Since taking office on Dec. 10, Argentina’s President Javier Milei has moved swiftly ahead with a program of radical reform. In just 72 hours, President Milei eliminated half of Argentina’s federal ministries, froze all public works programs, and allowed the Argentine Peso to lose more than half its value.

Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan believes in the future of Argentina and cites a range of key variables to back that up. But he also obverses how Argentina’s transformation, and particularly Milei’s pursuit of “dollarization,” speaks to a broader global trend of states coalescing into larger economic, trading and security blocs around the world.

The following is excerpted from Peter’s Dec. 14 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:

The new Argentine president, Javier Milei, is getting right down to business. It’s only his first week on the job, and he’s already cut government ministries in half, dismissed public officials, halted public works, and devalued the currency by 50%.

On paper, the goal of all this is to add some stability to the Argentine economy and eventually dollarize it. This won’t be an easy process, but it’s an opportunity to overcome the economic struggles linked to Peronism and begin to recognize Argentina’s full potential.

If Milei proves to be successful, Argentina could become the model for countries attaching themselves to more stable currencies or economies in an effort to ditch their soft currencies.