The TIME Magazine reporter, who conducted one of the first foreign correspondent interviews with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in three years, suggested that his promotion of Bitcoin as legal tender was driven more by image than by substance.

In an interview with Crooked Media’s Pod Save the World released on Sept. 11, Vera Bergengruen reported that Bukele’s advisers referred to Bitcoin ( BTC ) adoption in El Salvador as a “great rebranding” and “complete PR [public relations] move.”

Bukele briefly led his family’s PR firm before he moved into politics, becoming the Mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán, Mayor of San Salvador, and president of El Salvador.

“I think the most important thing [...] is his past as a publicist,” said Bergengruen, referring to Bukele. “It’s important to understand from Bitcoin to the war on the gangs, everything he does he’s kind of image first, results later oriented.” 

Source: Nayib Bukele

She added:

“[Bitcoin] was never really meant to be adopted to really change Salvadorans’ economic situation.”

From Bitcoin conference to national law

Many in the crypto industry began paying attention to El Salvador and Bukele starting in 2021 after the president announced plans to recognize BTC as a legal tender. According to Bergengruen, the announcement was the first for the industry and the public in El Salvador, resulting in Bukele’s team having to “backtrack” and promote potential benefits of Bitcoin, like foreign remittances.

“It was chaos from the start, but they needed to kind of at least pretend that it was really going to help El Salvador,” said Bergengruen. “It was very obvious that it was kind of for tourists, for foreigners, for [Bukele] to have something to talk about that changes the narrative. If that was the goal, they have been successful.”

Related: El Salvador marks 3 years of Bitcoin adoption with $31M profit

Bukele initially pushed for creating a volcano-powered “Bitcoin City” in the country, but the program was not completed more than three years later. He regularly posts on social media about using El Salvador’s funds to purchase BTC. According to Bergengruen’s interview, the president reported having roughly $400 million in the country’s “public wallet alone.” 

Bukele will serve as El Salvador’s president in his current term until 2029.

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