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Little Country, Big Oil by Naomi Bethune
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – It’s Saturday, and I’m squeezed into the back of a rickety red car on my way to the Mon Repos market. Getting there from Georgetown, Guyana’s capital, is straightforward: follow a highway that runs east from the city along the coast. I’m sitting beside my father’s cousin Rochelle, who has been incredibly helpful in getting us around, and a man named Gavin who’s been a taxi driver for decades sits behind the wheel. He tells me that despite having an old-age pension (a noncontributory social security benefit for Guyanese over the age of 65), he still loves doing this work.
After parking alongside the Rupert Craig Highway, we hold our breath just to cross the street as cars whiz by. At the market, the energy is palpable: Somewhere, a DJ is playing soca music while vendors stand behind stalls selling everything from freshly butchered pork to avocados the size of my hand. Guyana is the only country in the world that’s able to produce enough food to feed itself fully without relying on imported options. As I weave through the stalls behind Rochelle, whose hand is firmly clasped around that of her eight-year-old daughter, I see that reality. I reckon you could find any fruit or vegetable in the world here.
Guyana is breathtaking. Around 85 percent of the country is covered in rainforest. Although it’s part of South America, its culture and language are aligned with English-speaking Caribbean countries. Guyanese people are racially and ethnically diverse, which reflects the influence of the United Kingdom’s century-plus of colonial rule, which ended in 1966. Indo-Guyanese, who are primarily descendants of Indian indentured laborers, constitute around 40 percent of the population. Afro-Guyanese, the second-largest ethnic group, account for nearly 30 percent, and are descendants of enslaved Africans who were kidnapped and forced to work on sugar plantations.
Although small in numbers, Guyana’s nine recognized indigenous nations (typically referred to as Amerindians) have had a significant impact on the country’s culture as well. Chinese Guyanese and Portuguese people have also long been active in business and commerce. Guyana’s overall population is around 850,000.
After parking alongside the Rupert Craig Highway, we hold our breath just to cross the street as cars whiz by. At the market, the energy is palpable: Somewhere, a DJ is playing soca music while vendors stand behind stalls selling everything from freshly butchered pork to avocados the size of my hand. Guyana is the only country in the world that’s able to produce enough food to feed itself fully without relying on imported options. As I weave through the stalls behind Rochelle, whose hand is firmly clasped around that of her eight-year-old daughter, I see that reality. I reckon you could find any fruit or vegetable in the world here.
Guyana is breathtaking. Around 85 percent of the country is covered in rainforest. Although it’s part of South America, its culture and language are aligned with English-speaking Caribbean countries. Guyanese people are racially and ethnically diverse, which reflects the influence of the United Kingdom’s century-plus of colonial rule, which ended in 1966. Indo-Guyanese, who are primarily descendants of Indian indentured laborers, constitute around 40 percent of the population. Afro-Guyanese, the second-largest ethnic group, account for nearly 30 percent, and are descendants of enslaved Africans who were kidnapped and forced to work on sugar plantations.
Although small in numbers, Guyana’s nine recognized indigenous nations (typically referred to as Amerindians) have had a significant impact on the country’s culture as well. Chinese Guyanese and Portuguese people have also long been active in business and commerce. Guyana’s overall population is around 850,000.
https://prospect.org/2026/06/03/jun-2026-guyana-little-country-big-oil/