El Salvador’s Pro-Bitcoin President Naib Bukele Launches Re-Election Bid

The President of El Salvador, Naib Buquele, has filed for re-election in the upcoming February 2024 presidential election in the country.

Bukele, a Bitcoin advocate, received huge support from the public on October 26 after he was officially nominated by his party to run for re-election.

“Five more [years]five more and not one step back, “Bukele said in a speech in front of thousands of El Salvadorans. “We need five years to improve our country,” he said.

| Breaking News: “Five more, five more and not one step back” Naib Bukele gave his speech in front of thousands of Salvadorans after registering his presidential candidacy for re-election. “We need 5 years to improve our country” pic.twitter.com/ApaP8yyQBm

— Eduardo Menoni (@eduardomenoni) October 27,

Bukele came to power in 2019 with his Nueva (New) Ideas political party disrupting three decades of two-party dominance between the National Republican Union and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNLB).

But despite his popularity among locals, critics such as El Salvador lawyer Alfonso Fajardo say the country's constitution does not qualify Bukele for a second consecutive term.

October 26 is a good day to remember that presidential re-election is currently prohibited by the constitution up to 7 times.

Naib Bukele is running for re-election in El Salvador despite being prohibited by Article 7 of the Constitution. A constitution drafted after our peace treaty, after a bloody civil war. This is unconstitutional. https://t.co/ordgib7WMq

— Daniel Alvarenga (@puchicadanny) October 27, 2023

However, in September 2021, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled that presidents should run for consecutive elections.

Citing a study conducted by the University of El Salvador, Reuters reported that new proposals are supported by 70% of the country's voters. The closest competitor received only 4% of the total vote.

One of New Idea's opponents, the FMNLB, filed a lawsuit in June 2021 claiming Buckele's bitcoin adoption program was unconstitutional. However, that complaint lacked much ground as Buckele and El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender three months after September 2021.

Bukele's government has implemented other tech-friendly policies aimed at strengthening the country's economy, such as eliminating all taxes on technological innovations.

El Salvador has the potential to become the “Singapore of America,” said Gabor Gurbach, a VanEck strategy consultant, recently.

RELATED: El Salvador Volcano Energy Partners With Luxor To Launch First Bitcoin Mining Pool

Much of Bukele's notoriety came from his heavy-handed crackdown on MS-13, which had the highest homicide rate in El Salvador six years ago.

From a high of 106 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015, 92.6% will drop to 7.8 in 2022 El Salvador's homicide rate will drop to 7.8 in 2022.

But the United Nations and other critics say El Salvador has violated human rights laws by imprisoning 65,000 people without giving them the legal right to defend themselves.

El Salvador's presidential election It will be held on February 4, 2024.

Magazine: What is it like to use Bitcoin in El Salvador?