 years before forcing another election.

Free Housing[]

  • Cost: $500, plus cutting off all income from housing rents.
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Sets the rent of all housing to $0/month, allowing even the poor and unemployed to live in any housing that's available. The Communists like this but the Capitalists are upset by it.

National Day[]

  • Cost: $1,000, plus another $1,000 every year.
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Sets aside a day of the year for celebrating the nation. Every year on the month in which you first declared a National Day, $1,000 is taken from the treasury, fireworks are set off around the palace, and some citizens will gain support for the Nationalists or Loyalists.

Hola Presidente[]

  • Cost: $1,000, plus another $1,000 every year.
  • Requirements: A functioning TV Station.
  • Effects: Starts the presidente's own daily TV show. Every year that the show is on the air, a random faction with gain respect for them, as if they had made an election speech praising the faction, but with a much stronger effect.

Tax Cut[]

  • Cost: Depends on population and average wage.
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Gives all citizens some of their tax money back. This raises the respect of everyone for 3 years.

Food for the People[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Allows people to eat whenever they want. This increases the food quality around the island by 20 but doubles the amount of food consumed, possibly leading to starvation.

Social Security[]

  • Cost: $500, plus a monthly amount that depends on the number of social security recipients on the island.
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Pays 2/3 of the average national wage to retirees and students, but not the unemployed. While social security is active, the respect of everyone is increased, even the Capitalists.

Humanitarian Aid[]

  • Cost: $0
  • Requirements: Food and/or Healthcare Satisfaction below 40.
  • Effects: Constructs an Aid Camp on the island, which provides free food and healthcare to citizens. Nationalists consider getting these donations to be a sign of national weakness, thus lowering relations with them while the camp is present on the island. These Aid Camps are crime hotbeds, as well.

Nuclear Testing[]

  • Cost: $0
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Opens the island up for the testing of nuclear bombs. This puts a single payment of $10,000 into the treasury but will permanently lower relations with the Environmentalists.

Education Edicts[]

Literacy Program[]

  • Cost: $500, plus an annual charge of $2 per citizen.
  • Requirements: A functioning High School.
  • Effects: Starts a national program to increase literacy. This improves the rate which citizens gain experience by 30%.

Sensitivity Training[]

  • Cost: $500, plus an annual charge of $50 per soldier.
  • Requirements: Nothing.
  • Effects: Gives the police and military training on how to do their jobs and respect civil rights (or at least give the impression of doing so). This lowers the impact that soldiers, generals, policemen, and SWAT members have on liberty.

Same-Sex Marriages[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: Nothing.
  • Effects: Allows two citizens of the same sex to marry and live together. This is seen as a sign of social progress by Intellectuals and of declining morals by the Religious. A side effect of allowing same-sex marriages is having a bit more housing space, due to more people being able to live together. While active, same-sex tourist couples will be able to visit the island. Despite opposing the measure, religious citizens, priests, and bishops will still be able to marry members of the same sex.

Book BBQ[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: A functioning Church.
  • Effects: Initiates the destruction of all "offensive" literature and ideas from the island. This instantly makes half the island's Intellectuals drop out of the faction and permanently halves the chances of any citizens becoming an Intellectual, making this a useful edict for anti-democratic or Religious-minded dictators. However, the loss of books on the island makes it more difficult to learn and students will take twice as long to graduate.

Ideology Book[]

  • Cost: $4,000
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Publishes a personally-written book on the presidente's ideals and visions, similar to Mein Kampf or the "Little Red Book." For the next 3 years, this book raises the respect of all citizens with below average or worse levels of intelligence and may convince up to 10 of them to become Loyalists. However, during that time, the respect of Intellectuals will drop slightly, as they consider the publication to be brain-washing.

Polit Education[]

  • Cost: $2,000
  • Requirements: A functioning College.
  • Effects: Sets up mandatory classes that teach blind loyalty towards the regime. If these classes have been taking place for at least 3 years, all Loyalists, regardless of personal happiness, will vote for you during elections. However, the classes eat into the time of workers, lowering all production by 10%.

Foreign Affairs[]

Praise the US[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Openly praises the US. This increases relations with them but upsets the USSR.

Praise the USSR[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Openly praises the USSR. This increases relations with them but upsets the US.

US Development Aid[]

  • Cost: $2,000
  • Requirements: Neutral or better US relations.
  • Effects: Grants a US aid package to the island. This permanently halves the cost of building Power Plants, Airports, and Aerodromes which can help in jump starting the development of an advanced economy.

USSR Development Aid[]

  • Cost: $2,000
  • Requirements: Neutral or better USSR relations.
  • Effects: Grants a USSR aid package to the island. This permanently halves the cost of building Tenements, Apartment Blocks, and Modern Apartment Blocks which can help in providing adequate housing for the island.

Trade Mission (US)[]

  • Cost: $1,000
  • Requirements: A functioning Airport.
  • Effects: Sends a trade delegation to the US to bargain for aid. After 2 months of negotiating, the delegation will return with a random benefit, such as a free building, foreign aid or increasing the price of some industrial goods.

Trade Mission (USSR)[]

  • Cost: $1,000
  • Requirements: A functioning Airport.
  • Effects: Sends a trade delegation to the USSR to bargain for aid. After 2 months of negotiating, the delegation will return with a random benefit, such as a free building, foreign aid or increasing the price of some industrial goods.

Alliance with the US[]

  • Cost: $6,000
  • Requirements: Very close US relations.
  • Effects: Allies Tropico with the US and sets up an American military base on the island. The USSR won't invade the island as long as this base is present and, every year, the US will pay $2,000 to the island to maintain the base. In addition, you can lease dungeons to the US, earning another $4,000 a year per dungeon. However, this alliance greatly upsets the Nationalists (who see it as a loss of national independence) and both the USSR and the Middle East (who don't approve of the US's capitalism and culture, respectively).

Alliance with the USSR[]

  • Cost: $6,000
  • Requirements: Very close USSR relations.
  • Effects: Allies Tropico with the USSR and sets up a Soviet military base on the island. The US won't invade the island as long as this base is present and, every year, the USSR will pay $2,000 to the island to maintain the base. In addition, you can lease dungeons to the USSR, earning another $2,000 a year per dungeon. However, this alliance greatly upsets the Nationalists (who see it as a loss of national independence) and both the US and China (who don't approve of the USSR's Communism and style of Communism, respectively).

Papal Visit[]

  • Cost: $10,000
  • Requirements: A functioning Cathedral.
  • Effects: Initiates a visit by the Pope. This raises the respect of everyone on the heavily Catholic island, especially the Religious faction, and improves the quality of churches and cathedrals for the next 3 years. Can only be enacted once.

Economy and Tourism Edicts[]

Industry Ad Campaign[]

  • Cost: $8,000
  • Requirements: At least 2 factories and a TV Station.
  • Effects: Produces an international campaign to advertise Tropican-made products. This raises the export price of all factory-processed goods 20% for the next 3 years.

Pollution Standards[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: Any factory.
  • Effects: Sets environmental requirements and limits on factories. These reduce industry-based pollution but the expensive equipment needed to make factories cleaner raises their maintenance by 40%.

Tourism Ad Campaign[]

  • Cost: $5,000
  • Requirements: Any hotel and a TV Station.
  • Effects: Produces an international campaign to advertise Tropico's tourism industry. This raises the tourism rating for the next 3 years.

The Headliner[]

  • Cost: $5,000
  • Requirements: A Night Club.
  • Effects: Sets up a concert for a famous American rock band. This improves the tourism rating, the quality of entertainment on the island, and relations with the US for the next 3 years. Can only be enacted once.

Building Permit[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Requires that all new construction projects on the island pay for a "building permit," increasing the cost of buildings by 20%. Half of the cost for this permit is wired to the presidente's Swiss Bank Account instead of the treasury. Intellectuals recognize the building permit as actually being a form of government corruption and will have lower relations for as long as the permit is active.

Pan-Caribbean Games[]

  • Cost: $7,500
  • Requirements: A Sports Complex.
  • Effects: Hosts a major sporting tournament between Caribbean countries on the island. This increases the tourism rating and the quality of entertainment on the island for the next 3 years. Can only be enacted once.

Mardi Gras[]

  • Cost: $3,000
  • Requirements: A Pub.
  • Effects: Sets up an annual Mardi Gras celebration on the island. This increases the tourism rating and the quality of entertainment on the island for the next 3 years, but the drunken crowds also increase the amount of crime.

Spring Break Package[]

  • Cost: $4,000
  • Requirements: Any hotel, a Pub, and an Airport.
  • Effects: Sets up a special travel deal for spring break vacations. This increases the tourism rating and attracts a greater number of Spring Break Tourists.

Geographic TV Special[]

  • Cost: $7,000
  • Requirements: A TV Station & Ethnic Enclave.
  • Effects: Produces a televised special on native Tropican life. This increases the tourism rating and the respect of all citizens as well as attracting a greater number of Eco Tourists for the next 3 years. Can only be enacted once.

Print Money[]

  • Cost: $0
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Prints a surplus of new bills without any real backing. This put $20,000 in the treasury but permanently increases the price of everything by 30% due to inflation. The damaged economy will anger the Capitalists for the next 5 years. Can be used a maximum of 5 times

Interior Edicts[]

Prohibition[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Outlaws the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol on the island. This increases relations with the Religious and the now perpetually sober citizens will increase production. However, all Pubs, Night Clubs, and Rum Distillerys on the island will be shut down and crime on the island will significantly increase as a market for illegal liquor is created. Strangely, Cocktail Bars and alcohol-selling Sports Complexes are not affected by this edict and will remain open and active.

Contraception Ban[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Bans the use of birth control pills and products. This increases the respect of the Religious faction and boosts population growth by making it more likely for women on the island to become mothers. However, banning contraceptives is seen as a sign of diminished freedom by the Intellectuals.

Anti-Litter Ordinance[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Sets in place laws and fines to combat littering. This reduces the pollution produced by housing but decreases the perception of liberty on the island.

Wiretapping[]

  • Cost: $100 every month.
  • Requirements: Secret Police.
  • Effects: Covertly sets up a system that allows the secret police to monitor and record telephone conversations made on the island. This allows the secret police to more efficiently combat subversive activities.

Inquisition[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: A functioning Cathedral.
  • Effects: Allows church officials to root out "heretics." Not wanting to be branded as such, citizens will be less likely to form or take part in protests, uprisings, or coups and will start visiting Churches and Cathedrals twice as often. However, the inquisition decreases liberty and tourism and increases activity by the rebels.

Off to Florida![]

  • Cost: $3,000
  • Requirements: At least one prisoner.
  • Effects: Sends all the island's prisoners to Miami on a makeshift boat. This instantly empties all prison cells, frees any housing space being "reserved" by prisoners, and allows anyone who was married to a prisoner to remarry. However, sending prisoners to the US like this angers them for the following 5 years.

Secret Police[]

  • Cost: $4,000
  • Requirements: A Police Station.
  • Effects: Repurposes an otherwise ordinary building into a secret police headquarters, allowing it to hire up to three college-educated citizens as secret agents.

Defense Edicts[]

Amnesty[]

  • Cost: $500
  • Requirements: At least one rebel.
  • Effects: Offers members of the rebellion a pardon for their crimes and gives them a chance to rejoin society. Rebels who feel that conditions on the island have improved since they became rebels may take the offer, becoming ordinary citizens again.

Martial Law[]

  • Cost: $5,000
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Imposes strict military rule by soldiers and generals on the island. This decreases crime and cements the presidente as the island's leader by cancelling all elections. However, this massively decreases liberty, tourism ratings, and all production.

Military Modernization[]

  • Cost: $50 per soldier every year.
  • Requirements: An Army Base.
  • Effects: Funds the deployment of advanced weapons and military techniques. Soldiers in modernized militaries will fare better in battle and army bases will provide significantly better housing and healthcare for them and their families.

Conscription[]

  • Cost: $2,500
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Gives everyone military training, "allowing" them to become soldiers. This means that soldiers don't need to have a high school education, but soldiers with no education will do worse in battle. In addition, more people are inclined to escape conscription by emigrating or joining the rebels.

Lure the Rebels[]

  • Cost: $3,000
  • Requirements: At least one rebel.
  • Effects: Provokes the rebels into believing that now would be a good time to attack. This instantly starts a random rebel attack, making this a good edict to use if you believe you have a large enough military at the moment to take out a lot of rebels.

Silence the Rebels[]

  • Cost: $2,000
  • Requirements: None.
  • Effects: Kills off the rebel contacts on the islands. The lack of contact between the rebels and mainstream society guarantees that no citizens will be able to join the rebels and that no rebel attacks will be scheduled for the next 3 years. However, these executions lower the respect of the Intellectuals for the same amount of time. Can only be enacted once.

Modern Times Edicts[]

Balloon Fair[]

  • Cost: $5,000
  • Requirements: A Balloon Ride
  • Effects: Starts a celebration with many hot air balloons, increasing the island's entertainment and tourism rating for 3 years, can only be used once.

Police State[]

  • Cost: $500 monthly
  • Requirements: A SWAT HQ
  • Effects: Gives the police extensive autonomy and power over the island. This increases crime safety and prevents anyone from becoming a criminal while the edict is active, but lowers liberty by a large amount. Strangely, this temporarily disables the liberty-producing effects of all education and media buildings, until new workers are hired or the old ones show up for work. While the edict is active, a police blimp will fly around the island.

Healthcare Reform[]

  • Cost: $500 monthly
  • Requirements: A Sanatorium
  • Effects: Starts reforming the island's healthcare system to be more modern and efficient. This requires 2 to 4 years of monthly payments. Once the reform is complete, all healthcare facilities will be able to handle four more visitors at once.

Army Drill[]

  • Cost: $5,000
  • Requirements: An Army Base
  • Effects: Puts military and police units through an intense training regime. Soldiers, generals, and SWAT members will gain experience faster but will occasionally die due to friendly fire accidents.

Special Diplomas[]

  • Cost: $20,000
  • Requirements: An Academy of Science
  • Effects: Hands out honorary diplomas to the presidente's most devoted fans. Half of the island's Loyalists will receive a high school education while some of them will instantly receive college educations. Can only be enacted once.

China Development Aid[]

  • Cost: $10,000
  • Requirements: An Immigration Office and excellent relations with China.
  • Effects: Asks China for aid in developing the island. When the next freighter arrives on the island, 100 Chinese immigrants will join Tropico as citizens. Most of these immigrants will be uneducated, but a handful will have high school or college degrees. Can only be enacted once.

Internet Police[]

  • Cost: $300 monthly
  • Requirements: A Telecom HQ
  • Effects: Monitors all internet traffic to, from, and on the island. This gives advanced warning of any rebel attacks but lowers the island's overall liberty.

Ban Social Networks[]

  • Cost: $250 monthly
  • Requirements: A Telecom HQ
  • Effects: Bans social media like Facebook or Twitter on the island, increasing productivity by 5%. In addition, if the player is playing the game on a PC, Facebook and Twitter integration will be disabled.

Fertilize![]

  • Cost: $10,000
  • Requirements: A Chemical Plant
  • Effects: Sends helicopters across the island to dust it with fertilizers, permanently increasing the soil fertility of the island. Can only be enacted once.

Festival of Love[]

  • Cost: $7,500
  • Requirements: A Cabaret or Theater
  • Effects: Starts a celebration of life, love, and - more often than not - lust. The island will experience a baby boom and the spending limit of all tourists will increase by 20% for 2 years.
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