Bitcoin City and other promises Bukele failed to keep to El Salvador

Nayib Bukele will seek re-election in the presidential elections to be held in El Salvador next Sunday, February 4th. To achieve this, the self-proclaimed “coolest dictator in the world” is raising the flag of transformation, which was achieved in less than five years thanks to radical security measures and a Bitcoin (BTC)-based monetary policy.

Currently, the Central American country has gone from being one of the most insecure in the world to being a gang-free territory, with a murder rate that is among the lowest in the region.

However, the transformation process that should boost Bitcoin in the country is still developing, and therefore There are many who believe that Bukele is committed to the nation.

The experiment that Bukele launched in 2021 must show that a country with Bitcoin reserves has stability, economic power and political influence. Furthermore, the task ahead is to show that Bitcoin is indispensable as a government policy in today's world.

When Bitcoin was declared legal tender in El Salvador two years ago, Bukele presented his country as the epicenter of digital currency adoption, with an asset that could provide financial sovereignty to the population.

Bukele also noted that Bitcoin would provide protection for Salvadorans as the currency is censorship-resistant and therefore protects people's assets as it converts them into unconfiscatable funds.

Later, in November 2021, Bukele announced his plan to issue Bitcoin or Volcano bonds for about a billion dollars. All with the idea of ​​​​refinancing the country's debt, since borrowing has become a gigantic task for a country that is considered “high risk” by the rating agencies.

However, the volcano bonds are among the promises that Bukele failed to keep during his term, which began in June 2019 and ends in 2024.

5 big unfulfilled promises of Nayib Bukele

Nayib Bukele was often described by many as an “outstanding” president who stood out for his particularly disruptive way of governing. However, it is worth remembering that as a politician the Salvadoran has made promises, some of which remain stagnant while others may be considered unfulfilled.

And despite Bukele's promising rhetoric, there are several outstanding debts that raise doubts about his ability to deliver on the promises made to the Salvadoran people, particularly as they relate to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Among them stand out:

1. Bitcoin school construction and education

In November 2021, Bukele announced the construction of 20 Bitcoin schools in the country, capitalizing on the profits made after the digital currency achieved a price increase that allowed it to reach a new all-time high at the time.

So due to the increase “with a few million.” [de dólares] What’s left of the profits,” El Salvador would begin to see the benefits of converting Bitcoin into legal tender.

However, despite the years that have passed since the announcement, no Bitcoin schools have been built in the country, thus failing to fulfill this presidential promise.

Furthermore, in 2021, Bukele promised Bring education about Bitcoin to every person living in the Salvadoran countrybut since more than two years have passed since these announcements, it is noteworthy that the government of El Salvador has made no progress in educating the population about the features, benefits and methods of using the pioneer of cryptocurrencies.

The efforts of the NGO Mi Primer Bitcoin have provided knowledge to more than 25,000 people in El Salvador.

There are also plans to provide digital currency education at every public school in El Salvador. This is the result of an agreement concluded with the Ministry of El Salvador. However, this agreement is only in the first phase of implementation and has therefore not yet had any impact. until now.

As such, there is no real effort from the government to help more people learn about electronic money. In this sense, after his presidential term expires, since he left office to run for re-election, it remains an open task for the Salvadoran government to promote educational days with the idea Experience a broader understanding and acceptance of Bitcoin.

2. Digital infrastructure and connectivity

To spur Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador, Bukele promised in 2021 to improve technological infrastructure. This is about the understanding that in order to have better access to a wide range of financial services, the entire population from different social classes must have at least a mobile phone and internet connection.

In this sense, Bukele's government has taken decisive steps to narrow the technological and digital divide that separates Salvadorans, but so far these advances have not been significant enough to influence greater adoption of digital currency.

In August last year, the Presidential Secretariat for Innovation led the “Connecting El Salvador” program, which extends connectivity to parks and public spaces. Additionally, Google has come to the country to drive digital transformation. This underlines El Salvador's intention to make the country a center for financial innovation and technology hub, but is also a clear sign that there is still much to be developed.

In this aspect we can say that Bukele's promise of Providing El Salvador with adequate digital and technological infrastructure to promote Bitcoin adoption, It is a promise that has already been implemented, but it depends on Bukele winning next Sunday's elections so that it has a greater chance of being put into action.

3. Volcano Bonds

The Volcano Bonds or Bitcoin Bonds, an initiative announced by Nayib Bukele in 2021 They have not yet been issued and have therefore become one of the most symbolic promises of the ruler, who is now seeking re-election.

These bonds were announced as a financial instrument through which the Salvadoran government ensures that it has the public resources necessary to finance its projects.

As such, El Salvador would attract private investment in exchange for an interest coupon of 6.50% per year in dollars, paid to investors every January for a period of 10 years.

The goal of the Bukele government was this raise $1 billion through these Bitcoin-backed bonds. This with the idea of ​​developing Bitcoin mining in the country using only renewable energy sources, with the energy sources generated by the active volcanoes in El Salvador predominating.

In December last year, the Bukele government promised a new date for the launch of the Volcano Bonds, although they have not yet been issued, making them a symbol of the ruler's unfulfilled promises.

4.-Bitcoin mining with energy from volcanoes

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele promised that Bitcoin mining using geothermal energy from the country's volcanoes was one of the ways to generate income and economic development for the Central American country. However, this promise has not yet been fulfilled.

As CriptoNoticias reported at the time, El Salvador began mining Bitcoin using geothermal energy in September 2021. And a month later, Bukele revealed that the country began receiving incentives for mining activities.

Bukele's promise in June 2021 was to “develop a plan to offer very cheap, 100% clean, 100% renewable and zero-emission energy to Bitcoin mining facilities, leveraging volcanic activity.” But two years later No progress can be seene about the mining plan beyond the container with dozens of ASIC devices in the Berlin geothermal field in Usulután.

In this sense, Bukele's promise to use geothermal energy from Salvadoran volcanoes for Bitcoin mining has so far remained unfulfilled and it will be necessary to wait for the results of the next elections to know if there is a possibility of this being implemented.

5.-Bitcoin City

The Bitcoin City, a project promised by the government of Nayib Bukele in 2021 and its Construction should actually have started a year ago, It's not concrete yet. This goes so far that the project has neither been formalized nor registered with the Vice Ministry of Public Works of El Salvador.

In April last year, the organization that promotes migration to El Salvador silenced rumors that the Bitcoin project had been canceled. However, he clarified that “a review process must be carried out” and that “it will take some time” for the construction of this metropolis to progress.

According to the Bukele government, the construction of the Bitcoiner City would be financed with the so-called “Volcano Bonds”. It is reasonable to assume that the city will not materialize for Bitcoiners, until this financial instrument is issued with which the Central American country will issue debt.

In the meantime and as a reminder Bitcoin City is a debt Bukele owes to Salvadorans and Bitcoiners In the world there is the fact that the city already has its first resident. This is Corbin Keegan, an American who believes in Bukele's promise and therefore decides to emigrate to El Salvador, where he now lives in the area where Bitcoin City is to be built. He keeps alive the hope of one day living in the world's first Bitcoin metropolis, tax-free and powered by geothermal energy.