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Salvadorans protesting against President Nayib Bukele and his efforts to foster the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC/USD) as legal tender have torched down a BTC kiosk in San Salvador, the country’s capital. A report unveiled this news earlier today, noting the protestors marched with placards saying “no to dictatorship” and “we were defrauded by Bitcoin.” Reportedly, the protestors also set fire to furniture in one of the shops in Plaza Gerardo Barrios, where the BTC kiosk had been installed.
According to the report, Mayor Mario Durán tried to clean up the city during the demonstration but faced resistance. Durán tweeted,
Todos nuestros equipos de Desechos Sólidos y Renovación Urbana estaban listos para limpiar nuestra ciudad y tuvimos que detener las acciones luego de recibir amenzas en la zona. Retomaremos nuestro plan de limpieza y pintura por la tarde para resguardar a nuestros equipos. pic.twitter.com/NHrKTn9DhH
— Mario Durán 🇸🇻 (@marioduran) September 15, 2021
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Apart from protesting against BTC, Salvadorans believe Bukele is trying to consolidate power after proposing over 200 amendments to the constitution. Among these proposals is eliminating a ban on presidential re-election, explaining why they marched with signs saying no to dictatorship.
Critics continue bashing El Salvador for accepting BTC as legal tender
These protests come after another group of protestors calling themselves the Popular Resistance and Rebellion Block took the streets in July, hoping to stop the government from making BTC legal tender. Another group consisting of retirees, veterans, and disability pensioners demonstrated against the government plans in August.
Opposition lawmaker Claudia Ortiz also bashed the government’s decision to make BTC legal tender. According to her, embracing BTC as legal tender was a massive economic decision, and the entire procedure was illogical. This is because the bill to make BTC legal tender was sent to Congress and approved on the same day.
Ortiz added that El Salvador is currently experiencing a fiscal crisis with a high cost of living and unemployment. As such, she ridiculed the government, saying that it opted to adopt BTC as legal tender instead of dealing with such issues.
Apart from the resistance within, El Salvador also failed to secure the help of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), regarding implementing BTC as legal tender. According to the IMF, the country’s decision to embrace BTC as legal tender alongside the US dollar brings about macroeconomic, financial, and legal issues.