Venezuela’s claims to the Guayana Esequiba are a source of concern for entrepreneurs in the region, says an European news agency, but this contrasts with the data of participation in the last Sunday’s local and legislative, as well as the testimonies of inhabitants of the territory, who were satisfied to participate in the democratic process.

RELATED:

Venezuela Rejects Insolent CARICOM Secretary General’s Statement on the Venezuelan Territory of the Esequibo

Many of the economies of the communities in Region One, Barima-Waini, are dependent on gold mining and these activities, along with fishing, retail trade and construction, provide employment and livelihood for much of the Guyanese people in the region.

Entrepreneur Emmanuel Francis, from the village of Arakaka, says that local trade is negatively affected by generating uncertainty and reluctance to purchase on the part of the inhabitants, and explains that this situation forces businesses to close down, dependent on the maritime supply of goods from Georgetown.

Greggory Vincent, who owns a mining and construction company in Matthew’s Ridge, comments that the Guyanese citizens of the border communities “we were born here, we grew up here, they taught us all about Guyana, and the 83,000 square miles (of Esequibo) belong to Guyana.”

In the same vein, another trader explains that the continuing tension is affecting the perception of Guyanese border communities about their security, which affects business.

According to a press report, there is growing concern following the elections in Venezuela, which were held to elect the governor and legislators of the newly established state of Guayana Esequiba. Constituted after a referendum in 2024 in which the Venezuelans overwhelmingly approved the creation of the new federal entity.

These testimonies offered to a European press agency, contrast with the statements of the candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) Neil Villamizar, who was elected governor of Guayana Esequiba, and yesterday assured that inhabitants of the territory crossed to vote in the elections, actively showing their participation and confidence in Bolivarian democracy.

The Administrative Service of Identification, Migration and Aliens (Saime) has authorized more than four thousand people to vote in regional elections, parliamentary elections and legislative councils, according to Villamizar, governor-elect of Guayana Esequib, who says that the operations were carried out in Las Claritas (Caroni) and El Dorado (Bolivar) following popular demand to facilitate electoral participation.

Villamizar stresses that many people crossed the de facto line from Esequibo to the state of Bolívar in order to exercise their right to vote, “despite the threats from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, given that among voters more predominated the opportunities for economic progress and social welfare offered by the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.”

IN THIS ARTICLE