The President of El Salvador – Nayib Bukele – canceled his appearance at the Miami bitcoin conference. The leader explained that “unforeseen circumstances” in his home country necessitated his presence.
State of emergency in El Salvador
The ongoing Miami Bitcoin Conference will not see the presence of Nayb Bukele – one of the biggest proponents of the major digital asset. one in letterEl Salvador’s president said he had made the “difficult decision to cancel his participation” due to “unforeseen circumstances” taking place in the Central American country.
Nevertheless, Bukele expressed hope that he would be available in the future to attend gatherings of people who celebrate “the power of freedom, decentralization and human ingenuity in their fight against ignorance, centralization and dogma”.
Crime levels in the Latin American state have risen sharply in recent weeks. On 28 March, police reported a total of 62 murders, making it the country’s most violent day in the past 30 years. On top of that, officials recorded 1,140 homicides in 2021 – an average of 18 deaths per 100,000 residents. In comparison, countries such as Japan and Singapore have reported 0.3 murders per 100,000 people.
To solve the problem, El Salvador authorities declared a “state of emergency”, after which more than 5,000 people were arrested who were detained without warrants.
In addition, Bukele threatened to stop providing food for imprisoned gang members if the wave of killings did not stop:
“There are rumors that they (gang) want to start taking revenge on random, honest people. If they do this, there will be not a single meal in the prisons. I swear to god they won’t eat a grain of rice, and let’s see how long they last. ,
Violence could disrupt El Salvador’s tourism sector
Even though the country leads the dark statistics when it comes to the number of murders per year, it is also known as a favorite tourist destination due to its tropical climate, white sandy beaches, volcanoes and ancient ruins. In addition to those natural sights, El Salvador gained global popularity last year, when it became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
The initiative generated significant controversy as some praised the effort, while others claimed that President Bukele used primary cryptocurrencies to garner additional political support. In any case, the move has positively affected the local tourism industry, which has grown by 30% since then.
Morena Valdez – El Salvador’s tourism minister – said American tourists are most attracted to the destination. Before the adoption of bitcoin, travelers were mainly arriving from neighboring countries such as Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The picture looks different now as 60% of visitors come from the United States.
It remains to be seen how recent developments will reflect on the growing tourism sector.
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