Whose Land Is It Anyways?

If you have been keeping up with my recent blogs, you may know that Venezuela is pretty much divided between chavista or pro-government, and those that are of the opposition or anti-government. Miraculously, in the recent weeks they have managed to find one issue in which they can both agree.

President Nicolas Maduro has been riling the people of Venezuela to take back the land that rightfully belongs to them. The property in dispute is Essequibo, which currently belongs to Guyana, a country that borders with Venezuela. The territory in question is no small plot of land; it represents about two-third of Guyana's territory.

The area shaded in dark green is the disputed territory

The dispute over this land is one that has been going on for centuries. In 1899, the territory was granted to Great Britain when Guyana was still a colony. Seventy years later, Venezuela defied the ruling and deemed it unfair. The Geneva Agreement dictated that the two countries would need to come up with a viable solution. The talks died down and neither country did much more to address the situation.

All of this changed a few months ago when a large oil field was discovered in the area. Exxon Mobil is in the process of coming to an agreement with the government of Guyana to commence drilling.  The Venezuelan government is doing all in its power to prevent Exxon Mobil from getting access to this land. President Maduro is appealing this matter to the U.N. accusing Guyana of "attacking the dignity of the Venezuelan people" and of "undermining a peaceful diplomatic solution." Maduro is also planning to issue Venezuelan ID cards to the Guyanese people living in Essequibo and to fund an advertising campaign in hopes of convincing the people of Guyana that they are better off denouncing their Guyanese nationality and living under Venezuelan rule.

Unlike the border of Colombia and Venezuela, the border that separates Venezuela and Guyana is not open for crossing as this land is part of the disputed territory. Relations between both countries did start to improve under president Hugo Chavez who was in favor of financing several projects within Guyana including a homeless shelter which was named after him and is still operating under the name Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration.

It seems clear that the Venezuelan government's real issue is not the land itself, but the fact that Exxon Mobil, an American company, will be getting their hands on this land to drill oil. As if the plunging oil prices weren't a big enough problem for the economy of Venezuela, if Exxon Mobil gets their way, the United States would be importing even less oil from Venezuela. Hence, these desperate measures seem to be driven by economic and political motives rather than patriotic ones. I am curious to see how conquistador Maduro is planning to convince the people of Guyana that they would be better off as Venezuelans. I highly doubt that the Guyanese people will be jumping at the opportunity.