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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

March 1August 24, 2016 (98-684)

ThisThis 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, 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

MACRI, Mauricio

Oct. 25, 2015
/Nov. 22, 2015

Oct. 2019

Bolivia

Aug. 6, 1825

MORALES-AYMA, Juan Evo

Oct. 12, 2014

Oct. 2019

Brazil

Sept. 7, 1822

ROUSSEFF, Dilma

TEMER, Michela

Oct. 5, 2014/
Oct. 26, 2014

Oct. 2018

Chile

Sept. 18, 1810

BACHELET, Michelle

Nov. 17, 2013/
Dec. 15, 2013

Nov. 2017

Colombia

July 20, 1810

SANTOS, Juan Manuel

May 25, 2014/
June 15, 2014

May 2018

Ecuador

May 24, 1822

CORREA, Rafael

Feb. 17, 2013

Feb. 2017

Guyana

May 26, 1966

GRANGER, David

May 11, 2015

May 2020

Paraguay

May 14, 1811

CARTES, Horacio

Apr. 21, 2013

Apr. 2018

Peru

July 28, 1821

HUMALA, Ollanta

KUCZYNSKI, Pedro Pablo

Apr. 10, 2011/
June 5, 2011

Apr. 10, 2016

April 10, 2016

April 2021

Suriname

Nov. 25, 1975

BOUTERSE, Desiré Delano

May 25, 2015

May 25, 2020

Uruguay

Aug. 25, 1825

VÁZQUEZ, Tabaré

Oct. 26, 2014/ Nov. 30, 2014

Oct. 2019

Venezuela

July 5, 1811

MADURO, Nicolás

Apr. 14, 2013

Dec. 2018

Source: The Congressional Research Service (CRS).

a. President Dilma Rousseff is currently suspended from office pending the outcome of an impeachment trial in the Brazilian Senate. Vice President Michel Temer is serving as the interim president.

Table 2. Election Results in Mexico and Central America

Country

Independence
Date

Head of
Government

Last
Election

Next
Election

Mexico

Sept. 16, 1810

PEÑA NIETO, Enrique

July 1, 2012

July 2018

Belize

Sept. 21, 1981

BARROW, Dean

Mar. 7, 2012

Nov. 4, 2015

by June 2017

Nov. 2020

Costa Rica

Sept. 15, 1821

SOLĺS, Luís Guillermo

Feb. 2, 2014/
Apr. 6, 2014

Feb. 2018

El Salvador

Sept. 15, 1821

SÁNCHEZ CERÉN, Salvador

Feb. 2, 2014/
Mar. 9, 2014

Feb. 2019

Guatemala

Sept. 15, 1821

MORALES, Jimmy

SeptSept. 6, 2015/
Oct. 25, 2015

Sept. 2019

Honduras

Sept. 15, 1821

HERNÁNDEZ, Juan Orlando

Nov. 24, 2013

Nov. 2017

Nicaragua

Sept. 15, 1821

ORTEGA, Daniel

Nov. 6, 2011

Nov. 6, 2016

Panama

Nov. 3, 1903

VARELA, Juan Carlos

May 4, 2014

May 2019

Source: CRS.

Table 3. Election Results in the Caribbean

Country

Independence
Date

Head of
Government

Last
Election

Next
Election

Antigua and Barbuda

Nov. 1, 1981

BROWNE, Gaston

June 12, 2014

by Mar. 2019

Bahamas

July 10, 1973

CHRISTIE, Perry

May 7, 2012

by May 2017

Barbados

Nov. 30, 1966

STUART, Freundel

Feb. 21, 2013

by Feb. 2018

Cuba

May 20, 1902

CASTRO, Raúl

a

a

Dominica

Nov. 3, 1978

SKERRIT, Roosevelt

Dec. 8, 2014

by Dec. 2019

Dominican Republic

Feb. 27, 1844

MEDINA, Danilo

May 20, 2012

15, 2016

May 15, 2016

2020

Grenada

Feb. 7, 1974

MITCHELL, Keith

Feb. 19, 2013

by Feb. 2018

Haiti

Jan. 1, 1804

PRIVERT, Jocelermeb

Oct. 25, 2015/

Apr. 24Oct. 9, 2016

Jamaica

Aug. 6, 1962

HOLNESS, Andrew

Feb. 25, 2016

by Feb. 2021

St. Kitts and Nevis

Sept. 19, 1983

HARRIS, Timothy

Feb. 16, 2015

by Feb. 2020

St. Lucia

Feb. 22, 1979

ANTHONY, Kenny

CHASTANET, Allen

Nov. 28, 2011

June 6, 2016

by Dec. 2016

2021

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Oct. 27, 1979

GONSALVES, Ralph E.

Dec. 9, 2015

by Dec. 2020

Trinidad and Tobago

Aug. 31, 1962

ROWLEY, Keith

Sept. 7, 2015

by 2020

Source: CRS.

a. OnIn February 24, 2008, Raúl Castro was selected by Cuba's legislature to serve a five-year term as president of the Council of State, a position that makes him head of state and government; in February 2013, he was selected for a second five-year term. Raúl had been serving as acting president since July 31, 2006, when Cuba's long-serving Communist leader, Fidel Castro, stepped down provisionally because of poor health. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, there have been no elections for head of government.

b. Former Haitian Presidentpresident Michel Martelly stepped down from office per the country's constitutional calendar on February 7, 2016, without elections having been held to replace him. Runoff elections originallyAfter a first-round presidential election was held October 25, 2015, a second round scheduled for December 27, 2015, were cancelledwas canceled. As per an agreement between Martelly and the Haitian parliament, the parliament chose Privert as interim president on February 14, 2016. The parliament and the president chose a consensus Prime Minister, Fritz Jean on February 26, 2016. The interim government is to organize new elections to be held on April 24, 2016, and swear in a new president on May 14, 2016A new presidential election is scheduled for October 9, 2016, with a runoff scheduled for January 8, 2017.

Author Contact Information

[author name scrubbed], Senior Research Librarian ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Acknowledgments

[author name scrubbed], CRS information research specialist, was the former author of this report.