President Nayib Bukele, Who Legalized Bitcoin in El Salvador, Resigns from Office

• El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who supported the law recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, has resigned from his position.
• Héctor Silva, who is running for mayor of San Salvador, said, ‘The current democratic situation in El Salvador is that we have an unelected person as the Republic President.’
• The Salvadoran government campaigned to legalize Bitcoin in September 2021 and advocated for the development of a ‘Bitcoin City’ supported by a volcano in the country.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele submitted his resignation and left the presidency: What are Bukele’s future plans?

El Salvador President Resigns

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who supported the law recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, has resigned from his position. After receiving approval from the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, Bukele resigned from the presidency on December 1.

This move allows him to focus on the reelection campaign in 2024. Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara has become the interim president and is expected to hold this position until June 2024. After that, general elections are scheduled for February 2024.

Héctor Silva, who is running for mayor of San Salvador, said, ‘The current democratic situation in El Salvador is that we have an unelected person as the Republic President.’ Bukele, who took office in June 2019, gained rapid recognition for his efforts to reduce El Salvador’s globally highest murder rate and policies supporting cryptocurrencies.

The Salvadoran government campaigned to legalize Bitcoin in September 2021 and advocated for the development of a ‘Bitcoin City’ supported by a volcano in the country. Despite a significant decrease in the murder rate under Bukele’s administration, many critics claimed that El Salvador violated human rights laws in its efforts to suppress gang activity.

United Nations Report

According to a report from the United Nations Human Rights Office in March 2022, the country engaged in ‘mass detentions’ since 2022, and during this period, many people faced ill-treatment or lost their lives while in custody.

El Salvador’s president is elected for a five-year term. Before September 2021, the constitution prevented presidents from being re-elected for ten years. However, during that time, the Salvadoran Supreme Court ruled that a president could not serve two consecutive terms.