China—along with other adversaries defined in the National Defense Strategy-- has made deep inroads into Latin America. Infrastructure, energy grids, ports, and even military facilities are falling under its influence. This isn’t hypothetical; it’s happening now and the response must be structural, credible, and sustained.

As I recently argued in 'The Hill,' the door has reopened to a reimagined Monroe Doctrine—not a 19th-century doctrine of dominance, but a 21st-century architecture of partnership. That architecture must rest on hard power, but also on stable institutions and economic alignment. This is where the question of currency enters the picture, and why dollarization deserves more serious attention than it’s been given in decades.

We are in a period of systemic realignment. BRICS is no longer just a loose club of developing economies, but rather a project with a purpose: to erode the global reach of the dollar and displace the liberal economic framework that underpins the American-led global order. This isn’t just about payments, but rather redefining global polarity and shifting power towards actors known to have little regard for human or market rights. In this context, Latin America moves from being the forgotten “backyard” to a contested theater where our civilizational partners are stuck behind enemy lines.