El Salvador set to double down on Bitcoin after elections – Vice President Felix Ulloa

El Salvador’s commitment to Bitcoin as a legal tender has been reaffirmed following the trends in the ongoing elections. Vice President Felix Ulloa announced that Bitcoin will continue to be recognized as legal tender during President Nayib Bukele’s second term in office. 

This decision reflects the government’s dedication to the crypto despite challenges, including potential obstacles in accessing International Monetary Fund (IMF) financing. The announcement was made to assure the public and the international community of El Salvador’s ongoing support for Bitcoin, a groundbreaking move initiated by President Bukele in 2021. 

El Salvador’s Vice President promises Bitcoin stability post-elections

According to a recent Reuters report, Bitcoin will remain legal money in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele’s second term, his vice president announced on Wednesday.

Days before an election that Bukele is projected to easily win due to a brutal gang crackdown, Felix Ulloa, who is temporarily on leave to run for re-election with Bukele, reaffirmed the Central American country’s adoption of the Bitcoin as legal tender.

The disclosure comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pushed El Salvador to “reconsider” the policy while negotiating a billion-dollar loan, according to Ulloa.

Ulloa stated that the government has no intention of altering the decision and that the recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declaration to allow U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track bitcoin has further bolstered its commitment.

“Not only will it (the law) be maintained,” Ulloa told Reuters on Wednesday. “At this moment, it enjoys the greatest credibility in the entire world.”

Ulloa said that if Bukele and his New Ideas party win Sunday’s election, as most polls anticipate, the Salvadoran government will proceed with plans to issue bitcoin-backed bonds in the first quarter of 2024.

He stated that the development of Bitcoin City, a tax-free crypto haven planned by Bukele in the country’s east, as well as the issuing of passports to investors who donate the equivalent of $1 million in crypto, would go ahead.

Who will win El Salvador’s elections?

He suspended civil liberty. Led the mass incarceration effort. And drew widespread condemnation for human rights violations. However, five years after his first election, President Nayib Bukele appears to be on course to win a second term in office when El Salvador holds its general elections this Sunday.

Despite constitutional concerns, an estimated 69.9% of El Salvadorans support his reelection campaign. Prior to Bukele, El Salvador’s presidents have only served one term.

Bukele has welcomed the criticism he receives, calling himself “the world’s coolest dictator.”

Despite Bukele’s substantial base of support, several commentators worry about how long voters would accept his strongman style, especially as more people feel the pain.

Under Bukele, El Salvador has one of the world’s highest incarceration rates, with an estimated 2% of its adult population imprisoned.

The country previously had one of the highest homicide rates. In 2015, there were 105 murders for every 100,000 citizens, a staggering figure. But Bukele has credited his “mano dura” or “iron fist” techniques with reducing that number to only 7.8 killings per 100,000 people, the lowest in Central America.

Bukele’s election to the presidency signaled a shift in Salvadorian politics. Bukele, who was only 37 years old at the time of his first presidential campaign, positioned himself as a political outsider, opposing major parties on both the right and the left.

His inauguration five years ago made him Latin America’s youngest president, and he went on to fulfil his promise of shaking up the existing quo.

Some of his measures were designed to help El Salvador’s struggling economy: for example, under Bukele, the country began accepting the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal cash.