Guyana at Risk: Ethnic Politics, Oil, Venezuelan Opportunism and Why it Should Matter to Washington
Evan Ellis | Global Americans
On Friday, December 21st, as attention in Washington, D.C. shifted from the fight over the border wall and impending government shutdown to last-minute Christmas shopping, the government of Guyana, one of Latin America’s most overlooked strategically important countries, imploded.
Charrandas Persaud, a member of parliament (MP) with the Alliance for Change (AFC), the small centrist partner in the governing coalition, voted against his own party’s leadership in a no-confidence motion. This broke the government’s fragile 33-32 majority in the 65 seat National Assembly, setting the clock running for new national elections within 90 days.
Persaud’s defection set in motion far more than fresh elections and a likely change in government. Continue reading
OPINION: Guyana – a gathering place for all except locals – By GHK Lall
OPINION: Guyana – a gathering place for all except locals
There they are operating under different foreign flags in local waters: Norwegian ships charting and collecting; multinational ExxonMobil readying and salivating; American State Department (and outgoing US Ambassador) shifting and solidifying partnership gears through comforting sounds. As if not to be left out of the festivities, Caricom countries and the British (I think) have spoken favorably.
And I would be remiss if I were to forget the ubiquitous Middle Kingdom from the Far East casting about left and right for an opening to extend its burgeoning dreams of a far-flung global empire. Suddenly, little Guyana, once backward Guyana, is everybody’s best friend, and everyone is seeking some loving. Continue reading →
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