Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana are three South American countries that are practically disconnected from the continent.
Separated by language, cultures, and great ethnic diversity, they have fascinating histories. Two of them gained their independence from Great Britain and the Netherlands in the second half of the 20th century and one remains a French overseas territory. Three in-depth reports in Revista Anfibia get to know them.
The chapter on French Guiana focuses on how life is lived in a European colony in the Amazon, where the Korurou space base is located, which is one of the main contributors to the GDP in a country with scarce internet connection and where 90% of the territory is covered by forests.
The chapter on Suriname deals with conflicts over illegal gold mining, where Brazilian, Chinese, and Maroon miners of slave descent are pitted against each other on disputed lands with large foreign companies working in the region.
Guyana's chapter addresses the oil boom. In 2019 it was the second-poorest country in Latin America. The discovery of crude oil reserves placed it as the largest oil producer per capita in the world, resulting in a turn in its geopolitical value, tensions with Venezuela, and the emergence of new inequalities within the country itself, from dramatic economic growth.
