Legislators state that there is uncertainty among Salvadorans. They criticized the “express” approval that the law had in the National Assembly.
A draft law reform that seeks to remove bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in El Salvador appeared this Wednesday, June 16, before the Legislative Assembly. Opposition deputies Anabel Belloso and Dina Argueta argue that the adoption of cryptocurrency would harm the economic system and family finances.
The legislators questioned the “pressure” that the law expresses on the use of bitcoin to pay for products or services. For the congresswomen, the Bitcoin Law was planned without previous consultations or consensual approval in a more expedited way; this law appeared from nowhere without the necessary debates it needs to receive the last approval.
Belloso explained in detail in various statements to the Salvadoran media that there are risks. In the reforms bitcoins appear as an unrecognized legal tender, it is the first article within the object. The law has elements that would be generating uncertainty and risks for money laundering.
The official also explained that she is not against innovation and technological developments, but bitcoin cannot be adopted in an obligatory manner since the rights of the population could be at risk of being violated. Regarding the implementation of digital assets in the Central American country, Belloso clarified that this process must be voluntary.
According to the legislator, among Salvadorans, there is uncertainty about how to work with cryptocurrency or how to handle the funds. Also, she criticized that the government’s tone on this issue is too hasty and that it involves potential salary payments, or other benefits, in BTC and not in US dollars.
Regarding the payment of public workers, the Minister of Labor, Rolando Castro, indicated that it is still a premature issue.
Bitcoin as an Alternative in El Salvador
The deputies argued that article 7 of the law is the most intriguing one. The provision reads this way: “Every economic agent must adopt bitcoin as a means of payment when it is offered to this entity by whoever acquires a good or service.” The legislators stated that the law, as it is proposed, is an imposition.
However, article 12 clarifies that there is an exclusion from the obligation expressed in article 7 of this law, those who by notorious fact and do not have access to the technologies that allow them to execute transactions in bitcoin.
The State will promote the necessary training and mechanisms so that the population can have greater access to bitcoin transactions and how the whole world of this cryptocurrency works.
The scope of the reform of the law would have a null or very limited impact since the Legislative Assembly has a pro-government majority, which means that they support the decisions of the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele. The proposal would not go to debate or would be rejected by the parliamentarians, who approved the law last week.
By: Jenson Nuñez
