The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, reaches a 94% approval rating and practically non-existent unawareness among the population, according to the results of the second political opinion poll conducted by the firm Data Poll. The study was presented yesterday, July 20, on the program “Las Cosas como Son” (“Things as They Are”), with data collected between July 8 and July 12, 2026, in the country’s 14 departments and the overseas constituency.
The survey, which involved 1,340 in-person interviews and 440 telephone interviews aimed at Salvadorans residing in key cities in the United States, shows exceptional support for Bukele’s administration, along with a high presidential voting intention for the Nuevas Ideas party.
According to the report, 88% of those surveyed plan to vote for Nuevas Ideas in the presidential election, a figure that exceeds the result obtained by Bukele in the 2024 elections.
Data Poll data reflects not only widespread approval of Bukele, but also a very marked emotional component. 86% of respondents associate a lot of joy when thinking about the president, while only 4% state they feel no joy at all in relation to his figure. This result highlights the emotional bond between the president and the citizenry, an aspect that was highlighted in the analysis presented during the program.
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Nayib Bukele obtained a rating of 9.4 out of 10 in the Data Poll survey, consolidating his leadership and high popularity in El Salvador.
On the personal evaluation scale, Bukele obtains an average score of 9.4 out of 10, an unusual rating for leaders in the region and one that has no recent precedents in Latin America, as highlighted by the presenters and experts present during the broadcast.
Voting intention and legislative hegemony
The survey also explores voting trends for the legislative election. In the department of San Salvador, the results project that Nuevas Ideas would obtain 75% of the votes, followed by Vamos with 8%, Arena with 6%, and the FMLN with 4%.
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According to the distribution estimated by Data Poll, Nuevas Ideas would secure 10 of the 11 seats available in the Legislative Assembly for San Salvador, while the only remaining one would go to Vamos, although this position is at risk due to internal divisions within that party.
The preference for Nuevas Ideas is replicated in most departments and in the foreign constituency, where the diaspora also shows a majority inclination toward the ruling party. This scenario anticipates a legislative composition dominated by Bukele’s party, who has already enjoyed a broad parliamentary majority since the 2021 elections.
Nuevas Ideas leads the voting intention for deputies in San Salvador with 75%, followed by Vamos with 8% and Arena with 6%, according to the Data Poll survey.
The Data Poll survey employed a face-to-face methodology with ballot in hand for the national territory and telephone interviews for the diaspora, using specific area codes to ensure representativeness. The margin of error of 2.5% and the confidence level of 95% support the statistical robustness of the study, which also disaggregates the results by sex and age groups.
As reported during the presentation, these figures allow for a comparison of Data Poll’s results with those of other national and international polling firms, offering a snapshot of the political moment in El Salvador just over half a year before the upcoming elections.
Therefore, the hegemony of Nuevas Ideas and the figure of Nayib Bukele are reflected decisively in all indicators of perception, voting intention, and emotional valuation.
The electoral scenario appears widely favorable for the ruling party, while the opposition faces the challenge of raising its levels of recognition and approval before public opinion.
