Guyana is a failed state. Georgetown is one the world's most violent capitals, high rise buildings are rare, if you ever get down there as a tourist the chances of being mugged or even kidnapped and killed are enormous.
55% of Guyana's population have fled that country. The reason is obvious: no jobs, no economy, tons of poverty, no hope, just endless misery, corruption and violence. Of all the three former Guianas, the English Guyana is actually the poorest and most chaotic. Living in Suriname is actually doable if you have the stomach, but living in Guyana is unbearable unless you have a lot of good connections with the corrupt cronyist political elite and can land yourself a nice little closed fenced in home away from the poverty and misery just next door to you.
That said, Venezuela is not in a much better situation. The thing that strikes me is that both Venezuela and Guyana are a lot like failed states, it's a poor man's conflict for oil and not to get yourself irreversibly drowned in poverty and failure, that's all. But still I have somewhat slightly more sympathy for Venezuela given how Guyana actually looks like now.
