Bukele is a nice guy, smart guy, but also a dictator, a benevolent dictator. There are many dictators in the world, mostly crappy and rarely benevolent kind, but dictators nevertheless. And just like Lee Kuan Yew and Xi, who are considered some of the greatest leaders, Bukele can turn the country around to be among the best countries in the world. But...

But it comes with a price - a lot of suppression - which is why the pro-democracy human rights folks have been against him. The suppression was immense in Singapore but never obvious as it was sheltered by the US in return for its trade facility.

If US wants to take on the route of China and be ok with suppression under a benevolent dictator, then it might work.

Isn't it ironic though, that back then, de-industrialization and globalization were driven by right-wing calls in the 80s and 90s, leading to major manufacturing shutdowns and societal inequity; and now, the states most impacted by it are the biggest supporters of the right wing, while those that benefited from it are the biggest supporters of the left wing.

The best thing we can do is get as many people to adopt permissionless tech so that democracy is truly based on what people want - And you no longer have to simp to presidents and get their permissions to use permissionless tech.