Zambia’s Debt Crisis Will Be a Turning Point for the Global South
G20 leaders have announced a deal with Zambia as a new debt crisis looms in the Global South. The deal will be another bonanza for finance capital at the expense of the world’s poorest people unless private lenders are forced to take a loss.
Managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva (R) walks with Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema (L) at the State House in Lusaka, Zambia on January 23, 2023. (Salim Dawood / AFP via Getty Images)
Zambia has made a deal with its foreign government lenders over its unpayable debt. G20 leaders are declaring a victory for their response to the debt crisis in the Global South.
This should be a moment of optimism for the people of indebted countries across the Global South. However, it’s more likely to become just another bonanza for private capital — unless campaigners in the United States and the UK can take advantage of a strategic opportunity for new legislation that would limit the scope for rampant profiteering.
Sliding Toward Disaster
Things fall apart slowly in a debt crisis. Life gets harder and worse for people and communities that already had it bad, as countries cut spending on services and roll back subsidies that had kept poorer communities above water, while the costs of essentials rocket.
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