President of Guyana says he has Lula’s support in conflict with Venezuela

During the vote, the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, said that the Guyanese population should not fear the referendum held in Venezuela. He stated that the 1st line of defense is diplomacy and that he works to ensure that the borders are “intact”. He also stated that Guyana is in a position of strong defense and has the support of several countries, such as the United States, Canada and France.

THE CONFLICT

The dispute between the countries, which has lasted more than a century, is related to the region of Essequibo or Guiana Essequiba. The site covers 160,000 km² and is administered by Guyana. The area represents 74% of Guyanese territory, is rich in oil and minerals, and has an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.

THE VOTE

According to the National Electoral Council of Venezuela, just over half of voters eligible to vote went to the polls. 10,554,320 voters were counted (out of 20,694,124 total) in the referendum, not counting the votes cast during the final two hours of voting.

Venezuela has 15,857 voting centers spread across 335 municipalities in the country’s 23 states and in the capital.

Voting began at 6am local time (7am Brasília time) and ended at 8pm (9pm Brasília time), as it was extended by two hours.

The referendum presented 5 questions, in which Venezuelans chose between the answers “sim” e “no”. They were approved by the CNE (National Electoral Council) of Venezuela in October.

These are questions about the Paris Report of 1899 – a measure resulting from a treaty signed in Washington in 1897, which determined the area as belonging to Guyana, which was a British colony at the time, and delimited a dividing line of the territory.

The questions also address the 1966 Geneva Agreement – ​​in which the United Kingdom recognized Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo and classified the situation as negotiable.

One of them questions the competence of the International Court of Justice to judge the case. The UN (United Nations) judicial body in The Hague, Netherlands, decided on Friday (Dec 1) that Venezuela cannot take steps to annex the territory.

According to the decision, the government of Nicolás Maduro “shall refrain from taking any action that could modify the situation currently prevailing in the disputed territory”. Here is the full sentence (PDF – 227 kB).

Read the referendum questions:

1. “Do you agree to reject, by all means, in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently imposed by the Paris arbitration award of 1899, which seeks to deprive us of our Essequiba Guyana?”
2. “Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana in relation to the dispute over the territory of Guyana Essequiba?”
3. “Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial dispute over Guiana Essequiba?”
4. “Do you agree to oppose, by all means, in accordance with the law, Guyana’s claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation, illegal and in violation of international law?”
5. “You agree with the creation of the Guiana Essequiba State and with the development of an accelerated plan of comprehensive care for the current and future population of this territory, which includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and Venezuelan identity card, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and International Law, consequently incorporating this State into the map of Venezuelan territory?”

The Guyanese government classified the measure as “provocative, illegal, null and void of international legal effect”. He also accused the Venezuelan leader of an international crime by trying to weaken the territorial integrity of the sovereign state of Guyana. Here is the full statement (PDF – 19 kB).

The country also defends the 1897 Washington Treaty. “For more than 6 decades, the border was internationally recognized, accepted and respected by Venezuela, Guyana and the international community as being the land border between the 2 States”said the country’s government.

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BRAZIL

On Thursday (Nov 30), the Brazilian Ministry of Defense reported that it had increased the military presence in the border region in the north of the country, close to Venezuela and Guyana.

The reinforcement responded to a request from Senator Hiran Gonçalves (PP-RR), who requested reinforcement of troops in Pacaraima (RR), a city on the border with Essequibo.

Furthermore, the secretary of Latin America and the Caribbean at Itamaraty, Gisela Maria Figueiredo Padovan, said that Brazil follows the issue with “attention” and holds high-level talks with both countries in “search for a negotiated solution”. He stated that the Brazilian government considers the referendum as a “country’s internal affairs”.

“We don’t give opinions. However, we know that the result will probably be favorable, because this is an issue that unites government and opposition [da Venezuela], perhaps the only topic on which both sides agree. So I guess there’s no surprise if people answer ‘yes’ to the questions.”he told journalists on Thursday (Nov 30).

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GUYANA ECONOMY

Guyana has 214,969 km² and 800 thousand inhabitants. The official languages ​​are English and regional languages. The currency is the Guyanese dollar.

The country’s wealth has grown because of oil in the Equatorial Margin. It is expected to become a new oil power in the region. The estimate is that the total oil at the site is 14.8 billion barrels. This volume corresponds to 75% of Brazil’s total oil reserves.

Guyana’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is expected to grow 29% in 2023, according to World Bank projections released in October this year. It will be the highest performance among Latin American and Caribbean countries. Data from the entity shows that the South American country grew 43.5% in 2020, 20.1% in 2021 and 63.4% in 2022. Read the full report (PDF – 6 MB).

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) estimates growth of 38.4% in the country’s GDP in 2023.

HISTORY

The first settlers in the region were the Spanish, who arrived in the region in 1499. In the 16th century, Guyana came under Dutch control. According to the Contemporary Portal of Latin America and the Caribbean from USP (University of São Paulo), the Dutch believed that El Dorado could be located in the region – a legend that said there was a city where there was an abundance of gold.

In 1616, the first Dutch fort was built in Essequibo. The place would also serve as a trading post, managed by the Dutch West India Company. The then Dutch colony began to have as its economic base the export of sugar and tobacco.

With the implementation of an extensive irrigation system in the 18th century, Guyana expanded the number of agricultural lands, which attracted English settlers from Caribbean islands.

The population of British origin outnumbered the Dutch in the region at the end of the 18th century. With the French Revolution and the expansion of France in Europe, the Dutch decided to hand over part of their colonies to English administration to protect themselves from possible French intervention. .

In 1814, the Essequiba, Demerara and Berbice colonies were officially transferred to England through the Anglo-Dutch treaty. The territory was renamed British Guiana in 1931. The country declared its independence in 1966, but continued to be part of the British Commonwealth – a group of former British colonies.

MADURO

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, 60 years old, heads an autocratic regime with no guarantees of fundamental freedoms. He keeps, for example, people imprisoned for what he considers “political crimes”.

There are also restrictions described in OAS (Organization of American States) reports on “illegitimate appointment” the National Electoral Council for an illegitimate National Assembly, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (October 2022, November 2022 and March 2023).