[2024-02-02] FT: The ‘cult’ of Bukele: El Salvador’s bitcoin-loving strongman...

[pawel7777]

A mention of Bitcoin but in an unusual context. The article is about El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele, who probably everyone here is familiar with.
He's facing re-election soon and is expected to win with a whopping 82% support. He brought the murder rate down by 90% so that itself has won him a huge support.

The ‘cult’ of Bukele: El Salvador’s bitcoin-loving strongman heads for second term

https://www.ft.com/content/9ec562bd-4aef-4867-9ff0-3bd3194dca3d

Bitcoin is legal tender; roughly one in 45 adults is in jail; and the former nightclub manager turned president stormed congress with the military less than a year after taking office.

The first term of El Salvador’s millennial president Nayib Bukele has been unusual by both Latin American and global standards. But Salvadorans are eager for more. On Sunday they look set to re-elect him with more than 80 per cent of the vote.

“He is someone special, sent by God,” said Marta Márquez, a 50-year-old food stand owner in Nuevo Cuscatlán near San Salvador, who still has a bullet in her leg from when members of the criminal gang MS-13 tried to kill her a decade ago.

Like many others, Márquez has been won over by the improvement in day-to-day security brought about by Bukele’s draconian crackdown on gangs, in which mass arrests have helped to dismantle groups that once made the country one of the world’s deadliest to live in.

Her grandchildren can now roam freely without fear, Márquez said. “He was the best thing that could have ever happened to Salvadoran families,” she added. “We can’t go back to the past.”
(...)

[stompix]

That whole region will never get better, it's the same every decade, they have a hundred thousand problems, the comes an authoritarian/dictator president, fixes a bit of stuff, leaves a disaster in the others aspects of the economy, people get rid of it, then some regret it because they remember it has fixed 1% , then the next one comes with promises to do better and so on

It's like they have it in their blood to only believe a guy that is ready to shot someday as president, two centuries later and we're still here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudillo

Chavez had one point 80% approval rate and he ran Venezuela into the ground, wait till the true genius moves from Bukele start to screw that country up, not that the writing is not on the wall already.

[DapanasFruit]

While some has this tendency to call someone who made some solid success and loyal followers as cultish, doing the right things in the face of so many challenges in one's country is anything but that. Of course, we all have our opinions and the media has this tendency to always look what can be "half-empty" and delve on there while people who approved of Bukele see the other side, the better side of the coin. I am then wishing the reelected President of El Salvador more success and wisdom in guiding his small country to a better future...of course with the help of Bitcoin.

[cr1776]

That whole region will never get better, it's the same every decade, they have a hundred thousand problems, the comes an authoritarian/dictator president, fixes a bit of stuff, leaves a disaster in the others aspects of the economy, people get rid of it, then some regret it because they remember it has fixed 1% , then the next one comes with promises to do better and so on

It's like they have it in their blood to only believe a guy that is ready to shot someday as president, two centuries later and we're still here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudillo

Chavez had one point 80% approval rate and he ran Venezuela into the ground, wait till the true genius moves from Bukele start to screw that country up, not that the writing is not on the wall already.

Chavez implemented the communist/socialist dream and got the logical results even with a huge amount of oil reserves.  You are right though, Chavez destroyed what was once the wealthiest country in Central and South America.  It can happen anywhere and the degree of the destruction is proportional to the degree to which anti-freedom policies are implemented.  As far as Bukele goes, I guess time will tell.

[pawel7777]

That whole region will never get better, it's the same every decade, they have a hundred thousand problems, the comes an authoritarian/dictator president, fixes a bit of stuff, leaves a disaster in the others aspects of the economy, people get rid of it, then some regret it because they remember it has fixed 1% , then the next one comes with promises to do better and so on.

So what do you propose they should do? Sit down, give up and stop trying?

The average IQ score in El Salvador is something around 70. With a population like that, their best bet is to put some intelligent, benevolent dictator to get things sorted out, even the hard way. Modern democracies (that are a farce anyway) are not a universal fix for all and simply doesn't work in some regions.
Of course, one man can't do much on his own and he'll need to build solid structures including preparing his potential successors, but even then, if he becomes inconvenience to the world elites, he'll get overthrown with a "spontaneous" revolution.

[stompix]

That whole region will never get better, it's the same every decade, they have a hundred thousand problems, the comes an authoritarian/dictator president, fixes a bit of stuff, leaves a disaster in the others aspects of the economy, people get rid of it, then some regret it because they remember it has fixed 1% , then the next one comes with promises to do better and so on.

So what do you propose they should do? Sit down, give up and stop trying?

At one point they will have to learn that despite a hammer being good for nails it's not that great for cleaning the sink.
So obviously they should aim for a guy that does a bit of eveything without completely ruining something else, and more important they should focus on building a system, not a one man job that complete goes out balance when that guys either retire or dies.
Common, it's not rocket science, you have a ton of succefull countries, you just need to copy them.

Modern democracies (that are a farce anyway) are not a universal fix for all and simply doesn't work in some regions.

Well, seems like the happiest and wealthiest people like to live in those farces, but of course you can point to a better alternative at any time!