Inflation has been a disruptor all across the world since the pandemic. Yet, recent aggressive interest rate hikes have not solved the persistent inflation that economies have been experiencing. Indeed, the actual causes of inflation, supply chain disruptions and spikes in commodity prices have currently lessened, and while speculation trading, which has exacerbated issues like global food insecurity, has waned, the global majority countries are facing the effects of the Western-led response, suffocating them with a debt crisis. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global majority has seen its debt grow 8 percent from 2020 to 2021 — from USD 8.6 trillion to over USD 9 trillion, growing more than gross national income and exports. Likewise, external short-term debt also went up, likely due to the purchase of vaccines, testing materials, and other pandemic measures. In many countries, debt grew by double-digit figures. Through sharp drops in exports, tourism, and remittances, as well as rising food and fuel prices, expenditure in many global majority countries surged as foreign exchange profits rapidly dropped as a result of the pandemic. The developing world has been plagued with capital flight — people moving their money out of the country’s banking system — that has resulted in their currencies falling in value, which made their imports cost more, and what households consume come down, since goods cost more — all of which has created an explosion of their debt burdens and even debt default in some countries. Furthermore, in 2022, inflation was caused by “greedflation,” major corporations increasing their prices to achieve more profits, or “stagflation,” supply shortages in the global economy which caused prices to go up in the world economy. The response was to aggressively raise interest rates, primarily led by the US Federal Reserve, which has had calamitous consequences for much of the global majority. Higher interest rates make the dollar more appealing to investors and enhance its value relative to other currencies. This implies that everything the worldwide majority wants to buy in dollars is far more expensive in their own currencies. Given that these countries are already experiencing restrictions on their domestic financial policy due to external factors such as speculation on the prices of commodities (i.e. metals, oil, agriculture, etc) and the pandemic, aggressive interest rates have subsequently been threatening economic growth in the global majority. This alarming situation means that the global majority is facing a major economic recession amid a looming debt crisis. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) forecasts that the aggressive interest rate pressures initiated by rich countries will cause serious debt distress in the rest of the world, assessing that the cost of paying off its debts will burden the global majority with at least USD 800 billion. As debt servicing expenditures rise at the expense of investment and public spending, these countries find themselves in what UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed called “a trade-off between investments in debt and investments in people.” The World Bank cautions that the impending debt crisis is “intensifying,” which is in particular “devastating for many of the poorest economies, where poverty reduction has already ground to a halt.” Significantly, the International Monetary Fund’s latest assessments of debt stress indicate that 10 countries were in debt distress (meaning in debt default or on the verge of default) while 52 countries were in severe to moderate debt stress — currently totalling USD 3 trillion in debt, a doubling since 2010. A recent paper by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), an economic think tank, clarifies the gravity of the situation that the West's money-tightening policies have brought about. Beyond the previously discussed problems, central banks in these countries face the option of hiking their interest rates, but, as the paper argues, this would do considerable damage to GDP and their domestic economy as it slows economic growth and leads to significant job loss, making a soft landing impossible. Furthermore, a recession triggered by US monetary policy could result in the “scarring” of future economic growth, which would only make their debt impossible to pay off. There is the danger of another lost decade in development, which would have severe consequences for everyday life in the global majority. Indeed, UNCTAD estimates that US interest-rate increases could shrink future incomes for the global majority (barring China) by at least USD 360 billion. In many of these debt-ridden countries, interest rate payments amount to nearly 5 percent of export revenue.