• People have risen up throughout the globe over inflation, high costs of living and government corruption.
• Western sanctions on Russia have produced shortages in essential commodities, causing prices to skyrocket.
• “Sanctions on Russia will prove to be a graveyard for many governments around the world,” economist Steve Hanke told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Protests in wealthy and developing countries throughout the globe have sprung up in recent weeks over economic grievances and “ill-advised” government policies.

Countries are struggling with inflation and exorbitant fuel costs, while the war in Ukraine has cut off major sources of food and fertilizer that experts warn may cause a global food catastrophe. Facing lower standards of living and poverty in cases, people in many countries are demonstrating against what they perceive as their governments’ poor handling of economic challenges.

“The primary underlying cause of the protests are the Western sanctions being imposed on Russia,” Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University and former Reagan adviser, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “They have totally disrupted the international oil market, market for grains, cooking oil and a host of other basic commodities.”

People in Pakistan are demonstrating after the newly-instated government slashed fuel subsidies and increased taxes, sending fuel prices skyrocketing up to 70% by the end of July, the Times of India reported. The International Monetary Fund awarded Pakistan up to $1.17 billion Thursday on top of its 2019 $6 billion bailout loan as the economy teeters on default, with only enough foreign currency reserves to sustain five weeks of imports.

Pakistan is ours and we will take it back from the mafias pic.twitter.com/hFwaYuyaSB

— Shayan Ali (@ShayanA2307) July 20, 2022

Protesters have blocked roads in Panama for three weeks, halting food deliveries as a way to pressure the government into constraining public spending and reforming corrupt behavior, Reuters reported Wednesday. The government has implemented austerity measures and capped fuel costs, but inflation continues to climb.

Protests continue to escalate in #Panama. For the third consecutive week, thousands marched to denounce high fuel & food costs. pic.twitter.com/idi7jI1OL8

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 22, 2022

Puerto Ricans demonstrated Wednesday against a government contract with the LUMA power company, which, despite frequent outages, hiked rates 17% in July, according to Reuters.

Hundreds took to the streets in Puerto Rico on Wednesday. The public is calling for the gov’t to cancel their contract with power grid operator LUMA Energy. Power outages and frequent rate hikes have become the norm. Take a look at the scene in San Juan:pic.twitter.com/Dqn4oiA1ni

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 21, 2022

Roughly 100 truckers blocked a major highway in Australia Wednesday, alleging the government has fixed pay rates that don’t correspond to the price of fuel despite promises to implement a fuel levy, Sky News reported.

“Our fuel is up to 50-60 per cent of our costs and they’ve stuck us out to dry so we’ve decided to come for a drive into the city to show them we need this done,” Victorian Tippers United Treasurer Ricky Woolcock told Sky News.

Australian truckers are furious. Over 100 truckers protested about soaring fuel costs, and caused traffic to stop in Melbourne on Wednesday. Take a look:pic.twitter.com/WXrt2ajYOA

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 20, 2022

Opposition leaders joined protesters Tuesday outside the Indian parliament building to demonstrate against inflation and a 5% hike in taxes on certain packaged food items and commodities, Republic World reported.

Opposition MP’s continue their protest against inflation and the unreasonable GST hikes on food essentials.
We will not stop until the govt is forced to listen to the voice of the people. pic.twitter.com/ru7z64NYUu

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 22, 2022

Cubans on July 15 protested government power cuts and lack of food service, Radio Television Marti reported. Demonstrators chanted “We are hungry” and “Down with communism.”

Anti-government protests are in FULL swing in Cuba. Cubans have been protesting from weeks about power cuts and blackouts. Communism = no power. Take a look:pic.twitter.com/WotbHhiqLe

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 20, 2022

France’s Yellow Vest protesters gathered in Paris on Bastille Day, July 14, amidst soaring inflation to influence the government to reduce taxes and freeze prices on certain necessary goods, according to French radio station RFI.

Cost of living protests have now sprung up in France. The public is enraged by soaring energy and food prices. Take a look at the scene in Paris:pic.twitter.com/Ex1tUVISdz

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 17, 2022

Protesters marched outside of the Argentine presidential palace on July 9, expressing their outrage over rising inflation levels, reaching 60% at the time, and tight economic policies associated with a $44 billion loan agreement struck with the IMF earlier in 2022, Reuters reported. Juan Carlos Giordano, one of the protesters and a socialist, said that “Argentina must break its ties with the IMF, which is the Spanish Empire of the 21st century.”

In Buenos Aires, #Argentina, hundreds of Argentinians have gathered to protest the rising costs of living. No surprise. Today, I measure inflation in Argentina at a stunning 77%/yr. pic.twitter.com/XoN6Hxrf9T

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 16, 2022

On July 7, a national holiday commemorating the day Kenyans gathered to advocate for free elections, 1700 people demonstrated against the high cost of living in Kenya, The Guardian reported. The price of maize, a staple crop, has doubled since 2021.

Massive protests have broken out in Kenya due to high cost of living and collapsing fiat currency. Kenya’s citizens are chanting “No food, No elections” pic.twitter.com/tsnQ4K2tDa

— The International Magazine (@TheIntlMagz) July 11, 2022

Also on July 7, thousands of Albanians demanded the current government resign amidst corruption scandals and an escalating cost-of-living crisis linked to the war in Ukraine and lingering impacts of COVID-19, according to The Associated Press.

#Albania Tirana Anti-government protests pic.twitter.com/LjuMpUPsc7

— NiCoLeEliSei (@NiCoLeEliSei1) July 8, 2022

“Sanctions on Russia will prove to be a graveyard for many governments around the world,” Hanke told the DCNF.

The State Department argued that the Biden administration designed U.S. sanctions to minimize negative consequences on global markets.

“Russia’s claims that U.S. sanctions are to blame for the rising costs of food and fuel prices are patently false,” a senior administration official told the DCNF. “It’s Putin’s war of choice which impacts economies around the globe and pushes the world’s most vulnerable populations to greater food insecurity.”

The White House did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.