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

Anne Leland
Information Research Specialist
February 25, 2015
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
98-684


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, 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
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Country
Date
Government
Election
Election
Argentina
July 9, 1816
FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER,
Oct. 23, 2011
Oct. 25, 2015
Cristina
Bolivia
Aug. 6, 1825
MORALES-AYMA, Juan Evo
Oct. 12, 2014
Oct. 2019
Brazil
Sept. 7, 1822
ROUSSEFF, Dilma
Oct. 5, 2014/
Oct. 2018
Oct. 26, 2014
Chile
Sept. 18, 1810
BACHELET, Michelle
Nov. 17, 2013/
Nov. 2017
Dec. 15, 2013
Colombia
July 20, 1810
SANTOS, Juan Manuel
May 25, 2014/
2018
June 15, 2014
Ecuador
May 24, 1822
CORREA, Rafael
Feb. 17, 2013
Feb. 2017
Guyana
May 26, 1966
RAMOTAR, Donald
Nov. 28, 2011
May 11, 2015a
Paraguay
May 14, 1811
CARTES, Horacio
Apr. 21, 2013
2018
Apr. 10, 2011/
Peru
July 28, 1821
HUMALA, Ollanta
June 5, 2011
Apr. 2016
Suriname
Nov. 25, 1975
BOUTERSE, Desiré Delano
July 19, 2010
May 2015
Oct. 26, 2014/
Uruguay
Aug. 25, 1825
VÁZQUEZ, Tabaré
Nov. 30, 2014
2019
Venezuela
July 5, 1811
MADURO, Nicolásb
Apr. 14, 2013
Dec. 2018
Source: The Congressional Research Service (CRS).
a. 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
Head of
Last
Next
Country
Date
Government
Election
Election
Mexico
Sept. 16, 1810
PEÑA NIETO, Enrique
July 1, 2012
July 2018
Belize
Sept. 21, 1981
BARROW, Dean
Mar. 7, 2012
by June 2017
Costa Rica
Sept. 15, 1821
SOLĺS, Luís Guillermo
Feb. 2, 2014/
Feb. 2018
Apr. 6, 2014
El Salvador
Sept. 15, 1821
SÁNCHEZ CERÉN, Salvador
Feb. 2, 2014/
Feb. 2019
Mar. 9, 2014
Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821
PÉREZ MOLINA, Otto
Sept. 11, 2011/
Sept. 13, 2015
Nov. 6, 2011
Honduras
Sept. 15, 1821
HERNÁNDEZ, Juan Orlando
Nov. 24, 2013
Nov. 2017
Nicaragua
Sept. 15, 1821
ORTEGA, Daniel
Nov. 6, 2011
Nov. 2016
Panama
Nov. 3, 1903
VARELA, Juan Carlos
May 4, 2014
May 2019
Source: CRS.
Table 3. Election Results in the Caribbean
Independence
Head of
Last
Next
Country
Date
Government
Election
Election
Antigua and
Nov. 1, 1981
BROWNE, Gaston
June 12, 2014
by Mar. 2019
Barbuda
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
Feb. 27, 1844
MEDINA, Danilo
May 20, 2012
May 15,2016
Republic
Grenada
Feb. 7, 1974
MITCHELL, Keith
Feb. 19, 2013
by Feb. 2018
Nov. 28, 2010/
Haiti
Jan. 1, 1804
MARTELLY, Michel
Mar. 20, 2011
Oct. 25, 2015
Jamaica
Aug. 6, 1962
SIMPSON MILLER, Portia
Dec. 29, 2011
by Dec. 2016
St. Kitts and
Nevis
Sept. 19, 1983
HARRIS, Timothy
Feb. 16, 2015
by 2020
St. Lucia
Feb. 22, 1979
ANTHONY, Kenny
Nov. 28, 2011
by Dec. 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 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

provisional y because of poor health. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, there have been no elections
for head of government.


Author Contact Information

Anne Leland

Information Research Specialist
aleland@crs.loc.gov, 7-4704

Acknowledgments
Barbara Salazar Torreon, CRS information research specialist, was the former author of this report.



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