of ethnic groups living in Yugoslavia. Rise and fall of liberalism Political factories The 1950s workers' self-management-based reforms created a distorted socialist market economy where prices were regulated, and regulations often changed. The policy allowed municipal-level authorities to establish and protect enterprises against market forces. Tito said that those enterprises, dubbed "political factories", were only capable of producing losses. They competed for funding provided by federal investment funds – often through lobbying by republican-level officials - making the republics compete for limited resources. In 1958, a miners' strike in Trbovlje fed into overall discontent in Slovenia regarding Yugoslav economic policy, and especially the management of federal investment funds. The event marked the first sign of growing divisions over economic development of the country and the political framework of the economic system. By 1961–62, the Yugoslav economy was in recession. The situation prompted small-scale economic reforms, which were quickly cancelled thereafter but led to a debate on economic issues. The debate coincided with adoption of the 1963 constitution expanding powers of the republics, and the 8th SKJ Congress expanding powers of the SKJ branches in 1964. As a form of concession to the conservative factions within the SKJ, two new offices were created under the new constitution, taken by Ranković and Petar Stambolić. The former became the Vice-President, and the latter the federal Prime Minister - as the position was separated from that of the President. Competing economic models Republican leaderships advocated different economic development models. The ZKS in Slovenia and the SKH in Croatia favoured decentralisation and reduction of investment subsidies, and criticised the so-called political factories in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo. The SKM leadership in Macedonia favoured decentralisation because they feared Serbian domination more than the loss of federal funding. Author Sabrina Ramet described the competing factions in the SKJ at the federal and republican levels in the 1962–87 period as "liberals" and "conservatives," based on whether they supported or opposed calls for decentralisation. Those holding the middle ground were termed "brokers" and included Tito, Bakarić, and Stambolić. An opposing camp was formed by the League of Communists of Serbia (, SKS), the SKBiH in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the SKCG in Montenegro, who advocated continuing existing economic practices. In March 1966, the reformist group prevailed in the central committee of the SKJ, which supported economic reforms. These coalitions varied as particular interests shifted. By the end