The South American country that is preparing to be "the richest in the world" – 05/10/2019

"Many people do not know how big it is … it's gigantic, they will be the richest country in the hemisphere and potentially the richest country in the world". The speaker is US Ambbadador Perry Holloway to the United States Guyanaspecifically a small country of South America; the second poorest country in the region.

What's Holloway about? Of the gigantic discovery of oil reserves off Guyanait will convert this country from "Cinderella to Queen".

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Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America, have discovered such huge reserves of oil that in 2025, it is estimated, according to Perry, that your GDP "will increase between 300% and 1000%".

It seems exaggerated to say that it will be the richest country in the world, but if you take into account that its population is only 750 thousand inhabitants, per capita, the wealth of Guyana will be catapulted into the stratosphere.

ExxonMobil, the main operator in Guyana, announced the discovery of more than 5,500 million barrels of oil, in the waters of the Atlantic.

The money will certainly be useful, says the BBC. This former British colony It has high unemployment and poverty rates.

The curse of oil

Guyana should learn from the lessons of the past to avoid making mistakes. The discovery of large oil reserves in developing countries has exacerbated existing corruption, which has led to new oil wealth they will end up being stolen and wasted. Something that has already been called the "curse of oil". To have Venezuela to reach to understand the phenomenon.

And also in French Guiana "Corruption is rampant"says Troy Thomas, director of the local headquarters of the NGO Transparency International.

Thomas worries about the oil curse. And a recent political crisis may be an early sign of the effects of this curse.

Look also

In a note published last year, CNN had already announced with a suggestive title: "This small South American country will explode in oil: Are you going to enjoy it? ".

The discovery of the reserves took place in 2015. But Exxon continued to discover more. This Thursday announced his 13th discovery on the coast of the country in the Yellowtail-1 Stabroek Block.

"There is a realistic possibility that this is transforming the country's economy," Pavel Molchanov, vice president and equity research badociate at Raymond James, told CNN. "It's particularly impressive for a small country like Guyana."

When the first quantity of oil begins to flow, which ExxonMobil expects to be in 2020, Guyana could reap billions almost immediately.

By 2025, ExxonMobil wants to produce 750,000 barrels of oil a day.

In French Guiana, a democratic republic, there are two parts formed by the descendants of African slaves, on the one hand, and the descendants of Indian servants, on the other.

There is concern that the current government is unfairly favoring voters with the same ethnic background. Next year, there will be elections.

Guyana has a unicameral National Assembly. The executive is headed by the president, who appoints ministers, headed by a prime minister.

The current president is David Arthur Granger and his prime minister is Moses Nagamootoo

For the moment, French Guiana go straight in terms of preparation, says Eileen Gavin, political badyst at Verisk Maplecroft.

He hopes to establish a sovereign fund and joined EITI, an organization that helps countries manage oil reserves in a way that fiscally responsible.

But it is still too early to tell if everything will be fine. The fire test will be next year when the revenue will start to flow. How much could I enter per year? According to the New York Times, about $ 20 billion.