28th of August, 2022. Guyana, South America. GSA News. Regional News. Guyana News
Last updated: August 28, 2022 at 18:50 pmGuyana and its Western neighbor, Venezuela, are projected to be the two countries with the fastest economic growths for the year 2022, but Guyana is far ahead of Venezuela in this respect.
Venezuela, the country with the world’s highest proven oil reserve, took a severe economic plunge after the United States and Europe imposed economic sanctions due to allegations of electoral fraud by the Maduro government. This economic plunge was further compounded by mismanagement by the Maduro government which sent millions of Venezuelans fleeing starvation. But with the Biden’s administration engaged in fresh negotiations with Caracas, Venezuela is set to make a comeback, and fast.
According to a United Nation’s report released on August 23rd, Venezuela is expected to see a 10% economic growth in 2022 while Guyana’s economy is expected to grow by 52% this year.
Right after Venezuela is Panama with a projected 7% economic growth for 2022 and Colombia with 6.5%.
On Monday, 22nd of August, 2022, Calixto Ortega Sanchez, president of the Central Bank of Venezuela, announced that, in the first quarter of this year, the private sector of Venezuela experienced an economic growth of 17.04%. Ortega also added that the Venezuelan economy has registered double-digit growth in four consecutive quarters, including the second quarter of 2022.
Since the Venezuela economic collapse which peaked around 2014, thousands of Venezuelans have fled to Guyana to seek refuge and eke out a living. These were met with varying levels of success, and some amount of disasters. Hundreds of Venezuelan women were trafficked and forced into prostitution, and many Venezuelans were forced to work for free or very little remuneration.
This scenario did not just play out in Guyana, but around the world. However, with the situation expected to turn around soon, and Venezuela returning to its former glory, or greater, in the years ahead, people of Guyana and around the world would be well advised to be careful of the way in which they treat Venezuelan refugees, because they will remember, and it will be documented in the history books.
