President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador continues to enjoy record-breaking public support, with a new poll showing a 91.9% approval rating. The survey, conducted by Salvadoran newspaper La Prensa Gráfica and involving 1,200 respondents, found that 62.8% strongly approve of his performance, while only 1.8% expressed strong disapproval. Bukele reacted to the figures on social media platform X, sarcastically noting, "So now they’re 1.8%?"
The overwhelming support is attributed primarily to dramatic improvements in security and a sharp decline in crime. Since taking office in 2019, Bukele's administration has launched an aggressive crackdown on gangs, including the opening of the large-scale Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison. The resulting drop in homicide rates is widely cited by residents as the government's most significant achievement.
In stark contrast, the president's landmark Bitcoin policy shows limited traction among the citizenry. Despite Bitcoin being adopted as legal tender in 2021, only 2.2% of poll respondents described it as the biggest failure of Bukele's six-year presidency, with the cryptocurrency otherwise barely mentioned. This reflects the ongoing reality of limited everyday usage of Bitcoin in the country, a gap Bukele himself acknowledged in a 2024 interview.
El Salvador continues its strategy of accumulating Bitcoin for state reserves, maintaining a public pledge to buy one Bitcoin per day since 2022. This persists even as the country negotiates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has repeatedly warned about fiscal and financial stability risks linked to the crypto policy. A recent $1.4 billion IMF loan agreement in 2024 involved scaling back certain crypto initiatives, but the administration has signaled that state Bitcoin purchases will continue.
Ongoing IMF talks are also focused on the potential sale or shutdown of the government-run Chivo wallet, which has been plagued by complaints of fraud, identity theft, and technical issues since its launch. Officials have indicated the app could be wound down while private crypto wallets continue to operate. Despite the tensions, the IMF's latest review noted stronger-than-expected economic performance in El Salvador, projecting real GDP growth of about 4% this year.
