Venezuelans voted to integrate the Esequibo region, currently controlled by Guyana, into their country. The referendum supported by President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday ended with a plebiscite as expected: 95% of those who went to the polls voted in favor of five questions. “We have taken the first steps of a new historical phase in the struggle for ours,” the Caracas leader said.
Although the actual number of Venezuelans who took part in the vote is not clear, for Maduro it was a “landslide” victory: according to Caracas officials, the number is more than 10 million, but two-time opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles claims that the number of voters outnumbering just over 2 million is “a huge failure” it would be. Whatever the data obtained from the surveys, the political one is clear: Venezuela has officially opened a new front of geopolitical tension in South America.
Esequibo is a region of 160 thousand square kilometers, where 125 thousand of the 800 thousand Guyanese people in the country live (according to 2012 data) and where English is spoken. The territory, which was allocated to Georgetown by an arbitration decision dating back to 1899, is rich in oil, minerals and watersheds, and has been the object of Venezuelan lust for years; This situation has increased even more since the American group ExxonMobil discovered other rich deposits in 2015. There are hydrocarbons. British, Russian and American referees decided on the controversial border.
Venezuelan officials allege that Americans and Europeans conspired to deprive their country of the territory and argue that a 1966 agreement to resolve the dispute would effectively nullify the original arbitration. Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America, maintains that the initial agreement was legal and binding and in 2018 asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest judicial body, to declare this.
According to many experts on South American affairs, Sunday’s referendum will not lead to the immediate annexation of Esequibo, and Caracas has assured that it does not intend to occupy the territory, at least for now. Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali assured his citizens that “there is nothing to fear in the coming hours, days and months.” He was accompanied by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and invited the two countries to let common sense prevail: “If there is something the world does not need, it is what South America does not need. The Brazilian leader, who has recently sent troops near the disputed border, said that the unrest is causing unrest.” he underlined.
Maduro does not appear to have the will, and certainly not the strength, to challenge the international community and his powerful neighbor. Rather, the referendum may have two purposes: On the one hand, to consolidate consensus within the country at a time when the opposition is trying to reorganize itself to launch an attack on the presidency. On the other hand, Caracas plans to send a warning to the United States not to step back after the lifting of sanctions that allowed the country to return to oil exports. During this period, Venezuelan crude oil has become important in moderating the rise in oil prices in the region, but Maduro needs foreign investment in infrastructure to fully utilize the country’s potential. Possible competition from Esequibo could reduce its weight in the oil market balance and halt the revival of its exports.
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Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
