For Argentina, Dollarization May Work Better on YouTube Than in Reality

Argentina’s anarcho-capitalist president-elect is right that the country desperately needs dollars. But his economic plan for getting them may be the wrong one.

Javier Milei’s victory over Economy Minister Sergio Massa in Sunday’s presidential election showed how eager Argentines are to embrace change. The economy is in tatters, with inflation running at 143%. Milei, an outsider who became popular on YouTube and TikTok, has promised to “chain saw” public spending, eschew China-friendly overtures and, most eye-catchingly, “burn down” the central bank and adopt the U.S. dollar as the national currency.