El Salvador is transforming its reputation: President Nayib Bukele is aggressively imprisoning criminal gangs and appealing to the global crypto community. But what are the hidden consequences? Could democracy be undermined?
El Salvador is changing its image: President Nayib Bukele is cracking down on criminal gangs and courting the global crypto community. But what are the hidden consequences? Could democracy be at stake?
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. The Central American nation now accepts the cryptocurrency alongside the US dollar. But President Bukele, who has been dubbed the "Bitcoin Dictator," has even bigger plans. He wants to build Bitcoin City, a metropolis financed entirely by cryptocurrency, where it would be the sole medium of exchange.
According to political scientist Christian Ambrosius, Bukele's Bitcoin plans are largely concepts at this point. Speaking on a recent episode of the "Wirtschaft Welt & Weit" podcast, he shared his experiences from a recent trip to El Salvador. He saw no signs of Bitcoin City and expressed doubt that the grand plan will ever come to fruition. Bukele's aim is to "create a different image of the country and perhaps bring in more people and more money."
While some beach vendors accept Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency has otherwise remained a niche phenomenon in the Central American nation, Ambrosius said. Courting the international Bitcoin community is a strategic goal: It's about reframing El Salvador's image and potentially channeling funds into the country.
For years, El Salvador was one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Gang violence had overtaken many areas, making regular life nearly impossible, said development economist José Salguero. Bukele has addressed the issue with a sweeping campaign of arrests — but he has also curtailed democratic freedoms in the process.
Christian Ambrosius is a political scientist and Central America expert at the Free University of Berlin. José Salguero is a Salvadoran development economist, security and peace researcher based in Germany. He is currently working on a project examining refeudalization and violence in his home country.
Host Andrea Sellmann speaks with Ambrosius and Salguero about these topics and more, including the expectations surrounding Bukele's actions, his motivations, Bitcoin's role in El Salvador and the potential risks for the country's future.
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The source: www.ntv.de
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