Hi there,

If you think Democracy Now!’s reporting is a critical line of defense against war, climate catastrophe and authoritarianism, please make your donation of $10 or more right now. Today, a generous donor will DOUBLE your donation, which means it’ll go 2x as far to support our independent journalism. Democracy Now! is funded by you, and that’s why we’re counting on your donation to keep us going strong. Please give today. Every dollar makes a difference—in fact, gets doubled! Thank you so much.
-Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

El Salvador President Plans “Bitcoin City” as Government Cracks Down on NGOs

HeadlineNov 23, 2021

In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has announced plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City” in the eastern, coastal region of La Unión. Bukele said the city would be financed by cryptocurrency bonds and would harness geothermal power from a volcano. Many opponents say a Bitcoin City would likely lead to further displacement and other catastrophic impacts on local communities. This is President Bukele speaking Sunday.

President Nayib Bukele: “It’s going to be right there in the Fonseca Gulf, and it’s going to include everything: residential areas, commercial areas, services, museums, entertainment, bars, restaurants, airport, port, rail, everything devoted to bitcoin.”

Bukele’s announcement comes despite massive opposition to bitcoin in El Salvador, which is also the first country in the world to declare the cryptocurrency as legal tender. Meanwhile, several civil society organizations critical of Bukele’s government were raided by the Salvadoran National Police Monday. The widespread raids targeted feminist, humanitarian aid and other social justice groups.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top