Mexico does not plan to make BTC legal tender

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he did not plan Mexico following the example of El Salvador to make BTC legal tender. On the contrary, he is more concerned about tax evasion, which may be associated with cryptocurrencies.

The adoption of BTC as legal tender is a closely monitored step, especially in Latin American countries. Several countries in the region could emulate the move of a Central American country if BTC proves to help its economic development and effectively address high remittance fees.

However, Mexico does not seem to plan to emulate El Salvador’s actions in the foreseeable future.

“We are not going to change in that aspect. We think we must maintain orthodoxy in the management of finances [and] not try to innovate much in financial management ”said @lopezobrador_ about adopting #BTC as legal tender in #Mexico. https://t.co/Wd7hUJfsMt by @jaldps

– Decrypt (@decryptmedia) October 14, 2021

Thus, instead of indicating that he would try to be “friendlier” to BTC, the president identified the fight against cryptocurrent tax evasion as the main goal of his government. “We want to make sure that there are no privileges and that everyone contributes their taxes. That’s enough for us,” he added.

A similar view of BTC is held by the Governor of the Central Bank of Mexico, Aleandro Diaz, who stated that BTC are not real money.

BTC also has supporters in Mexico

However, there are those in Mexican politicians who tend to involve BTC more in the public sector. Senator Nuevo Leon celebrated El Salvador’s decision to make BTC legal tender Indre Kempis. “When will digital innovation stop slowing down in Mexico so we can tackle our problems? Why is El Salvador, which is in a similar situation, and Mexico is not, when we are in the same situation?” asked during her speech at the Talent Land Digital 2021 conference.

Mexico’s third richest man has a close relationship with BTC Ricardo Salinas Pliego who said last year that BTC makes up 10% of its investment portfolio. Pliego also claimed at the time that through his bank Banco Azteca wants to make BTC accessible to everyone in Mexico in a regulated way. However, the central bank has given his initiative a hard stop at least for the time being.