Key Takeaways
- Latin American politicians in Argentina, Brazil, Panama, and Paraguay have taken to social media to show support for Bitcoin.
- The posts follow El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s announcement that he has hopes of making Bitcoin legal tender.
- Panama’s Gabriel Silva said that he would be preparing a proposal to “support cryptocurrencies,” while Paraguay is expected to announce a project involving Bitcoin and PayPal imminently.
Latin American leaders seem to be embracing Bitcoin.
Latin American Officials Endorse Bitcoin
Latin American politicians are backing Bitcoin on social media.
Leaders in Argentina, Brazil, Panama, and Paraguay have hinted at their interest in the digital asset over the last few days, with some suggesting that they will be taking steps to help Bitcoin adoption grow.
The wave of messages come days after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced that he would be submitting a bill to make Bitcoin legal tender this week. Strike founder Jack Mallers introduced a pre-recorded message from Bukele at Bitcoin 2021, confirming that he had helped with the process. The company will open up an innovation HQ in El Salvador.
Since the Saturday announcement, various officials have come out in support of Bitcoin.
Paraguay’s Deputy of the Nation, Carlitos Antonio Rejala Helman, took to social media Monday to reveal that the country would commence “an important project to innovate Paraguay in front of the world.” Rejala Helman also tagged BTC and PayPal in his post and posted a photo of himself donning the laser eyes meme that caught on among Bitcoin fans earlier this year. Full details of the plans are yet to be revealed.
Gabriel Silva, a Congressman in The National Assembly of Panama, then shared a post of Bukele’s in which the El Salvador leader had mentioned Bitcoin, detailing his intention to make the country a cryptocurrency hub. He wrote:
“Panama cannot be left behind. If we want to be a true technology and entrepreneurship hub, we have to support cryptocurrencies. We will be preparing a proposal to present at the Assembly. If you are interested in building it, you can contact me.”
Esto es importante. Y Panamá no se puede quedar atrás. Si queremos ser un verdadero hub de tecnología y emprendimiento tenemos que apoyar las criptomonedas
Estaremos preparando una propuesta para presentar en la Asamblea. Si están interesados en construirla me pueden contactarte https://t.co/yiAzPpD9nj
— Gabriel Silva (@gabrielsilva8_7) June 7, 2021
Bitcoin as an Inflationary Hedge
Fabio Ostermann and Gilson Marques, Brazil’s Deputy of the State in Rio Grande do Sul and Federal Deputy of Santa Catarina for the NOVO party, also joined in the laser eyes trend on Twitter, though no other developments have emerged. NOVO is a liberal party founded in 2011. Brazil may have some way to go before it follows El Salvador’s lead, though; the country is currently led by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has previously said that he “[does] not know what Bitcoin is.”
Francisco Sánchez, National Deputy for Argentina’s Neuquén province, has also joined Ostermann, Marques, Rejala Helman, and Bukele in adopting laser eyes on his Twitter avatar. “I can’t believe it, but this is how it is,” Sánchez said in a follow-up post.
Latin America has been hit hard by the pandemic, with fears of another debt crisis on the horizon. Argentina’s inflation rate is also among the highest in the world at 46.3%. Bitcoin’s fixed supply could be a solution to help citizens preserve their wealth amid rising debt and money printing. When Bukele announced El Salvador’s news over the weekend, Mallers shared an excerpt of the drafted bill, which explained that the country had plans to adopt Bitcoin “to mitigate the negative impact from central banks.” El Salvador currently uses the U.S. dollar.
Still, one of crypto’s latest memes won’t be enough to bring about adoption. El Salvador aside, the updates from Paraguay and Panama might be the biggest so far. Rejala Helman is expected to reveal further details on Paraguay’s plans this week.
