Anti-Bitcoin Protests Escalate on El Salvador Independence Day

Protests in El Salvador escalated Wednesday, on the country’s independence day, with local press reporting citizens’ fury at the country’s new Bitcoin law. 

Protestors set fire to a Bitcoin ATM in the capital of San Salvador. Some took to the streets holding placards that read “We don’t want Bitcoin” and “No to dictatorship.” El Salvador on September 7 made Bitcoin legal tender in the country. It is the first country to do so. 

The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, slammed citizens on Twitter who did not stop vandalism. He also lashed out at the press. 

There have been protests against the move—the brainchild of President Bukele—since July and August. But today the protests were by far the fiercest, with thousands of citizens taking to the streets, according to local media. 

Salvadorans are not just protesting against the Bitcoin law but also against President Bukele, who some believe has weakened the country’s courts and consolidated too much power. Though Bukele previously fared well in opinion polls for improving security in the tiny Central American country, he has come in for criticism lately over perceived authoritarianism. 

Source : decrypt.co