With less than a week before El Salvador’s Bitcoin law went into effect on September 7, most citizens surveyed opposed The government forces the adoption of cryptocurrency.
A sort of Polls A survey conducted by the local University of Central America (UCA) Public Opinion Research Institute found that 70% of Salvadorans believe that President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin law treats cryptocurrencies as legal tender and should be abolished .
However, more than 90% of respondents also admitted that they know little about cryptocurrencies.
The president’s public approval rate recorded by the institute is only 7.64%-which is the lowest so far during the presidency of Booker.
El Salvador’s troubled economy
Attitudes to the Bitcoin law seem to be intertwined with concerns about the country’s poor economic performance.
The poll found that 45% of Salvadoran citizens believe that poverty and unemployment are the two most pressing issues facing the country, and 43% believe that with the passage of the Bitcoin law, the national economy will deteriorate.
According to the World Bank, 22.8% The population of El Salvador currently lives below the poverty line, while the country’s average annual income is only US$3,800. More than two-thirds of Salvadorans believe that even if the minimum wage is raised, the local economy will not improve.
The poll also found that 20% of Salvadorans “publicly stated that they don’t know what Bitcoin is”, while another 70% admitted to not knowing enough about cryptocurrency. Based on a rough translation, the researchers who conducted the investigation concluded that:
“In other words, nine out of ten Salvadorans don’t know what this financial asset is.”
The survey results echoed a similar poll conducted in July, which found that only 20% of locals approved Bukele’s upcoming Bitcoin law.
Bukele govt sprukes BTC
If there is a hint of optimism in the polls, it is that the latest data shows that the number of citizens who “do not know” Bitcoin has been reduced by more than half compared with 46% in July-which shows that the government’s efforts to raise awareness have There are some minor effects.
On August 30th, Bukele shared the country’s first state-backed Bitcoin TV advertise Go to Twitter and provide an animated tutorial on how to use the government’s “Chivo” digital wallet to buy goods and transfer value.
The next day, Bukele tweeted a picture of the Bitcoin ATM planned to be launched nationwide. The president claimed that 50 physical terminals would be put into use on September 7. The president also estimated that the switch to cryptocurrency would save the country from the country’s annual remittance costs of $400 million.
Chivo points will help people use @chivowallet.
This will give them financial freedom and security, as well as benefits, including annual savings of $400 million in remittance and collection fees.#Bitcoin #PointsChivo pic.twitter.com/BtVrKiK5eZ
-Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) August 31, 2021
related: El Salvador’s legislative assembly approves $150 million bitcoin trust
To help win support for Bitcoin, the government also launched a charity campaign to collect BTC donations to provide dental treatment to impoverished Salvadorans.Launched the “Bitcoin Smile” campaign 1.02 Bitcoin (Approximately US$50,000) Donations from 797 individuals.
Despite the government’s best efforts, the problem clearly still exists. On September 2, hundreds of local citizens supported trade unions and social organizations and protested against the law.
Trade unions and social organizations openly opposed Bitcóin outside of Centro Culture Cívico Legislativo. pic.twitter.com/C9ftS6OfCD
-LPGPolitica (@LPGPolitica) September 1, 2021
