Borders and ballots: Why Essequibo is controversial in Venezuela's election
Like many Venezuelans, Oliver Rivas grew up looking at maps of his country: a triangle on the edge of the Caribbean Sea.
But one region always stood out. In school textbooks and on classroom posters, a stretch of land in the east was marked differently, with shading, red marks or dashed boundary lines.
That region was Essequibo, a 160,000-square-kilometre (62,000-square-mile) area rich with jungles, rivers and mountains, not to mention resources like oil and gold.
'It always appeared as a claimed zone or disputed territory," Rivas said. "We always understood that it was subject to controversy. That's what we learned in school. But it has always been part of the map of Venezuela, part of Venezuelan territory."
For the majority of Venezuelans like Rivas, that territory — roughly the size of Florida — belongs to their country.
But Venezuela's neighbour Guyana, a former British colony, has administered the region for over a century. It claims Essequibo as its own.
As Venezuela prepares for parliamentary and regional elections on May 25, that longstanding territorial dispute has returned to the spotlight. For the first time, Venezuela will elect representatives not only for its 23 recognised states but also for a new state: Guayana Esequiba.
Rivas is standing as a candidate. He's running on behalf of the socialist coalition led by President Nicolas Maduro.
Eight seats in Venezuela's National Assembly have been assigned to Essequibo. But neither Rivas nor any of the other candidates can campaign there.
Those who live in the region — mainly those with Guyanese citizenship — can't even vote. The Guyanese government has warned that participating in Venezuela's election could amount to treason.
Even international bodies have rejected the vote. On May 1, the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body at the United Nations, ruled that Venezuela must "refrain from conducting elections" for Essequibo while it continues to weigh the territorial dispute.
Nevertheless, Rivas and supporters of the new state see the regional elections as crucial to assert Venezuela's longstanding claim over Essequibo. He considers the opportunity 'an honour'.
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