El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, took a chance on Bitcoin in September by making it a legal currency in his Central American nation and investing heavily in the cryptocurrency himself. His plan to put the equivalent of $107 million of the country’s riches into Bitcoin has failed to pay off.
According to information on the website Nayib Tracker, the president has lost almost $61 million on paper from all those Bitcoin acquisitions, and many individuals still are not utilizing it.
The IMF predicts that El Salvador’s economy will expand by 1.7% in 2023, which will seem like a recession, given the state of the Latin American economy as a whole.
The leader has been criticized by everyone from legislators in the United States. They have called the Bitcoin Law a “careless gamble,” to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
CID Gallun Survey shows that people are supporting Bukele in Latin America
President Bukele is still popular with the general public despite all this. On Thursday, CID Gallup announced their survey results, showing that the leader has the most significant support levels in Latin America.
Given the reports of upheaval in El Salvador, this may come as a shock to political observers outside. On many occasions last year, Salvadorans marched to the streets to protest the Bitcoin Law and the president’s attempt to abuse his power position.
El Presidente @nayibbukele es el mandatario con mejor desempeño de Latinoamérica. pic.twitter.com/L3VgE7qcy9
— Salvador Chacón García (@SalvadorChacon_) October 14, 2022
A survey of 1,200 individuals across 13 Latin American nations, performed by the Costa Rican consulting firm CID Gallup, found that 86% of respondents approved of President Bukele. Bukele far surpassed the performances of the leaders of other major Latin American economies, such as Argentina and Mexico.
Una vez más, @nayibbukele 😎 pic.twitter.com/KMEn10KfXp
— Alexia Rivas🇸🇻 (@AlexiaRivasG1) October 14, 2022
Although El Salvador often ranks among the world’s most murderous countries, it has reportedly become safer under Bukele’s leadership. The oddball commander has started a strict operation this year, rounding up prospective gang members and locking up around 53,000 in prisons.
The bravery shown has been praised in El Salvador, where residents said they now feel safer. Human rights groups, however, are opposed to the plan because they fear it would lead to a disaster in prisons throughout the nation.
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