Latin America and the Caribbean:
Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Barbara Salazar Torreon
Information Research Specialist
December 3, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
98-684
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
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
Tindependence, 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
(EIU), and other news sources.
Table 1. South America
Country
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Date
Government
Election
Election
FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER,
Argentina
July 9, 1816
Cristina
Oct. 23, 2011
Oct. 2015
Bolivia
Aug. 6, 1825
MORALES, Evo
Dec. 6, 2009
Dec. 2014
Oct. 3, 2010/
Brazil
Sept. 7, 1822
ROUSSEFF, Dilma
Oct. 31, 2010
Oct. 5, 2014
Dec. 13, 2009/
Chile
Sept. 18, 1810
PIÑERA, Sebastián
Jan. 17, 2010
Dec. 15, 2013a
May 30, 2010/June
Colombia
July 20, 1810
SANTOS, Juan Manuel
20, 2010
May 2014
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
CARTES, Horaciob
Apr. 21, 2013
April 2018
Apr. 10, 2011/June 5,
Peru
July 28, 1821
HUMALA, Ollanta
2011 (2nd round)
Apr. 2016
Suriname
Nov. 25, 1975
BOUTERSE, Desi
May 25, 2010
May 2015
Uruguay
Aug. 25, 1825
MUJICA, José
Oct. 25, 2009/
Oct. 26, 2014
Nov. 29, 2009
Venezuela
July 5, 1811
MADURO, Nicolásc
April 14, 2013
Oct. 2019
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 the first
round, 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 will be held on December 15, 2013.
Bachelet previously served as president from 2006 to 2010.
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. The president is both the chief of state and head of government
and serves a five-year term.
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.
Table 2. Mexico and Central America
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Country
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
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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
Costa Rica
Sept. 15, 1821
CHINCHILLA Miranda, Laura
Feb. 7, 2010
Feb. 2, 2014
El Salvador
Sept. 15, 1821
FUNES, Mauricio
Mar. 15, 2009
Feb. 2, 2014b
Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821
PÉREZ MOLINA, Otto
Sept. 11, 2011/
Sept. 13, 2015
Nov. 6, 2011
Honduras
Sept. 15, 1821
LOBO SOSA, Porfirio
Nov. 24, 2013c Nov.
2017
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, and took office on December 1,
2012.
b. 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 is February 2, 2014, and the Second Round is scheduled for March 9, 2014.
c. Juan Orlando Hernandez, head of Honduras’ Congress, defeated Xiomara Castro, the wife of former leader
Manuel Zelaya. Castro is contesting the election results.
Table 3. Caribbean
Country
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
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
Oct. 27, 1979
GONSALVES, Ralph
Dec. 13, 2010
by Dec. 2015
the Grenadines
Trinidad and
Aug. 31, 1962
PERSAD-BISSESSAR, Kamla
May 24, 2010
by May 2015
Tobago
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.
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
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 provisionally because of
poor health. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, there have been no elections for head of government.
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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