Mexican Senator Indira Kempis has introduced a bill to make bitcoin legal tender in the country. The bill is based on the difficulties Mexican citizens face in accessing financial products and education. However, Mexico’s central bank opposes the introduction of bitcoin into the country’s financial system.
The bill proposes to make bitcoin legal tender in Mexico
Mexico is one of the Latam countries considering what Bitcoin could bring to its economy if introduced. This week, Senator Indira Kempis introduced a bill that would amend Mexico’s current currency law to introduce bitcoin as legal tender in the country. The bill seeks to emulate the actions of El Salvador, the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, noting that it may help change the financial literacy of many citizens.
Thedocumentbases its proposal on the fact that Mexico is one of the less advanced countries in the continent in financial inclusion and education. According to the proposal, 56% of Mexico’s population still lacks access to bank accounts, meaning that more than 67 million people still lack access to the most basic financial products.
Similarly, 68% of the population has no access to financial education, ostensibly leaving most Mexicans unable to make educated decisions regarding how to handle savings, mortgages, and credit.
Central Bank Digital Currency vs. Bitcoin
However, the bill proposed by Senator Kempis clashes with the course of action that the Mexican government and the Mexican Central Bank have been taking: in January, the institution was working to create its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital peso, as a way to help Mexicans with financial inclusion issues. It announced that the currency is expected to be in circulation by 2024.
Also in June, Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said that the use of cryptocurrencies is banned inside the Mexican financial system and that the ban is not likely to change in the short term. The measure was announced after Ricardo Salinas Pliego, one of Mexico’s wealthiest men, reported that he was working to make Banco Azteca the first bank in the country to accept bitcoin.
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