Bitcoin is the currency of the regime, designed primarily for foreign crypto enthusiasts. Some of them are VIP escorts at the President’s private parties† They go in helicopters or on surf and fishing tripsoften accompanied by the policeand are accepted private tours to government facilities† They even give advice on government policy.
Obviously, their use of the currency was part of Mr. Bukele’s intentions. Much of the president’s messages about Bitcoin are in English, as they are designed for Bitcoin believers, not the Salvadoran people, even though the project is funded with taxpayers’ money. Salvadorans know this too. A December national poll found that only about 11 percent of respondents believed that the people are the main beneficiaries of the Bitcoin law, while about 80 percent believed that they are either the wealthy, foreign investors, banks, business people or the government. .
When major players in the global crypto market — such as Brock Pierce, a founder of Tether, and Jack Mallers, the CEO of Strike — come to El Salvador and sing Mr. Bukele’s praises to the media, they act as de facto ambassadors for the regime. Missives like theirs fill social media and crypto-friendly UK outlets with propaganda about how great Bitcoin is for El Salvador, how nice life is here and how bold and daring Mr. Bukele is as a leader. some have suggested it’s good for the country in order for these crypto influencers to reshape El Salvador’s image for the world, that some kind of priceless rebranding is going on by someone who pays for a coconut in Bitcoin. It is a miracle.
The stories Bitcoiners tell about our country are often blatantly inaccurate. In February, Stacy Herbert, a promoter of Bitcoin and Bukele, said that “Mass emigration from El Salvador has stopped,” even as U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained an average of 255 Salvadorans on the United States’ southern border that month. The Bitcoin Beach project, run by Mike Peterson, a California surfer, tweeted that El Salvador has a “children’s paradise”, even though it is a country where 90 percent of the rapes of minors go unpunished. President Bukele retweeted it, adding, “We’re building a place where your kids can live the life you lived when you were a kid.”
The life Mr. Bukele is building looks distinctly different for Salvadorans. Over the past three months, the government has used the state of emergency to imprison nearly 40,000 people, often without defenses. Mr. Bukele has begun to crack down on press freedom through a gag order that prohibits the reproduction of gang messages, and his government has failed to investigate the illegal use of Pegasus spyware to target dozens of journalists covering El Salvador, including me. from independent news media between 2020 and 2021. Reporters have already fled the country, fearing reprisals for doing their job.
mr. Bukele has used his infamous crypto-bro persona to distract the public eye from other devastating scandals. During his campaign, he had pledged to fight corruption by collaborating on an international commission against impunity, facilitated by the Organization of American States. After his election, he withdrew from the agreement. The next day, he announced his Bitcoin law, presumably to distract from the outcry over his withdrawal. In May, another scandal surfaced. My investigative agency, El Faro, published details of secret negotiations between the Bukele administration and MS-13 to reduce the murder rate. When the deal fell through, 87 people were killed in reprisal. Rather than address the issue or even deny claims that he was aware of the negotiations, Mr. Bukele tweeted about Bitcoin. His government has not yet commented on the investigation, which has been widely read.