Fantastic visit to Essequibo, a region sought after by Venezuelan Guyana
Guyana, a country in South America and neighbor of Brazil, became the center of a debate after Venezuela claimed the Essequibo region. After the incident, Guyanese flags increased in number and were displayed by the government to stir up nationalist sentiment.
To find out more about this small country, the team from Fantastic landed in Georgetown, the capital and where most Guyanese live. From there the journey continued to the region claimed by Nicolás Maduro.
1 of 5 Fantastic traveled to Guyana to see the Essequibo region up close. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction Fantástico traveled to Guyana to see the Essequibo region up close. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
After thousands of years of indigenous occupation, the Dutch were the first Europeans to establish colonies there in the 17th century and also brought enslaved Africans into the country.
Then the Dutch left Guyana to the British. When slavery was abolished, an unlikely group became the majority in the country: England offered the Indians land in exchange for work in the sugar cane fields.
“Spanish has never been spoken here. Only now, when Venezuela is in crisis, are we seeing people coming from there,” says a resident.
They speak English with an Indian accent and local words. A creole language.
Guyana, oil and wealth
Tensions in the region are increasing. Essequibo produces rice and agricultural products that are marketed in the capital. However, the most valuable are the mining products.
2 out of 5 Rice is grown in the Essequibo region. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction Rice is grown in the Essequibo region. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
The legacy of a past of discovery has always made Guyana one of the poorest countries on the continent, but in 2015 that changed. The American company Exxonmobile discovered a large oil deposit in the country.
Due to extraction, Guyana is the fastest growing country in the world at 65% in 2022. In theory, the average GDP is the fourth highest on the continent, behind only the United States, Canada and the Bahamas.
3 out of 5 Oil has changed the reality of Guyana. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproductive oil has changed the reality of Guyana. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
Despite the numbers, income concentration is still high and the majority of the population remains poor. There are allegations of internal corruption and the oil has contributed to raising the temperature at the border, since all the oil found is in the sea, precisely in the province of Essequibo.
“Venezuela has reserves of 300 billion barrels of oil. Will eleven billion make a difference? asks lawyer Carl Greenudge, the nonpartisan Guyanese government official tasked with defending Essequibo.
“He (Maduro) has no right to decide on the lives of people who do not belong to Venezuela. Who were born and governed by a jurisdiction that has nothing to do with Venezuela. There are also private companies that extract oil in Venezuela,” adds Greenudge.
Since its independence in 1819, Venezuela felt like it had been stolen by the British and its borders extended to the Essequibo River. But an agreement concluded in Paris at the end of the 19th century and accepted by the Venezuelans established the borders that apply today.
When Guyana gained independence, the issue was discussed again. In 1966, Venezuela and Guyana signed a document in Geneva that simply stated that the two countries must resolve the problem peacefully, which they have not done so far.
Carl Greenudge It works with the International Court of Justice in The Hague to defend Guyana, but Venezuela has no representative. Against this background, Maduro decided to hold a referendum.
4 out of 5 Carl Greenudge, lawyer. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction Carl Greenudge, lawyer. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
Half of the voters went to the polls and decided that Essequibo belongs to Venezuela. Maduro is promising a war against Exxomobil to “free the people of Guyana from colonialism,” he said.
Since the referendum, tension has only increased.
“We are very worried. A year ago a Spanishspeaking group came here. They are indigenous people who know how to use the river. We tried to understand why they would come from Venezuela. We know what is happening and we just advise our people not to be afraid and move on with life. This is our home,” says Wakapau Indigenous Chief Lloyd Pereira.
Most of Essequibo can be reached by boat. Nine different peoples live in villages in the middle of the dense forest. The vast majority speak English and the local languages.
However, the team was eliminated upon entering the area Fantastic I found an indigenous group that speaks Spanish. They said they were from Venezuela and went there because they couldn't find food.
5 out of 5 The Fantástico team entered the forest in the Essequibo region. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction The Fantástico team entered the forest in the Essequibo region. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
An indigenous woman says she has nothing to do with Maduro but the situation in Venezuela is terrible. In the region, the indigenous people fought for land demarcation after years of fighting. The place would be the front line if a war broke out.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Maduro has already ordered that all schools in the national territory, including Essequibo, publish the new map. He also commissioned the Venezuelan state oil company to conduct research on the coast of Guyana.
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