El Salvador didn’t fail Bitcoiners. It failed Salvadorans. For a long time, El Salvador hasn’t done what it should; make people want to stay, hold onto their roots, and not feel like they gotta leave ‘cause living there feels impossible.
I’ve read a lot from Bitcoiners about their experiences in El Salvador, and I must address a point. Expats and digital nomads are drawn to various countries worldwide because their own nations or the systems governing them fail to meet their expectations.
Making Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador was meant to help salvadorans, to build up communities and show them what real money can be. Yeah, it brought in tourists and Bitcoiners who wanted to check it out or even move there. That’s how I got into Bitcoin, meeting awesome Bitcoiners who showed me a whole new way to think about it. If El Salvador didn’t pull in these big-thinking people, we wouldn’t have cool projects like @MyFirstBitcoin or Bitcoiners are doing amazing stuff for small towns without any recognition. I’m super thankful for those who came to El Salvador to see what it’s really like.
But I don’t think Bitcoiners are the main reason why real estate or prices for everything shot up. Maybe they added a bit, but El Salvador was poor before, and prices were always high for what Salvadorans make. Of course it’s not fair and maybe even increasing the minimum salary not going to help in long term but…
I’m not here cheering for any government. As a Salvadoran, I’m tough on mine ‘cause they’re supposed to work for us. Nayib Bukele’s done some great stuff. But there’s stuff I don’t agree with too. Safety and less crimes probably bumped up real estate prices, but inflation’s hitting everywhere, not just El Salvador.
El Salvador is in a transition. I just hope in the next few years this benefits our future and next generations. But sovereignty can come from ourselves, not just from government fixing things. A few years back, you couldn’t even find a grocery store on your way to El Tunco or El Zonte. Now there are supermarkets by the highway, and it’s not just for tourists; it helps the people living nearby too. Changes are good in developing countries. Even if we find a new “Starbucks” or a new “Pizza Hut,” well, I think this places can attract more customers, more development next to them, micro-entrepreneurs, and new opportunities to develop.
El Salvador’s for those who want to be part of it, and if it ain’t for you, that’s cool. At the end of the day, we all know what we’re chasing for ourselves, our families, and kids.
