Adopting crypto could help countries in the Latin region deal with high national currencies’ high inflation. In support of crypto, Petro stated that Bitcoin removes issuing power from the states and the banks.
“It is a community currency that is based on the trust of those who carry out transactions with it. Since it is based on a blockchain, trust is measured and grows, hence its strength,” tweeted he.
Petro applauded El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele’s idea of building volcano-powered crypto mining facilities. He tweeted that Colombia could also take advantage of Bukele’s idea – use the clean hydropower on Colombia’s Pacific coast to mine cryptocurrencies and potentially replace with it the cocaine industry.
According to a UN report, the Pacific coast is one of the hottest regions for the drug trade, where the growing of coca significantly increased in 2020.
Seven months ago, Petro also claimed that Colombia could use wind turbines and water powerplants to mine cryptocurrencies in the Guajira region on the Caribean coast. The area is known for local Wayú indigenous communities fighting harshly with their region’s highly polluting mining industry.
“We can make the Wayú communities, the coal workers of the Cesar region, the black communities of the Colombian Pacific coast, owners of these new forms of energy linked to cryptocurrency computing, and thus we will have a different world,” said Petro in the interview.
Guajira is home to 98% of the country’s wind farms. According to Colombian media, 65 new farms are planned to start operations by 2031. With more than 2,000 wind turbines, it will produce 6,000 MW for the national grid.
Petro and his green energy plans seem to have won the voters in La Guajira: “More than 160 thousand votes in La Guajira. We won. We will finally will liberate the Rancheria River, the sun and the wind will be our new wealth, a quiet but firm energetic transformation is coming. No more children will die of hunger. Thank you my Guajira,” tweeted social leader of Wayú community and elected member of senate.