Thread by @gladstein

1/ Bitcoin is a powerful tool for human rights.

What is happening in El Salvador will have a huge impact on the lives of people there and across the world.

A nation adopting Bitcoin is a big step forward for global human freedom.

But that's not the full story 🧵

2/ It is important to separate appreciation for this historic milestone, and celebration for the march of open source technology, with any such appreciation or worship of the president of El Salvador.

In Bitcoin we don't trust, we verify. That approach is needed more than ever.

3/ Today I spoke to a Salvadoran lawyer and law school teacher. She is representative of many Salvadorans, living in the capital with family in the country.

Many of her students do not have internet access. The last year has been very hard on them.

4/ She is not against Bitcoin the technology, but she *is* against the way the bill is being abruptly introduced into the country, and has fears over new powers the govt may gain.

I felt like it was important to share her perspective with you all here for ongoing discussion.

5/ Please note: many, or possibly most, Salvadorans disagree with her about President Bukele.

Including several that I have talked to personally.

Bukele is very popular. Many support the Bitcoin bill.

Do your own research.

6/ Our friend has received death threats from congressmen in Bukele's party, so I will not be using her real name here.

We'll call her Ana.

7/ Ana's two main questions:

I) How can we, Salvadorans, learn about Bitcoin? The government has said nothing about the details. No one, she says, knows anything. She says the spaces event was the first time Bukele spoke publicly about it, and has not spoken to the people since.

8/

II) How do we know that the government won't be stealing or committing money laundering with its Bitcoin?

Last year, Bukele famously sent troops to the parliament to force them to sign off on a $100M bill to expand the security state. Photo here.

npr.org/2020/02/10/804…

9/ She says that no one knows how they spent the money.

Likewise, the country took on nearly $400M from the IMF to fight COVID, and she says the public doesn't know how they spent this money.

So they are concerned about the use of any new Bitcoin funds.

imf.org/en/News/Articl…

10/ She also warns that Bukele will do anything for more power.

Between 2012 and 2017, he served as mayor in two cities for the Socialist-Leftist FMLN party.

In 2017, he was expelled from the party. He says it's because he was rooting out corruption.

11/ The party says it was because he was causing internal strife and in particular, because he got in an altercation with a female colleague.

He later launched his centrist party, Nuevas Ideas, and used a smaller politically-right party GANA as a vessel to run for the presidency

12/ In 2019, he became the first post-war president to win outside of the two-party system.

This is significant, as the two main parties are extremely corrupt. But, Ana says, Bukele has done very little to reduce corruption amongst his own allies.

13/ Bukele recently sacked 5 of 15 Supreme Court judges and the attorney general, removing checks on his power.

We have the eternal conundrum: was it to root out corruption, or to go after opponents? Ana says it's the latter. Others say it's the former.

usnews.com/news/best-coun…

14/ A major issue in El Salvador is violence against women. Ana points to a mass grave uncovered recently with up to 40 women in it. She thinks the Bitcoin Bill is a way of distracting from the investigation, where the main suspect is a former cop:

apnews.com/article/el-sal…

15/ When women get disappeared, raped, or killed in El Salvador, there is very rarely any punishment.

She is worried that this will continue under Bukele's administration and that he's not shown an interest in reforming the police forces.

16/ Again, she herself has received death threats from members of Bukele's party in congress.

They have told her to stay silent, or else they will find a way to silence her. She fears that her voice will get her killed, especially since these congressmen have immunity.

17/ This much is certain: Bukele is an incredible politician. She says he knows how to read people.

He has the Clinton/Obama talent of making it seem like you are important and doing things that the public likes.

Look at the way he has played to Bitcoiners' interests online.

18/ But Ana's fear is that he will become another Hugo Chávez. That he cares not about ideology (having gone Left to Right) but about power.

The big test will be in a few years -- will he use his supermajority to try to change the rules and run for a second term?

19/ For now, Ana's main concern is transparency.

The people don't understand what Bitcoin is or what Bukele is talking about with volcanoes. They don't know where the money will go.

There should be more communication, more dialogue.

20/ Everyone has a political agenda. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle between two sides.

Either way, we should be asking hard questions and keeping Bukele as honest as possible. Let him prove his claims through actions.

21/ 80% of Salvadorans don't speak English. What can we do to ensure that they have access to information about what is happening?

We can share info in Spanish on how Bitcoin works, how to use non-custodial wallets, how to use Lightning, and how to use multi-sig, for starters.

22/ The situation is nuanced.

Does Bukele deserve credit for the choice to use Bitcoin? Absolutely.

He could have chosen to ban Bitcoin, to go with a China coin, or a surveillance CBDC.

Instead he went with a money that he cannot control. This *action* is to be celebrated.

23/ The geopolitical context is also important.

In an age of dollar hegemony and Washington Consensus, Bitcoin could be a powerful force to help smaller nations gain more autonomy.

And BTC is an infinitely better "independence" rallying cry and uniting message than communism

24/ No one can predict the future.

Bitcoin can change people.

Maybe Bukele will be the reformer he says he will be. Maybe he will increase transparency over national finances.

But he should have to earn that acknowledgement over time from us.

25/ In the meantime, I will do what I can to help spread the word about Bitcoin as a tool of empowerment in El Salvador and in every other country worldwide.

Ultimately, Bitcoin will work against authoritarianism.

But in the meantime, let us push back against it, everywhere.

26/ It’s worth noting that my new friend is excited about Bitcoin. I have a call with her soon to teach her more about it and show her how to set up a wallet so she can learn and share with her students and family and friends.

Remember: Bitcoin is for everyone!

27/ The work @Bitcoinbeach + @ln_strike have done is amazing. They have sparked a financial revolution.

On Bitcoin’s journey it will co-opt many leaders. But remember Bitcoin exists to *separate* money from state.

As we liberate the former, let’s remain cautious of the latter.