El Salvador president Nayib Bukele has filed paperwork to be re-elected in the country\u2019s upcoming 2024 presidential election in February.<\/p>\n
Bukele, a Bitcoin advocate, received strong support from the public on Oct. 26 after he was officially nominated by his party to run for re-election.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive more [years], five more and not one step back,\u201d Bukele said in a speech in front of thousands of El Salvadorans. \u201cWe need five years to continue improving our country,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Bukele rose to power in 2019 when his political party, Neuva (New) Ideas, broke three decades of two-party dominance between the Nationalist Republican Alliance and the Farabundo Mart\u00ed National Liberation Front (FMNLB).<\/p>\n
However, despite his popularity among the local population, critics such as El Salvadoran lawyer Alfonso Fajardo maintain that the country\u2019s constitution prohibits Bukele isn\u2019t eligible to seek a second consecutive term.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is a good day to remember that immediate presidential re-election is prohibited up to 7 times by the Constitution,\u201d he said on Oct. 26.<\/p>\n
However, in September 2021, El Salvador\u2019s Supreme Court ruled that presidents can run for consecutive elections.<\/p>\n
New Ideas is backed by 70% of the country\u2019s voting population, according to Reuters, which cited a study by an El Salvadoran university. Its closest competitor only received 4% of the total votes.<\/p>\n
One of New Ideas\u2019 competitors, FMNLB, filed a lawsuit in June 2021 claiming Bukele\u2019s Bitcoin adoption program is unconstitutional. However, that complaint made little ground as Bukele and El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender three months later September 2021.<\/p>\n
The Bukele government has also implemented other tech-friendly policies aimed at strengthening the country\u2019s economy, such as eliminating all taxes on technological innovations.<\/p>\n
Gabor Gurbacs, a VanEck strategy advisor, recently said that El Salvador has the potential to become the \u201cSingapore of the Americas.\u201d<\/p>\n