The road to worldwide adoption starts with one step. El Salvador took it with their Bitcoin Law. After their announcement, every country in the region seems to be testing the waters in its own way. And now it’s Mexico and Argentina’s turn. If we take out Portuguese-speaking Brazil, these two are the biggest markets in Spanish-speaking Latin America. And they’re both flirting with Bitcoin and altcoins in a big way.
Related Reading | El Salvador Set to Accept Bitcoin as Legal Tender
Will A Mexican Politician Present A Bitcoin Law Proposal At The Talent Land Conference?
The conference is well underway, and so far there’s been no announcement. The rumor persists regardless. What’s in that particular Bitcoin Law? Not many people know for sure. However, El Salvador’s Director of Technological & Economic International Affairs, Mónica Taher, went on the record and just plain said a Mexican Bitcoin Law is coming.
Mexican legislators will present a #BitcoinLaw proposal during #TalentLand Digital NEXT WEEK. @Talentrepublic_ donated 10,000 entrance tickets for Salvadorans to access the conference for free. Congresswoman @IndiraKempis is a #Bitcoin supporter. #ElSalvador #Mexico #BTC https://t.co/yLmDsM7jQM
— Mónica Taher (@monicataher) July 3, 2021
She mentions Indira Kempis, Congresswoman for the state of Nuevo León. Her talk at the Talent Land conference was on June 6th, and she said:
It’s been said that the evolution of the Internet is cryptocurrencies and blockchains, but we (Mexico) haven’t even had the debate. It has to go all the way up to the Mexican legislative power, or to the executive power for us to know exactly what we can do.”
Congresswoman Kempis thinks that the Mexican State has to assume the challenge that is Bitcoin, not as a controlling entity, but as a regulator. As for the real possibilities that this might happen, she remarked the nearly half of her country’s population doesn’t have access to banking services, which puts them in a situation similar to El Salvador.
“When is México going to stop lagging behind digitally and face its problems? Why El Salvador, that has certain conditions, and not Mexico that has similar conditions?”
The laser-eyed Congresswoman has a point, but, is she taking a Bitcoin Law to the Mexican Congress? She didn’t say. The conference’s grand finale is tomorrow, nevertheless.
BTC price chart for 07/08/2021 on Bitbay | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Proposal To Legalize Paying Wages In Crypto Introduced In Argentina
An Argentinian Congressman, José Luis Ramón from Mendoza, presented a bill that would allow employees and freelancers to receive their wages in cryptocurrencies. That’s right, cryptocurrencies and not just Bitcoin. Nasdaq quotes Ramón’s Twitter:
According to Ramón, the idea behind his project is that “Argentines can strengthen their autonomy and preserve the purchasing power of their remuneration.”
Argentina currently sees its native peso suffer from 50% inflation per year.
“This initiative arises from the need to promote greater autonomy and governance of the salary, without this implying a loss of rights or exposure to situations of abuse within the framework of the employment relationship.”
Related Reading | How El Salvador Embracing Bitcoin Signifies “The Separation Of Money And State”
Local newspaper Cronista got hold of a portion of the actual text presented to Congress, and it reads:
The bill “besides strenghtening the autonomy of employees and freelancers, offers a modern mechanism to maintain their wage’s purchasing power without implying currency conversion, as the 27.541 Law looks to discourage”
If the bill passes, Argentina will become the patient zero in another experiment. El Salvador adopted the Bitcoin standard, the law is Bitcoin-only and according to President Bukele, it will remain that way. Congressman José Luis Ramón is playing with fire by introducing Altcoins into the mix.
How will this whole situation play out? Keep Bitcoinist in your rotation, we’ll promise to keep our ear to the ground and let you know of any and all developments.
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