Bitcoin Course at Risk in El Salvador? 2027 Election Rivals Challenge Nayib Bukele

El Salvador’s two main opposition parties named their candidates for the February 2027 presidential election. The move sets up a challenge to President Nayib Bukele’s third-term bid and the Bitcoin (BTC) strategy built around him.

The Nationalist Republican Alliance, ARENA, picked former lawmaker Maytee Iraheta. The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, tapped physician and union leader Rafael Aguirre.

Neither rival has embraced Bukele’s Bitcoin strategy; in fact, both campaigns have openly criticized it as a fiscal failure. Both now face a president who remains broadly popular after six years in office.

Bukele’s Third Term Tests a Rewritten Constitution Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party nominated him this month. His running mate remains Vice President Felix Ulloa.