The “problem” with the Chinese model is that it is just another IMF however with far sharper teeth, it uses the essential infrastructure it finances and that the host state depends upon to power its economy as collateral which literally ends up mortgaging the state. It also doesn’t tend to create many local jobs as workers are usually imported on a temporary basis while a big chunk of the concessions profits get exported as soon as they are made. You can already see what happens when countries can’t sustain or keep up with the massive Chinese government infraestructure loans in cases like Montenegro or Sri Lanka - it ends up taking the same toll on the concept sovereignty if that is one’s actual concern. It’s certainly not the lesser of evils when compared with the US or even comparable to using the US (or any other foreign currency), especially when it comes with an pro-authoritarian tendency. It is just another form of states doing business with other states in the bigger parties own best interests.
Anyway, the idea of dollarization (or more to the point what Millei is actually proposing, freedom of commerce, where you choose how you do business if in euro, pounds, yuans, yen, whatever’s…) conceptually serves to promote political discipline in order to get the house in order. When you can’t print it, you can’t abuse it and need to learn to live within your means. Here (for the past decades/ century or more) the local peso printing press is used to steal billions from the state each year, buy ill-deserved votes and run up unsustainable levels of debt just to keep afloat. As always Argentinas biggest “enemy” has always been Argentina. A culture of political discipline needs both times and tools to achieve it - and the ability to print money or not is the single biggest tool it has.
