Latin America and the Caribbean:
Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Barbara Salazar TorreonAnne Leland
Information Research Specialist
March 21, 2014February 25, 2015
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
T
his report provides the results of recent elections in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Below are three tables organized by region, including the date of each country’s
independence, the name of the newly elected president or prime minister, and the projected
date of the next election. Information in this report was gathered from numerous sources,
including the U.S. State Department, the CIA’s Open Source, the Economist Intelligence Unit
Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA’s) World Fact Book,
International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Election Guide, Economist Intelligence
Unit (EIU), and other news sources.
Table 1. Election Results in South America
Country
Independence
Date
Head of
Government
Last
Election
Next
Election
Argentina
July 9, 1816
FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER,
Cristina
Oct. 23, 2011
Oct. 25, 2015
Bolivia
Aug. 6, 1825
MORALES, Evo
Dec. 6, 2009
Oct. 5, 2014-AYMA, Juan Evo
Oct. 12, 2014
Oct. 2019
Brazil
Sept. 7, 1822
ROUSSEFF, Dilma
Oct. 3, 2010/
Oct. 31, 2010
Oct. 5, 2014/
Oct. 26, 2014
Oct. 2018
Chile
Sept. 18, 1810
BACHELET, Michelle
Nov. 17, 2013/
Dec. 15, 2013a2013
Nov. 20182017
Colombia
July 20, 1810
SANTOS, Juan Manuel
May 30, 2010/June
20, 2010
May 25, 2014/
June 15, 2014
2018
Ecuador
May 24, 1822
CORREA, Rafael
Feb. 17, 2013
Feb. 2017
Guyana
May 26, 1966
RAMOTAR, Donald
Nov. 28, 2011
by Nov. 2016May 11, 2015a
Paraguay
May 14, 1811
CARTES, HoraciobHoracio
Apr. 21, 2013
April 2018
Peru
July 28, 1821
HUMALA, Ollanta
Apr. 10, 2011/
June 5, 2011June 5,
2011 (2nd round)
Apr. 2016
Suriname
Nov. 25, 1975
BOUTERSE, Desi
May 25Desiré Delano
July 19, 2010
May 2015
Uruguay
Aug. 25, 1825
MUJICA, José
Oct. 25, 2009/
Nov. 29, 2009VÁZQUEZ, Tabaré
Oct. 26, 2014/
Nov. 30, 2014
2019
Venezuela
July 5, 1811
MADURO, Nicolásc
AprilNicolásb
Apr. 14, 2013
Oct. 2019Dec. 2018
Source: The Congressional Research Service (CRS).
a.
In the first round of voting on November 17, Michelle Bachelet received 46.67% of the vote, in comparison
to Evelyn Matthei, who received 25.01% of the vote. Bachelet won the most votes but fell short of obtaining
an absolute majority. The run-off election was held on December 15, 2013, and Bachelet won with 62.3% of
votes. Bachelet previously served as president from 2006 to 2010. She was inaugurated on March 11, 2014.
b.
Horacio Cartes, a Paraguayan tobacco magnate, took 46% of the vote against 37% for his main opponent,
Efraín Alegre, of the ruling Liberal Party.
c.
Venezuela held a special President Ramotar scheduled elections for May 11, 2015, after suspending parliament in November
2014.
b.
In the aftermath of the death of President Hugo Chávez in March 2013, Venezuela held a special
election on April 14, 2013, with Nicolás Maduro winning 50.7% of the votes versus
49.1% for
opposition candidate Henrique Capriles. Maduro was sworn in on April 19, 2013.
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Table 2. Election Results in Mexico and Central America
Independence
Date
Country
Head of
Government
Last
Election
Next
Election
Mexico
Sept. 16, 1810
PEÑA NIETO, EnriqueaEnrique
July 1, 2012
July 2018
Belize
Sept. 21, 1981
BARROW, Dean
Mar. 7, 2012
by June 2017
Costa Rica
Sept. 15, 1821
CHINCHILLA Miranda, Laura
Feb. 7, 2010SOLĺS, Luís Guillermo
Feb. 2, 2014/
April 6, 2014bApr. 6, 2014
Feb. 2018
El Salvador
Sept. 15, 1821
FUNES, Mauricio
Mar. 15, 2009SÁNCHEZ CERÉN, Salvador
Feb. 2, 2014/
Mar. 9, 2014c2014
Feb. 2019
Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821
PÉREZ MOLINA, Otto
Sept. 11, 2011/
Nov. 6, 2011
Sept. 13, 2015
Honduras
Sept. 15, 1821
LOBO SOSA, PorfirioHERNÁNDEZ, Juan Orlando
Nov. 24, 2013d2013
Nov. 2017
Nicaragua
Sept. 15, 1821
ORTEGA, Daniel
Nov. 6, 2011
Nov. 2016
Panama
Nov. 3, 1903
MARTINELLI, Ricardo
May 3, 2009
May 4, 2014
Source: CRS.
a.
Enrique Peña Nieto won Mexico’s presidential election on July 1, 2012, and took office on December 1,
2012.
b.
During the first-round vote on February 2, 2014, former diplomat Luis Guillermo Solis won 31% of the vote
to 30% of the vote for Johnny Araya, the former mayor of San Jose. On March 4, 2014, ruling National
Liberation Party presidential candidate Johnny Araya announced that he was ending his presidential
campaign a month before a runoff with Luis Guillermo Solis.
c.
In El Salvador, the President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a
five-year term. The First Round was February 2, 2014, and the Second Round was March 9, 2014. Salvador
Sánchez Cerén of the ruling left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) won the
narrowest of victories over Norman Quijano of the right-wing National Republican Alliance (Arena), with
50.11% to 49.89%. Quijano is contesting the results.
d.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, head of Honduras’ Congress, defeated Xiomara Castro, the wife of former leader
Manuel Zelaya. Castro contested the election results. Hernandez was sworn in on January 27, 2014.
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Table 3. Caribbean
Country
Independence
Date
VARELA, Juan Carlos
May 4, 2014
May 2019
Source: CRS.
Table 3. Election Results in the Caribbean
Independence
Date
Country
Head of
Government
Last
Election
Next
Election
Antigua and
Barbuda
Nov. 1, 1981
SPENCER, Baldwin
Mar. 12, 2009
by July 2014BROWNE, Gaston
June 12, 2014
by Mar. 2019
Bahamas
July 10, 1973
CHRISTIE, Perry
May 7, 2012
by May 2017
Barbados
Nov. 30, 1966
STUART, FreundelaFreundel
Feb. 21, 2013
by Feb. 2018
Cuba
May 20, 1902
CASTRO RUZ, Raúl
b
ba
a
Dominica
Nov. 3, 1978
SKERRITTSKERRIT, Roosevelt
Dec. 18, 2009
Dec. 20148, 2014
by Dec. 2019
Dominican
Republic
Feb. 27, 1844
MEDINA, Danilo
May 20, 2012
May 15,2016
Grenada
Feb. 7, 1974
MITCHELL, Keith
Feb. 19, 2013
by Feb. 2018
Haiti
Jan. 1, 1804
MARTELLY, Michel
Nov. 28, 2010/
Mar. 20, 2011
lateOct. 25, 2015
Jamaica
Aug. 6, 1962
SIMPSON MILLER, Portia
Dec. 29, 2011
by Dec. 2016
St. Kitts and
Nevis
Sept. 19, 1983
DOUGLAS, Denzil
Jan. 25, 2010
by Jan. 2015HARRIS, Timothy
Feb. 16, 2015
by 2020
St. Lucia
Feb. 22, 1979
ANTHONY, Kenny
Nov. 28, 2011
by NovDec. 2016
St. Vincent and
the Grenadines
Oct. 27, 1979
GONSALVES, Ralph
Dec. 13, 2010
by Dec. 2015
Trinidad and
Tobago
Aug. 31, 1962
PERSAD-BISSESSAR, Kamla
May 24, 2010
by May 2015
Source: CRS.
a.
Freundel Stuart was selected as prime minister on October 23, 2010, following the death of Prime Minister
David Thompson. Stuart was elected on February 21, 2013.
b.
Sept. 2015
Source: CRS.
a.
On February 24, 2008, Raúl Castro was selected by Cuba’s legislature as president of the Council of
State, a
position that makes him head of state and government. Raúl had been serving as acting
president since July
31, 2006, when Cuba’s long-serving Communist leader, Fidel Castro, stepped down
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
provisionally because of
poor health. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, there have been no elections
for head of government.
Author Contact Information
Barbara Salazar TorreonAnne Leland
Information Research Specialist
btorreonaleland@crs.loc.gov, 7-89964704
Acknowledgments
Mark P. Sullivan, CRS specialist in Latin American AffairsBarbara Salazar Torreon, CRS information research specialist, was the former author of this report.
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