- Indira Kempis, a senator from Nuevo León state, believes Bitcoin should be legal tender in Mexico.
- She is currently working on a cryptocurrency bill modelled after El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Law.”
- The bill is unlikely to pass because Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated in a press conference in a way that leaves no doubt that his administration is not interested in accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, let alone declaring it legal tender.
Indira Kempis is a senator from Nuevo León state. She believes Bitcoin should be legal tender in Mexico. Kempis believes so because its adoption could drive global financial inclusion. She is currently working on a cryptocurrency bill modelled after El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Law.” In an interview with El Salvador In English, Kempis said that after visiting El Salvador a few weeks ago, she expects to introduce the bill to the Mexican Congress this year.
She said that “It is clear to me that financial exclusion is one of the public problems that few of us have addressed with feasible alternatives, and that this type of technology is allowing us to generate an alternative so that millions of people can be included in the financial system. We need Bitcoin to be legal tender in Mexico because if it is not so if we do not make that decision as El Salvador did, it is complicated to take action.”
Kempis went on to say that Bitcoin adoption is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for countries around the world. It is so to address issues such as inequality and achieve financial inclusion. The senator also suggested that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele may have started a Bitcoin revolution to spread to all countries.
She further said that “Making Bitcoin a legal tender means putting a level playing field for people who are excluded in almost all countries”.
Kempis, who took office in 2018, has been actively promoting the crypto industry. She even joined the laser eyes movement in July 2018. Kempis stated that she had been involved in the cryptocurrency industry for years. She was surrounded by a community of crypto entrepreneurs, developers, and enthusiasts. She even said that “now that I am participating in politics, I seek to promote it.”
In an October press conference, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated in a way that leaves no doubt that his administration is not interested in accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, let alone declaring it legal tender. Instead, he is working to strengthen the country’s financial system by combating tax evasion.
He said, “We think that we must maintain orthodoxy in managing finances (and) not try to innovate too much in financial management”.
López Obrador’s term expires in 2024. Hence, Kempis’ initiative will most likely have to wait till then. Kempis would face significant challenges because she is a member of the third-largest opposition party, Movimiento Ciudadano. Moreover, the bill’s passage would necessitate broad bipartisan support beyond the senator’s party.
