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

August 24, 2017 (98-684)

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.

Table 1. Election Results in South America

Country

Independence
Date

Head of
Government

Last
Election/Runoff

Next Presidential
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

TEMER, Michela

Oct. 5, 2014/
Oct. 26, 2014

Oct. 2018

Chile

Sept. 18, 1810

BACHELET, Michelle

Nov. 17, 2013/
Dec. 15, 2013

Nov.19, 2017

Colombia

July 20, 1810

SANTOS, Juan Manuel

May 25, 2014/
June 15, 2014

May 27, 2018

Ecuador

May 24, 1822

MORENO, Lenín

Feb. 19, 2017
Apr. 2, 2017b

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 /June 5, 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. 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.

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

Nov. 4, 2015

by 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

Sept. 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, 2016

Nov. 2021

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

MINNIS, Hubert

May 10, 2017

by May 2022

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 15, 2016

May 2020

Grenada

Feb. 7, 1974

MITCHELL, Keith

Feb. 19, 2013

by Feb. 2018

Haiti

Jan. 1, 1804

MOISE, Jovenel

Nov. 20, 2016

Oct. 9, 2021

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 2020

Source: CRS.

a. In February 2013, Raúl Castro was selected by 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 and select a new president for a five-year term; Raúl Castro had said that he will step down and not serve another term.

Author Contact Information

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

Acknowledgments

Carla Davis-Castro, CRS research librarian provided editorial assistance.

[author name scrubbed], CRS senior research librarian, was the former author of this report.