Listen đ§: Fighting The Nicaraguan Dictatorship with Bitcoin, feat. Felix Maradiaga
âI think [bitcoin] is inevitable.â â Felix Maradiaga, political activist.
New podcast episode is out: âFighting dictatorships with Bitcoin, feat. Felix Maradiaga.âÂ
**Reminder: youâll soon be receiving emails from Notes From The Margin instead of The Misfit.
Felix Maradiaga was considered to be so dangerous that Nicaraguaâs president, Daniel Ortega, imprisoned him and put him in solitary confinement. His crime? Announcing heâd run for the presidency in Nicaragua.
He was held in complete darkness 24/7, with little food but without water (except for when his sister dropped some off, which she did every single day), without reading materials (like his Bible), or being able to talk to his wife (Berta) and daughter (Alejandra).
For 20 months, he endured "the worst kinds of human rights abusesâ in a Nicaraguan prison known to be one of the worst in Latin America.Â
I had to ask him: âWhat do you attribute your survival to?â  Â
âI think that suffering is inevitable in life. And when your suffering has a purpose, when your suffering has a mission, itâs easier.â â Felix MaradiagaÂ
Felix reminded me that having a purpose for your life is important for self-preservation. Purpose helps us bear the unbearable and survive the unsurvivable.Â
In talking with Felix, it is so clear to me that he is a man of faith and conviction. So, I wonder, what exactly can stop a man with a sense of purpose and faith in God, who endured solitary confinement and came out the other side alive?
Could it be possible that a dictatorâs Achilles heel is a man assuming meaning and purpose and non-violent ways to resist repression â someone like Felix? Iâm starting to think so.Â
For all this talk, itâs time to introduce you to Felix.
Who Is Felix Maradiaga?Â
Felix Maradiaga is a Nicaraguan political activist dedicated to fostering peace, democracy, and the rule of law in his beloved Nicaragua.Â
After announcing he would run for the presidency in 2021, he was placed under house arrest by Daniel Ortegaâs government. Later, he would be arrested under charges of treason. As if that wasnât enough, he was placed in a maximum-security prison where he was held for 611 days.Â
âI endured things I am not yet prepared to talk about in public.â â Felix Maradiaga Â
After relentless advocacy for his freedom by his wife Berta, Felix was freed on February 2023.
Iâm not sure free is the right word though because he was expelled from Nicaragua and his citizenship was revoked, âjust to give you a taste of what that government will do to people who tell the truths. They will even make them statelessâ â Thor Halvorssen, Founder and CEO of Human Rights Foundation.  Â
Nicaragua is one of the three fully authoritarian regimes in the Western Hemisphere, with the other two being Cuba and Venezuela. Under Daniel Ortegaâs authoritarian regime, the Nicaraguan people have seen their rights and liberties stripped away and their democracy dismantled. Â
âDaniel Ortega came back to power in 2007 and since then has been inflicting a lot of pain on the Nicaraguan community. He has expelled out of the country over 3,000 non-profits, including many charitable organizations. He shut down 20 universities. He has killed close to 400 people, including 45 students. He has persecuted the Catholic Church and currently, my own bishop, Monseñor Rolando Ălvarez, who spoke many times for my release is currently in prison facing a sentence of 26 years in prison.â â Felix Maradiaga
To this day, Felix continues to fight for Nicaraguaâs democracy and freedom. Heâs been traveling, telling the world about Ortegaâs dictatorship while fighting for Nicaraguaâs democracy, and exploring tools, like Bitcoin, that might help liberate Nicaraguan people.Â
âOf course, [autocratic governments] will like to control the financial system. And they see this decentralized network [with Bitcoin] â meaning that no single entity or government can control or manipulate these transactions â as a problem. I think it's just a matter of time⊠I think [Bitcoin] is inevitable.â â Felix Maradiaga.
Itâs only since being freed that Felix has been studying Bitcoin as a tool that helps Nicaraguans escape the crushing hand of Daniel Ortegaâs regime and safeguard Nicaraguan peopleâs rights. Heâs also interested in exploring how the Nicaraguan people might come to learn and adopt this apolitical, decentralized, global money.Â
Now I donât want to share more about his thoughts on Bitcoin because Iâd like for you to listen to him talk about it. But hereâs what I will sayâŠÂ
I suspect weâll see more political activists and human rights defenders â like Felix â explore the intersection between human rights and financial freedom. With time, theyâll realize that if we donât have financial freedom, we donât really have political freedom, or freedom of speech, which are all issues they care about deeply. No matter what fight they take on, theyâll see that they must also take up the fight for financial freedom. Â
âI think that human rights defenders around the world will discover the enormous potential of Bitcoin.â â Felix Maradiaga
To explore this topic further, I invited Felix Maradiaga to speak with me.Â
What Youâll Learn From My Conversation with Felix Maradiaga.
During our 45-minute conversation, Felix shared with me:Â
The recent history of Nicaragua -- from democracy to dictatorshipÂ
His time in solitary confinement and how he endured his time in prison
Why dictators love to control a country's financial rails
How he was the first person to have his financial assets frozen under Ortega's regime and how later Ortega would replicate this strategy to other dissidentsÂ
What heâs learned about Bitcoin and why he sees it as a tool that protects people's human rights
Bitcoin adoption for activists and the Nicaraguan people Â
And the strength and resilience of the Nicaraguan people under oppression
Check out the full conversation âFighting Dictatorships with Bitcoin, feat. Felix Maradiaga.â You can listen to it on Spotify or Fountain. Â
Small Ask.Â
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FĂ©lix decided to play fair with a dictator, and his peaceful transition to democracy is dragging itsâ feet, 5 years.