Business

World’s ‘coolest dictator’ rebukes US — Analysis

President of El Salvador tells US to ‘stay out’ of his country’s affairs after senators voice worries over bitcoin

El Salvador is sovereign and not Washington’s colony. President Nayib Bukele stated Wednesday that El Salvador was a sovereign nation, which means it has the right to decide whether to adopt Bitcoin. He said this in response to an American senator who expressed concern about such a possibility.

“OK boomers,” Bukele tweetedOn Wednesday night. “We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard. Don’t interfere with our internal affairs. Don’t try to control something you can’t control.”He said that the US had been a great country. “zero jurisdiction”El Salvador, an independent sovereign nation.

Bukele was elected as a 2019 representative. “the world’s coolest dictator”In his Twitter bio, but now styled himself “CEO of El Salvador.” He was responding to a statement by three US senators – two Republicans and a Democrat – concerned about the country’s adoption of bitcoin and “potential risks to the US financial system”This could mean.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) joined Republicans Jim Risch of Idaho and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana in proposing Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act, demanding of the US State Department to produce a report and a plan to address Bukele’s embrace of bitcoin. 

IMF warns Bitcoin-friendly country of ‘large risks,’ president responds

El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin “raises significant concerns about the economic stability and financial integrity”Of the Central American nation and “has the potential to weaken US sanctions policy, empowering malign actors like China and organized criminal organizations,” argued Senator Risch.

“If the United States wishes to combat money laundering and preserve the role of the dollar as a reserve currency of the world, we must tackle this issue head on,” said Cassidy, adding that Bukele’s policy “opens the door for money laundering cartels and undermines US interests.”

Bukele posted a 10 second video on Tuesday of US President Joe Biden speaking about sovereignty and freedom in an address about Ukraine. “This includes El Salvador? Right?”He said.

This Central American country abandoned its national currency in 2001 and adopted the US dollar as its new currency. In June 2021 it became the first country to accept bitcoin as legal currency. This was despite being disapproved by the International Monetary Fund. Bukele has since made progress on plans to use El Salvador’s volcanoes as the power source to mine the digital cryptocurrency.

Share this story via social media



[ad_2]

Tags

Related Articles

Back to top button