Latin America and the Caribbean:
Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Barbara Salazar Torreon
Information Research Specialist
April 24, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
98-684
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

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

Table 1. South America
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Country
Date
Government
Election
Election
Argentina
July 9, 1816
FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER,
Oct. 23, 2011
Oct. 2015
Cristina
Bolivia
Aug. 6, 1825
MORALES, Evo
Dec. 6, 2009
Dec. 2014
Brazil
Sept. 7, 1822
ROUSSEFF, Dilma
Oct. 3, 2010/
Oct. 2014
Oct. 31, 2010
Chile
Sept. 18, 1810
PIÑERA, Sebastián
Dec. 13, 2009/
Nov. 17, 2013
Jan. 17, 2010
Colombia
July 20, 1810
SANTOS, Juan Manuel
May 30, 2010/June
May 2014
20, 2010
Ecuador
May 24, 1822
CORREA, Rafael
Feb. 17, 2013
Feb. 2017
Guyana
May 26, 1966
RAMOTAR, Donald
Nov. 28, 2011
by Nov. 2016
Paraguay
May 14, 1811
FRANCO, Federicoa
Apr. 20, 2008
Apr. 21, 2013
Peru
July 28, 1821
HUMALA, Ollanta
Apr. 10, 2011/June 5, Apr. 2016
2011 (2nd round)
Suriname
Nov. 25, 1975
BOUTERSE, Desicb
May 25, 2010
May 2015
Uruguay
Aug. 25, 1825
MUJICA, José
Oct. 25, 2009/
Oct. 2014
Nov. 29, 2009
Venezuela
July 5, 1811
MADURO, Nicolásc
April 14, 2013
Oct. 2019
Source: The Congressional Research Service (CRS).
a. Fernando Lugo, elected Paraguay’s President on April 20, 2008, was impeached by Paraguay’s Congress on
June 22, 2012, and succeeded by Vice President Federico Franco. The rapid impeachment process raised
concern about President Lugo’s due process, and created tensions with several countries in the region. Two
regional bodies, the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and the Union of South American Nations
(Unasur), suspended Paraguay’s participation.
b. Suriname held National Assembly elections on May 25, 2010, but under Suriname’s system of government,
the country’s president is not elected directly by voters, but by a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly
(or failing that, by a majority of the United People’s Assembly comprised of more than 800 regional and
municipal officials). On July 19, 2010, the National Assembly elected Desi Bouterse as president, with 36 out
of 51 votes.
c. 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. The election is
being contested by the opposition.
Table 2. Mexico and Central America
Country
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Date
Government
Election
Election
Mexico
Sept. 16, 1810
PEÑA NIETO, Enriquea
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, 2010
Feb. 2014
El Salvador
Sept. 15, 1821
FUNES, Mauricio
Mar. 15, 2009
Mar. 2014
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Country
Date
Government
Election
Election
Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821
PÉREZ MOLINA, Otto
Sept. 11, 2011/
Sept. 2015
Nov. 6, 2011
Honduras
Sept. 15, 1821
LOBO SOSA, Porfirio
Nov. 29, 2009
Nov. 10, 2013
Nicaragua
Sept. 15, 1821
ORTEGA, Daniel
Nov. 6, 2011
Nov. 2016
Panama
Nov. 3, 1903
MARTINELLI, Ricardo
May 3, 2009
May 2014
Source: CRS.
a. Enrique Peña Nieto won Mexico’s presidential election on July 1, 2012. He took office on December 1,
2012.
Table 3. Caribbean
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Country
Date
Government
Election
Election
Antigua and
Barbuda
Nov. 1, 1981
SPENCER, Baldwin
Mar. 12, 2009
by July 2014
Bahamas
July 10, 1973
CHRISTIE, Perry
May 7, 2012
by May 2017
Barbados
Nov. 30, 1966
STUART, Freundela
Feb. 21, 2013
by Feb. 2018
Cuba
May 20, 1902
CASTRO RUZ, Raúl
b
b
Dominica
Nov. 3, 1978
SKERRITT, Roosevelt
Dec. 18, 2009
Dec. 2014
Dominican
Republic
Feb. 27, 1844
MEDINA, Danilo
May 20, 2012
May 2016
Grenada
Feb. 7, 1974
MITCHELL, Keith
Feb. 19, 2013
Feb. 2018
Nov. 28, 2010/
Haiti
Jan. 1, 1804
MARTELLY, Michel
Mar. 20, 2011
late 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. 2015
St. Lucia
Feb. 22, 1979
ANTHONY, Kenny
Nov. 28, 2011
by Nov. 2016
St. Vincent and
the Grenadines
Oct. 27, 1979
GONSALVES, Ralph
Dec. 13, 2010
by Dec. 2015
Trinidad and
Tobago
Aug. 31, 1962
CARMONA, Anthony
Feb. 15, 2013
by Feb. 2018
Source: CRS.
a. Freundel Stuart was selected as prime minister on October 23, 2010, fol owing the death of Prime Minister
David Thompson. Stuart was elected on February 21, 2013.
b. 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 provisional y because of poor
health. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, there have been no elections for head of government.

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


Author Contact Information

Barbara Salazar Torreon

Information Research Specialist
btorreon@crs.loc.gov, 7-8996

Acknowledgments
Mark P. Sullivan, CRS specialist in Latin American Affairs, was the former author of this report.

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