La Guyana it is becoming the Dubai of South America. The former English colony (not to be confused with French Guiana or Suriname, a former Dutch colony) is today threatened by near Venezuela of Nicolas Maduro who claims sovereignty over two thirds of its territory, the so-called Essequibo, but this is not stopping it from becoming a small jewel in a historically poor geographical area, just think of the conditions of Caracas itself and all the economic and humanitarian organizations in the Caribbean world, one above all that of Haiti. Indeed, this is probably what Maduro is tempted by, who recently unilaterally annexed "Guyana Essequiba", triggering the concerns of the international community: the country with its capital in Georgetown was discovered about ten years ago very rich in oil reserves offshore and from there it changed its face, becoming by far the first state in South America in terms of GDP per capita and even going so far as to plan the construction of futuristic cities, just as happens in Arab countries.
Guyana disputed between oil, gold and diamonds
Being, unlike the other countries in the area, always in the orbit of Anglo-American influence (even if Venezuela's claims are not entirely far-fetched, but it will be a long tug-of-war of international justice to establish who is right) , the US giant has had its hands on Guyana's black gold for some time now Exxon, which holds 45% of the rights to the Stabroek offshore block, from which it extracts up to 620.000 barrels of crude oil per day and in which it has invested approximately $2019 billion since 1. It is no coincidence that starting from 2019, GDP per capita has recorded a surge, going from 13.000 dollars (2.000 dollars less than Brazil) to over 42.000 dollars in 2022 (2,5 times that of Brazil). In 2020 the GDP of Guyana is jumped by 43,5% but it did even better in 2022, growing by almost 63% in real terms, the highest percentage figure in the world. Record confirmed also in 2023, with 38,4% calculated by the International Monetary Fund, while the global average was 3%. And so it will be again this year, with estimates predicting a slowdown but still astonishing growth, at 26,6%. A real one miraculo economico, for a population of less than 1 million inhabitants living in an area of 215.000 square km rich not only in oil but also in Iron, Copper, , diamonds, Magnesium.
Silica City, Guyana's city of the future
If it is true that Guyana is still only in position number 108 for the Human Development Index according to UN parameters, it is also a fact that local politicians have no shortage of ambitions: to reduce inequalities and guarantee the entire population a an adequate level of education and healthcare in the Georgetown area seems less important for now than imagining and creating futuristic cities. In fact, for about a year now the government has made it clear that the priority is to ride the wave, and has announced a project that was unthinkable until a few years ago: building from scratch the city of the future, a smart city powered by 100% clean energy. The city should be called Silica City and the area chosen is the one near the small village of Kuru Kururu. Work has already begun and indeed the first 100 houses should be ready soon, as promised by President Irfaan Ali last year. However, there is no shortage of controversy. First of all, the local press accuses the government of lacking transparency: contracts have been announced, for now, for the equivalent of only 10 million dollars, a bit low for such a pharaonic project, admitted and not granted that it will be truly pharaonic.
The green future paid for with oil
And then, above all, there is the question oftechnology. Guyana is formally a country that is committed against the climate changes, but the extraction of oil and minerals risks further endangering an already complicated territory, given that the capital Georgetown, on the coast, was built below sea level. It is no mystery that global warming is causing ocean levels to rise, putting the survival of coastal cities at risk, especially those that literally rise above the water, such as Venice, Amsterdam, New York and, indeed, Georgetown. . Silica City would respond precisely to this need: build a new urban center 40 km further south, away from the risk of flooding and even sinking. But it will be built with the money of Petroleum and mining activities.
