More than a year after Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador, a new survey by the University Institute of Public Opinion (Iudop) showed that most people consider the controversial move by President Nayib Bukele as a “failure.”
When asked, “In your opinion, has the implementation of Bitcoin in the country been a success or a failure?” 65.5% responded that it was a failure. Respondents gave the Bitcoin implementation a grade of 4.61 (on a scale of 0 to 10).
Bitcoin value has stumbled since the Bukele administration made it a legal tender in September 2021. The Bitcoin implementation is President Bukele’s most unpopular measure during his tenure as president and the most criticized by opposing political parties.
“The president fails to say that, as confirmed by the most recent IUDOP survey, the adoption of bitcoin is the most unpopular policy, the most criticized, and the worst evaluated by the people.” UCA Editorial Article.
According to the survey, 75.6% have not used cryptocurrency this year; 77.1% do not want the president to continue buying bitcoin with public funds.
Andreu Oliva, the rector of the UCA, declared during the survey presentation that “the survey confirms that (bitcoin) is the most unpopular measure of the Nayib Bukele government, the most criticized and the worst rated.”
One of the reasons the Nayib Bukele administration made Bitcoin a legal tender is to give Salvadorans another option to send remittances to the country.
However, according to El Salvador’s Central Reserve Bank, as of the end of September 2022, over 95% of family remittances were transferred through banks and remittance companies.
Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin implementation was strategic, given that these remittances to the country make up a significant percentage of El Salvador’s gross domestic product.
The University Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP) is part of the Jose Simeon Cañas Central American University UCA. The IUDOP regularly surveys El Salvador’s economic and political situation.
