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This report provides the results of recent presidential 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 presidential 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.
|
Country |
Independence |
Head of |
Last |
Next Presidential |
|
Argentina |
July 9, 1816 |
MACRI, Mauricio |
Oct. 25, 2015/ |
Oct. 2019 |
|
Bolivia |
Aug. 6, 1825 |
MORALES-AYMA, Juan Evo |
Oct. 12, 2014 |
Oct. 2019 |
|
Brazil |
Sept. 7, 1822 |
TEMER, Michela |
Oct. 5, 2014/ |
Oct. 2018 |
|
Chile |
Sept. 18, 1810 |
BACHELET, Michelle |
Nov. |
Nov. |
|
Colombia |
July 20, 1810 |
SANTOS, Juan Manuel |
May 25, 2014/ |
May 27, 2018 |
|
Ecuador |
May 24, 1822 |
MORENO, Lenín |
Feb. 19, 2017 |
Feb. 2021 |
|
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 |
KUCZYNSKI, Pedro Pablo |
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 |
|
Source: The Congressional Research Service (CRS).
a.
Former President Dilma Rousseff, elected to a second term in 2014, was impeached in 2016; Vice President Michel Temer became president and is serving the reminder of Rouseff's term.
b.
Presidential elections were held on February 19, 2017. April 2, 2017, was a runoff election for top two presidential candidates. Lenín Moreno was elected and officially inaugurated on May 24, 2017 Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was elected president in June 2016, but resigned on March 21, 2018, just ahead of a vote on impeachment. He was succeeded by First Vice President Martin Vizcarra, who will fill out the remainder of Kuczynski's term.
c. In a controversial move, Venezuela's presidential election was moved from December 2018 to May 20, 2018. See CRS InFocus CRS In Focus IF10230, Venezuela: Political and Economic Crisis and U.S. Policy, by [author name scrubbed].
|
Country |
Independence |
Head of |
Last |
Next |
|
Mexico |
Sept. 16, 1810 |
PEÑA NIETO, Enrique |
July 1, 2012 |
July 1, 2018 |
|
Belize |
Sept. 21, 1981 |
BARROW, Dean |
Nov. 4, 2015 |
by Nov. 2020 |
|
Costa Rica |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
|
Feb. |
Feb. |
|
El Salvador |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
SÁNCHEZ CERÉN, Salvador |
Feb. 2, 2014/ |
Feb. 2019 |
|
Guatemala |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
MORALES, Jimmy |
Sept. 6, 2015/ |
Sept. 2019 |
|
Honduras |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
HERNÁNDEZ, Juan Orlando |
Nov. |
Nov. |
|
Nicaragua |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
ORTEGA, Daniel |
Nov. 6, 2016 |
Nov. 2021 |
|
Panama |
Nov. 3, 1903 |
VARELA, Juan Carlos |
May 4, 2014 |
May 2019 |
Source: CRS.
a. Carlos Alvarado was elected Costa Rica's next president on April 1, 2018, and is to be inaugurated on May 8, 2018.|
Country |
Independence |
Head of |
Last |
Next |
|
Antigua and Barbuda |
Nov. 1, 1981 |
BROWNE, Gaston |
June 12, 2014 |
by |
|
Bahamas |
July 10, 1973 |
MINNIS, Hubert |
May 10, 2017 |
by May 2022 |
|
Barbados |
Nov. 30, 1966 |
STUART, Freundel |
Feb. 21, 2013 |
by |
|
Cuba |
May 20, 1902 |
CASTRO, Raúl |
||
|
Dominica |
Nov. 3, 1978 |
SKERRIT, Roosevelt |
Dec. 8, 2014 |
by Dec. 2019 |
|
Dominican Republic |
Feb. 27, 1844 |
MEDINA, Danilo |
May 15, 2016 |
May 2020 |
|
Grenada |
Feb. 7, 1974 |
MITCHELL, Keith |
Feb. 19, 2013 |
by |
|
Haiti |
Jan. 1, 1804 |
MOISE, Jovenel |
Nov. 20, 2016 |
Oct. |
|
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 |
CHASTANET, Allen |
June 6, 2016 |
by Dec. 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 Sept. 2020 |
a.
In February 2013, Raúl Castro was selected by Cuba does not have direct elections for its head of government. Instead, Cuba's legislature, the National Assembly of People's Power, to serve a second term as president of the Council of State, a position that makes him head of state and government. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, there have been no direct elections for head of government. In February 2018, a new National Assembly will take office andselects the 31-member Council of State, with the president of that body serving as Cuba's head of government and state. On April 19, 2018, Cuba's legislature is scheduled to select a new president for a five-year term; Raúl Castro hadhas said that he will step down and not serve another termas president.
Author Contact Information
Acknowledgments
Carla Davis-Castro, CRS research librarian provided editorial assistance.
[author name scrubbed], CRS senior research librarian, was the former author of this report.