Mexican President Calls on Facebook to Extend Internet Access to Rural Citizens

The Mexican president posted a Tweet yesterday of part of the interaction between himself and the social network founder. In it, he describes his desire to bring online parts of rural Mexico currently lacking internet access. He proposes extending the nation’s existing fiber optic network to reach even the most remote towns, arguing that as many as 95 percent of the people have electricity — but only 80 percent can get online.

No hace falta viajar con frecuencia al extranjero, ahora podemos comunicarnos mediante videoconferencias. Así conversé el día de hoy con Mark Zuckerberg, fundador de Facebook y accionista de WhatsApp e Instagram. El tema es cumplir el compromiso de que haya internet para todos. pic.twitter.com/ELnLhwcLUB

— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) June 18, 2019

Lopez Obrador then calls on Zuckerberg to form a partnership that will promote universal internet access across Mexico. He states that such a program would improve not only communications but education and healthcare at a very low cost. Although Zuckerberg does not speak in the above video, Reuters reports a Facebook representative as stating the following of the video conference:

“We had the opportunity to discuss the life-changing potential of connectivity with President Lopez Obrador.”

There was no comment on any future partnership between the social networking company and the Mexican government. Facebook is already known to have partnered with some of the Mexican nation’s internet providers, boosting access in rural areas in the process. Stepping up their efforts to connect those currently living offline in the nation could also be a boon for the company’s newly-detailed digital currency, Libra. One of the stated goals of the new digital token, due for launch in 2020, is to promote access to banking in parts of the world typically lacking in such facilities. Presumably, Facebook will be keen to also promote Libra as part of any partnership. Many crypto analysts have also argued that Libra will be good for the digital asset space long-term. If Facebook’s digital token proves popular, onboarding new users to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will arguably be much easier. If such commentators are to be believed, a partnership between Facebook and the Mexican government might not only be good for Libra — but crypto in general. What do you think? Will crypto get a boost from a more connected Mexico? Let us know in the comments below!