I wonder why Bukele is trying his hardest to detach from the USD or at least hedge its influence in his country? He seems like just another wannabe strongman using smoke and mirrors. This Bitcoin law (passed by a rubber-stamp congress) shows he is focused on making savvy PR moves to get the world to overlook his embrace of authoritarian and corrupt actions. Also, he has nicely gotten an army of BTC acolytes to defend him against any and all criticism.
Here is a good Human Rights Watch article written last month with some noteworthy quotations I've pulled:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/21/us-can-stop-el-salvadors-slide-authoritarianism-time-act#
"May 1 was the first day his party held a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, after winning elections in February — and he lost no time in misusing it. Bukele’s allies in the National Assembly summarily removed and replaced all the judges on the constitutional chamber of El Salvador’s Supreme Court, as well as the attorney general..."
"That night, Bukele’s lawmakers rushed through appointments of new magistrates and a new attorney general. A convoy of police officers, including national police director Mauricio Arriaza, escorted the new officials to their jobs. Arriaza, who is under investigation for obstructing a corruption probe against high-level government officials, was greeted with applause when he showed up at the National Assembly chamber later that night."
This news shouldn't be celebrated by the BTC community. Rather, the quasi-religious group of acolytes spreading the good news of a an immutable asset controlled by millionaires and billionaires should be wary of embracing a leader bent on corrupting democracy.
I mean, really, the alleged logic provided by the president is the high cost of remittances. If that's the main issue, then why not empower the use of stable coins like USDT? The key aspect of the law is forcing businesses to accept BTC. It seems more likely this move is a way for some, whether they be part of criminal organizations or those attempting to avoid taxes on BTC to go launder their "money" and spend it.
This is not a move to liberate poor people in these countries. First off, how can a poor person acquire BTC if they don't have any money to begin with. Also, how can a poor person use BTC when a smartphone is required. I couldn't find information on the total percent of El Salvadorians with cell phones, but I was able to find information on the percent of El Salvadorians with cell phones who use smart phones (i.e. 37%).
If anything, this news gets us one step closer to major governments curtailing BTC.
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