Bukele's plan to turn El Salvador into a world bitcoin hub

Supported by his enormous popularity and the control he exercises over the powers of the State, the controversial president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has sent to the Legislative Assembly of his country a package of 52 legal reforms that will pave the way to attract investment and fulfill in this way his plan to turn the Central American nation into a world center of cryptocurrencies.

The announcement was made by Bukele on Sunday through Twitter, the platform on which he governs by decree, and has generated enthusiasm among speculators and investors.

“Nayib Bukele's actions pave the way for El Salvador to become a future hub for global talent and bitcoin users.

It is time to visit El Salvador”, responded Richard Byworth, one of those investors, who introduces himself as the founder of EQONEX Group,

The president explained that the reforms sent on Sunday will eliminate procedures when investing in El Salvador, reduce bureaucracy, create new laws to encourage investments and stability contracts for those who decide to put their money there.

In addition, they offer tax incentives and, most controversially, Salvadoran citizenship in exchange for investing in that small Central American nation.

"The plan is simple," Bukele has said.

"As the world falls into tyranny, we will create a haven for freedom."

The announcement comes as the government prepares to put $1 billion worth of bitcoin bonds on the market, a decision viewed with suspicion by multilateral financial organizations.

I'm sending 52 legal reforms to congress, to remove red tape, reduce bureaucracy, create tax incentives, citizenship in exchange for investments, new securities laws, stability contracts, etc.

The plan is simple: as the world falls into tyranny, we'll create a haven for freedom.

– Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) February 20, 2022

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the popular president at the end of January to eliminate bitcoin as a currency for legal use, which has increased the tension in relations between the Fund and the Bukele Executive.

The IMF expressed its "concern" about the issuance of cryptocurrency-backed bonds and had already warned of the risks that assuming this virtual currency implies for El Salvador.

"The adoption of bitcoin as a currency raises a number of macroeconomic, financial and legal issues that require very careful analysis," said Gerry Rice, a spokesman for the Fund.

assets

they can bring significant risks”, for which he suggested that there should be “effective regulatory measures”.

Faced with the Fund's demand to reverse the controversial decision —the flagship project of the popular Bukele—, the Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, has been forceful: “No multilateral organization is going to force you to do anything, absolutely nothing.

States are sovereign and make sovereign decisions about their public policies”, Zelaya stated.

Three United States senators presented last week a legislative initiative for the Joe Biden government to design a plan that "mitigates the risks" that the adoption of bitcoin in the Central American country has for the US financial system, reports Efe.

Fitch Ratings also lowered El Salvador's long-term credit rating and among the reasons cited the "uncertainty" of reaching an agreement with the IMF after the adoption of bitcoin, according to information from the same news agency.

Despite the criticism, the Salvadoran president boasts of the good performance of the economy.

On Saturday, he quoted on Twitter a Central Bank report that records a 13% increase in Salvadoran exports in January 2022, worth 564 million dollars, "a record figure that exceeds the values ​​recorded in all the months of January of the last three decades”, the institution has affirmed.

Bukele congratulated himself and said that "El Salvador's GDP grew 10.3% in 2021. And now its exports (the main engine of economic growth) grew 13% this January, compared to January 2021."

“Are we looking at another double-digit GDP growth this year?

By the way, El Salvador never had double-digit GDP growth before 2021″, he has stated.

government propaganda,

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