How El Salvador President Nayib Bukele weaponized bitcoin to whitewash his government's growing authoritarianism on the world stage and spread local propaganda
and lining their pockets — at the expense of our rights and livelihoods.” https://www.nytimes.com/... Alex Gladstein / @gladstein : “Bitcoiners aren't supposed to trust government. After all, one of Bitcoin's premises is to separate money from the state. But what happens when the enthusiast is the state?” A perspective to consider from Salvadoran investigative journalist @raudaz_ https://www.nytimes.com/... @nytopinion : Some have suggested it's good “to have these crypto influencers reshaping the image of El Salvador before the world, that there's some sort of invaluable rebranding happening by someone paying for a coconut in Bitcoin,” writes @raudaz_. “It's a mirage.” https://www.nytimes.com/... Tim Muth / @timmuth : “Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” — Nelson Rauda on the Bitcoin bros self-serving adulation of Bukele. https://twitter.com/... @nytopinion : Bitcoiners would do well to remember that when they cheer for President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, “they're not ushering in the technology of the future; they're enabling a regime that's violating the human rights of its citizens,” writes @raudaz_. https://www.nytimes.com/... John Paul Koning / @jp_koning : “Bitcoin is the regime's currency, primarily designed for foreign crypto enthusiasts,” writes @raudaz_. “A large number of the president's messages about Bitcoin are in English because they are designed for Bitcoin believers, not the Salvadoran people.” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/... @fredbenenson : If you still think Bitcoin is a net positive for human rights in developing nations, you're either lying to yourself or complicit with the autocrats or both. And the number of western elites (investors, CEOs, etc) in denial about this is maddening. https://www.nytimes.com/... @nytopinion : “Over the past three months, the government has used a state of emergency to imprison almost 40,000 people, often without defense,” writes @raudaz_ from El Salvador. https://www.nytimes.com/... @mdudas : Salvadoran journalist from @elfaroenglish: “It's obvious to anyone who visits any place in El Salvador other than its beaches that Mr. Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise” https://www.nytimes.com/... Michael Paarlberg / @mpaarlberg : .@raudaz_ is correct: what was sold as banking for the unbanked was really a hail mary to finance a deeply indebted authoritarian state with worthless bonds https://www.nytimes.com/... Ben McKenzie / @ben_mckenzie : @raudaz_ breaks down what is happening in El Salvador w/Bitcoin. Remember this name: Nelson Rauda Zablah. You will be hearing a lot more of it. https://www.nytimes.com/... Derek Powazek / @fraying : Weird, it's the same in the US, too. https://www.nytimes.com/... Jon Schwarz / @schwarz : If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever — as the boot tweets incessantly about the liberatory nature of Bitcoin https://nytimes.com/... by @raudaz_ Felix Stalder / @stalfel : One for the “crypto will help poor people in corrupt/authoritarian countries” crowd. Crypto is part of corruption and authoritarianism. https://www.nytimes.com/... Tim Steller / @senyorreporter : In El Salvador, Pres. Bukele is not building a crypto-utopia, @raudaz_ says. “He's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” https://www.nytimes.com/... Nelson Rauda Zablah / @raudaz_ : When Bitcoiners cheer for President Bukele, they're not ushering in the technology of the future; they're enabling a regime that's violating the human rights of its citizens. My column for the @nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/... Nicholas Weaver / @ncweaver : The El Salvador Bitcoin “Experiment” has not only been an economic disaster, but also proof that Bitcoin can NEVER work. Why? https://www.nytimes.com/... Jacob Silverman / @silvermanjacob : “It's pretty obvious to anyone who visits any place in El Salvador other than its beaches that Mr. Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
New York TimesNelson Rauda Zablah
Context & Ripple Effects
This column by Salvadoran investigative journalist Nelson Rauda lands about nine months after Bukele's government imposed bitcoin as legal tender on an unwilling population, a move that was already testing whether BTC delivers financial liberty when the adopter is an increasingly authoritarian ruler. Rauda's argument sharpens that question: the adoption was aimed less at Salvadorans than at foreign crypto enthusiasts whose enthusiasm doubles as reputation laundering.
First-order effects
Salvadorans bear the direct cost on two fronts: a state of emergency has jailed tens of thousands, often without defense, while government bitcoin initiatives double as vehicles for local propaganda and financing a deeply indebted state via bonds.
Foreign bitcoin advocates like Alex Gladstein are forced into an uncomfortable position — Bitcoin's premise is separating money from the state, yet here the enthusiast is the state itself.
Second-order effects
Crypto influencers reshaping El Salvador's image abroad become, in effect, unpaid PR for the regime, which lowers the reputational cost of Bukele's crackdown and encourages further borrowing against bitcoin-backed narratives.
If the pattern holds, nation-state bitcoin adoption becomes a soft-power instrument first and a monetary policy second — a template other indebted or sanctioned governments can copy for international rebranding.
The trend: State-level bitcoin adoption is evolving from a financial-liberty experiment into a geopolitical rebranding tool, with the gap between foreign crypto enthusiasm and domestic usage defining its legitimacy.
This @raudaz_ piece doesn't mince words: “It's pretty obvious to anyone who visits any place in El Salvador other than its beaches that Mr. Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
“After all, the economic freedom Bitcoin promises is worth nothing to Salvadorans if it's the only freedom we can hope to have”, @raudaz_ en @nytopinion. 👏🏼👏🏼 👏🏼 https://www.nytimes.com/...
🇸🇻 Very critical piece on pro-#Bitcoin move in El Salvador: “A poll showed that only 11% of respondents believed the main beneficiaries of the Bitcoin law are the people, while about 80% believed it's either the rich, foreign investors, banks, businesspeople or the government” ht…
Probably the best critique I've read of of #Bitcoin in a long while. While it's exciting (and I sure was excited in ES and at Bukele's party) to have our thesis validated by adoption, we should be very cautious not to be coopted. https://www.nytimes.com/...
This is the most desolating piece I've read on Bukele and Bitcoin. “It's pretty obvious to anyone who visits El Salvador [...] that Mr. Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
“A large number of the president's messages about Bitcoin are in English because they are designed for Bitcoin believers, not the Salvadoran people, even though the project is funded by taxpayer money.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
In El Salvador, writes @raudaz_, “Bitcoin believers are promoting a product — and lining their pockets — at the expense of our rights and livelihoods.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
“Bitcoiners aren't supposed to trust government. After all, one of Bitcoin's premises is to separate money from the state. But what happens when the enthusiast is the state?” A perspective to consider from Salvadoran investigative journalist @raudaz_ https://www.nytimes.com/...
Some have suggested it's good “to have these crypto influencers reshaping the image of El Salvador before the world, that there's some sort of invaluable rebranding happening by someone paying for a coconut in Bitcoin,” writes @raudaz_. “It's a mirage.” https://www.nytimes.com/..…
“Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” — Nelson Rauda on the Bitcoin bros self-serving adulation of Bukele. https://twitter.com/...
Bitcoiners would do well to remember that when they cheer for President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, “they're not ushering in the technology of the future; they're enabling a regime that's violating the human rights of its citizens,” writes @raudaz_. https://www.nytimes.com/...
“Bitcoin is the regime's currency, primarily designed for foreign crypto enthusiasts,” writes @raudaz_. “A large number of the president's messages about Bitcoin are in English because they are designed for Bitcoin believers, not the Salvadoran people.” https://www.nytimes.com/..…
If you still think Bitcoin is a net positive for human rights in developing nations, you're either lying to yourself or complicit with the autocrats or both. And the number of western elites (investors, CEOs, etc) in denial about this is maddening. https://www.nytimes.com/...
“Over the past three months, the government has used a state of emergency to imprison almost 40,000 people, often without defense,” writes @raudaz_ from El Salvador. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Salvadoran journalist from @elfaroenglish: “It's obvious to anyone who visits any place in El Salvador other than its beaches that Mr. Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise” https://www.nytimes.com/...
.@raudaz_ is correct: what was sold as banking for the unbanked was really a hail mary to finance a deeply indebted authoritarian state with worthless bonds https://www.nytimes.com/...
@raudaz_ breaks down what is happening in El Salvador w/Bitcoin. Remember this name: Nelson Rauda Zablah. You will be hearing a lot more of it. https://www.nytimes.com/...
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever — as the boot tweets incessantly about the liberatory nature of Bitcoin https://nytimes.com/... by @raudaz_
One for the “crypto will help poor people in corrupt/authoritarian countries” crowd. Crypto is part of corruption and authoritarianism. https://www.nytimes.com/...
In El Salvador, Pres. Bukele is not building a crypto-utopia, @raudaz_ says. “He's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
When Bitcoiners cheer for President Bukele, they're not ushering in the technology of the future; they're enabling a regime that's violating the human rights of its citizens. My column for the @nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/...
The El Salvador Bitcoin “Experiment” has not only been an economic disaster, but also proof that Bitcoin can NEVER work. Why? https://www.nytimes.com/...
“It's pretty obvious to anyone who visits any place in El Salvador other than its beaches that Mr. Bukele is not building a techno-utopia; he's building a run-of-the-mill authoritarian state in a tech disguise.” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...