Mercosur

It is perhaps a moot point as to whether it was the best of wisdom for President David Granger to have attended the Mercosur summit in Brazil last week. Along with Suriname, Guyana became an associate member of the Southern Cone organization in 2013, although the thinking behind that decision was never fully explicated. Perhaps it was that if Suriname was going to join, even on an associate basis, she should not be left undisturbed in such a forum to find common cause with the nation to our west, which also harbours major ambitions in relation to Guyana’s territory.

Anticipating that Venezuela would make a pitch to fellow Mercosur members on Essequibo, no doubt Takuba Lodge and the Ministry of the Presidency decided that it was an opportunity to put Guyana’s case to what was – with the exception of Brazil – a forum which is sympathetic to Venezuela and dismissive of Guyana. Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay are embraced within the grouping, with Bolivia now set to graduate to full membership from associate status. The last-named country is especially close to Venezuela, while for Uruguay and Paraguay, Guyana probably has no profile to speak of at all.

The most significant of the Venezuelan allies in Mercosur is Argentina, which believes it is waging a struggle against British “imperialism” over the Falkland Islands. British “imperialism” also looms large in Caracas’ entirely fanciful tale of how it was ‘deprived’ of Essequibo, and one only hopes that President Granger felt embarrassed about the statement issued at the end of the summit lending robust support to Buenos Aires over the Falklands issue.

It was not this government, of course, but the last one, that suddenly announced its backing for Argentina’s position on the Falklands, apparently oblivious to the parallels in the two spurious claims. There is nothing to be gained from Argentina by offering it support on this issue, in addition to which it traps us in all kinds of inconsistencies which could have consequences down the line. Common sense would seem to suggest that Guyana should backtrack on this policy, although how the new administration would accomplish that remains to be seen.

Brazil, by far the largest player in Mercosur, would presumably be averse to seeing portions of Guyana being fed into the Venezuelan maw, if only because it would conflict with her own Caribbean ambitions. She would also not tolerate any interference by Caracas in relation to her activities in this country. Having said that, however, her position and role on this continent are complex, and if Georgetown is anticipating any lectern-thumping backing in relation to our western neighbour, then it will be disappointed.

There are some countries among the associate members with whom we might be able to establish groundings – Colombia and Chile come immediately to mind – but building those kinds of links take time and effort. In any case, these states are on the periphery of the organization, not at its heart.

Venezuela, in contrast, is a full member, and so it was no surprise when President NicolÁs Maduro swept into Brasilia clutching his notes on Essequibo mythology. It was not his address, however, which was the main problem since that followed the expected pattern; it was his announcement that the regional bloc had agreed to hold a special meeting in August to discuss the border controversy and Venezuela’s maritime claim.

The one thing in the current circumstances this nation would not want is to be drawn into any discussion in a Latin context of the border controversy. In the first place, it falls under the auspices of the Geneva Agreement and at the moment is in the hands of the UN Secretary General; Guyana should not give even a hint of a preparedness to emerge from underneath that umbrella. In the second, we are apparently seeking recourse to the ICJ on the question of the nullity of the 1899 Award, and this is not the route to take to get there; that too at this stage will have to be achieved through the agency of the UN Secretary General.

Fortunately, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge was quoted in the Guyana Times as saying “Our colleagues in Latin America claim we have been invited to a meeting in August, but didn’t see it fit to ask us whether we’d be available, whether the time would be convenient, whether we’d be interested and so forth.” He was subsequently reported as saying that the government does not attend meetings on the basis of information from other sources.

It might be added that even if Guyana were to be directly invited, we should refuse the invitation and not be involved in the discussions. There is nothing to be gained and a great deal to lose by conveying the impression that amorphous organizations of one sort or another can be unilaterally conferred with some locus standi by Venezuela to pronounce on the controversy. Venezuela too is bound by the Geneva Agreement.