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 GuyanaRacial Disputes, Border Disputes Hinder ProgressGuyana's potential economic development was hurt
in 2000 as border disputes with both Venezuela to the west and Suriname to
the east heated up. Suriname and Guyana have been unable to resolve the
border dispute in an oil-rich coastal area. Venezuela's president Hugo
Chavez has revived the 19th-century claim to more than half of Guyana's
territory.
In March 2001, Bharrat Jagdeo won a second term
in elections that underscored Guyana's bitter racial tensions. The
reelection of Jagdeo, an ethnic East Indian, caused rioting among
Afro-Guyanese, who claimed widespread election fraud.
In Jan.–Feb. 2005, the country experienced
its worst natural disaster. More than a third of the country's population
was affected by devastating flooding.
See also
Encyclopedia:
Guyana
.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Guyana
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