The biggest investment effort in history
Remittances have gone to investments, no longer to consumption, and there are more than 100 projects that represent 400 million dollars from the diaspora.
People outside the country are enthusiastic about the change in El Salvador, but due to the lack of understanding of Bitcoin, people inside are often hesitant to trust the new economic system that President Bukele introduced a year ago.
Other countries in Latin America are already trying to replicate the Salvadoran model. Leaders from the central banks of Paraguay, Haiti, Honduras, Ecuador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic have already met with Bukele.
According to the World Tourism Organization. El Salvador is now ranked 13th out of the 15 countries listed, and appears among the top destinations in terms of income in the first five months of 2022.
In accordance Bitcoin Magazine The country is on track to earn $99 million more from tourism this year compared to 2019.
In fact, support for Nayib Bukele has increased compared to the rest of the presidents in Latin America. The latest survey by La Prensa Grafica Newspaper gave President Nayib Bukele an 87% approval rating after three years in office. 86.8% of Salvadorans who responded said they approve of the work President Nayib Bukele has done after three years in office.
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But what do people do actual thinking about El Salvador’s bitcoin adoption?
An anonymous citizen of El Salvador told us that they have not seen any change in the economy and that few people use bitcoin for their own transactions. People do not feel confident about the use and implementation of bitcoin.
People are still very distrustful because they don’t know if the Bitcoin network is secure. The Chivo wallet has been plagued with issues and has had mixed effects on its rollout according to the anonymous citizen. There has not been enough education and there are very few people who have been able to educate themselves.
“There is still not enough access to the internet in El Salvador. Various plans to bring satellites have not happened yet and everything is still in the pipeline,” they said.
El Salvador’s internet penetration rate was at 50.5% of the total population at the start of 2022.
Despite these concerns, the country continues to lean into developments around Bitcoin and the infrastructure needed to facilitate this. In the end, it remains to be seen whether their bets on Bitcoin will pay off.
This is a guest post by Gaby Vivas. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc Bitcoin Magazine.
