A region that has been disputed for centuries, where borders have been defined and questioned through agreements in an oil-rich region. It could be a conflict geographically distant from Brazil, but that is not the case: it is a conflict on the border of two countries neighboring the state of Roraima.
Two maps of the same area are considered legitimate, depending on the side of the conflict. In one of them, Venezuela’s borders extend to more than 75% of what is today Guyana’s territory. The country thus reaches the Essequibo River, in the part that forms Guyana Esquipa.
The map was presented, according to the Associated Press, as part of Caracas’ campaign to hold a referendum on December 3. On that date, according to a post on the country’s Bolivarian government’s official website, “Venezuela will assert itself in the streets, in the fighting, and on the third day, with one voice, will say yes five times.” Nicolas Maduro, President of the country, on Wednesday (22).
Also according to the official website, the president said, on the same occasion, that “transnational oil companies, the Southern Command, and the United States are seeking the country’s wealth.” Maduro’s talk about the interest of oil companies in discovering oil fields in the disputed area in 2015 with the American company ExxonMobil.
Maduro even targeted the company in the same speech. The president stated that the oil company was paying politicians in the country to sabotage the referendum and talk badly about it. “Let the people decide the fate of Guyana Esquipa!” He added: “A lot of money is being traded to buy far-right politicians and policies to oppose the referendum and to weaken and divide Venezuela again.”
This week, defense and foreign ministers from all South American countries met in Brasilia, in a meeting organized by Mauro Vieira, the Brazilian chancellor.
The Foreign Minister said, according to what was reported by the official news agency, “The delegations of Guyana and Venezuela presented their positions, and the other countries asked them to reach an understanding through diplomatic channels and resolve their differences peacefully.” condition.
The worsening conflict coincides with Guyana’s economy growing by about 40% this year, according to International Monetary Fund data. The country currently has oil reserves with the potential for rapid expansion in the coming years and projections indicate that Guyana could become the largest oil producer in the world, surpassing Kuwait.
The abundance has encouraged increased spending on education, health and infrastructure, by agreeing to create a sovereign wealth fund to generate income from the commodity.
What happened in the region?
The area between the Essequibo River and the Orinoco River has been the target of conflict between the United Kingdom and Venezuela since the 19th century, and in the 1890s the United States proposed establishing an arbitration procedure for definition. This process was outlined in the Treaty of Washington signed in 1897, and from there the report was created that considered the lot to be part of what was an English colony at the time.
Since then, the questions have subsided, but they have not ceased to exist on the Venezuelan side. The complaint crystallized in 1962, when Venezuela itself informed the UN Secretary-General of the dispute with the United Kingdom. The country was looking for an agreement, which was rejected by the colonizers of Guyana, considering that the matter had already been closed by the treaty established in 1899.
The signing of the Geneva Convention by all participating countries in 1966 allowed Venezuela to develop an understanding that the issue should be resolved through direct negotiations between the two countries.
The issue remained controversial and monitored by the United Nations until 2015. In September of this year, according to a document from the International Court of Justice, the Secretary-General held a meeting with the heads of state of Guyana and Venezuela.
Following the meeting on November 12, 2015, a document was issued informing the parties that “[s]No practical solution to the controversy was reached before the end of his term. [ele] “It aims to begin the process of obtaining a final and binding decision from the International Court of Justice.”
Guyana appeals to the International Court of Justice
While the solution for Venezuela lies in a referendum that will bring a “response from the streets” on the issue, according to the country’s constitutional text, according to the government, Guyana has been betting on the Interactive Court of Justice (ICJ) for the issue since 2018.
“The International Court of Justice is a judicial body of the United Nations whose mission is to resolve legal disputes between states through consultation or litigation, the latter in the case of Guyana,” explains lawyer and Master of the Social Function of Law, Stephanie Haver.
The subject of the complaint registered with the international body was a dispute over “the legal validity and binding effect of the report indicating the boundary between the colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela, dated October 3, 1899,” according to the report. Doc accepted Guyana’s request for trial.
As the lawyer explains, accepting the process only means that the body understands that it has jurisdiction (it can adjudicate) and that the matter must be dealt with in that area.
“First, the conditions for admissibility are analyzed and, if possible, some precautionary measures to protect the right in question. The case is then referred to trial and states must abide by the court’s decisions, on pain of appeal to the UN Security Council, which may adopt measures to enforce compliance.”
In the same year, Venezuela challenged the court’s jurisdiction to decide the case and refused to participate in the proceedings. However, the state’s lack of participation does not affect the validity of the trial, according to the International Court of Justice document.
In the most recent document issued by the Court on this issue, in April 2023, it was decided that the United Kingdom would not participate in the ongoing process in the international body.
Venezuela’s position is based on the Geneva Agreement, agreed in 1966, which stipulates that countries must negotiate an agreement that is “practical, friendly and satisfactory to both parties,” according to Maduro’s statement this week. “Patiently, we have been waiting for Guyana to sit down face to face and talk,” said the president, who, according to the Venezuelan government press, sent a letter to the President of Guyana and received a response. a dialogue.
Influencing the Venezuelan elections
This issue has a strong chance of influencing the Venezuelan elections, because Maduro’s main opponent, Maria Corina Machado, opposes holding the referendum. The Venezuelan judiciary prevents the candidate, who won the vote conducted by opposition politicians, from running in the elections, but he appears to be the most likely candidate to lead the opposition.
“Esquibo is ours. Sovereignty is exercised and not consulted,” Maria Corina stated on her X (formerly Twitter) account on November 10.
In his view, the territory should indeed be defended as part of the Bolivarian state, but before the International Court of Justice. So far, the referendum was tested last Sunday, and the government announced that it was “successful,” without giving any further details about the nature of the test.
“There is nervousness in Guyana, in the north, be very nervous, sweat a lot, because it rains, thunders or flashes, the referendum will be held on December 3 and the people will decide the fate of their sovereignty, their land, their peace and their peace.” “The future,” Maduro said.
