Deputy of El Salvador’s opposition party files lawsuit against Bitcoin legislation

A regional deputy belonging to an opposition party in El Salvador and a group of citizens have filed a lawsuit against the country’s new bitcoin law., calling it unconstitutional.

Deputy of El Salvador’s opposition party files lawsuit against Bitcoin legislation

Jaime Guevara of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNL) has linked arms with citizens to oppose the law, according to a report published by El Mundo.

The country’s legislature passed a law on June 8 by a supermajority making Bitcoin a legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. Following the move, El Salvador became the first country to do so in history.

A citizen plaintiff accompanying Guevara, Oscar Artero said the lawsuit was brought against President Nayib Bukele’s law because it was lacking a legal basis and failed to consider the harmful effects in El Salvador.

“The bitcoin law is to loot people’s pockets, it is tax-exempt,” said Artero during a press conference. “They want to force us to trade.” 

The citizen plaintiff stated that he hoped the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice would side with his argument.

Although that could be somewhat a tricky political move as Bukele’s party ousted five supreme court judges last month for their ruling on COVID-19 measures – a move that has been widely condemned.

Read: Local remittance firms hesitating to accept BTC despite legal tender in El Salvador