Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet
on Leaders and Elections
Updated November 8, 2019
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
98-684

---

link to page 2 link to page 2 link to page 2 link to page 2 link to page 2 link to page 3 Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

This report provides the results of recent presidential elections in Latin America and the
Caribbean. Below are three tables organized by region, that include the date of each country’s
independence, the name of the most recently 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. South America: Heads of State and Election Schedules
Last
Next
Country
Independence
Head of
Presidential
Presidential
Date
Government
Election/
Election
Runoff
Argentina
July 9, 1816
MACRI, Mauricioa
Oct. 27, 2019
Oct. 2023
Oct. 20,
Bolivia
Aug. 6, 1825
MORALES, Juan Evob
2019/potential
Oct. 2024
runoff Dec. 2019
Brazil
Sept. 7, 1822
BOLSONARO, Jair
Oct. 7, 2018/
Oct. 2022
Oct. 28, 2018
Nov. 19, 2017/
Chile
Sept. 18, 1810
PIÑERA, Sebastián
Dec. 17, 2017
Nov. 2021
May 27, 2018/
Colombia
July 20, 1810
DUQUE, Iván
June 17, 2018
May 2022
Feb. 19, 2017
Ecuador
May 24, 1822
MORENO, Lenín
Apr. 2, 2017
Feb. 2021
Guyana
May 26, 1966
GRANGER, David
May 11, 2015
Mar. 2, 2020c
Paraguay
May 14, 1811
ABDO BENITEZ, Mario
Apr. 22, 2018
Apr. 2023
Apr. 10, 2016
Peru
July 28, 1821
VIZCARRA, Martínd
/June 5, 2016
Apr. 2021
Suriname
Nov. 25, 1975
BOUTERSE, Desiré Delano
May 25, 2015
May 25, 2020
Uruguay
Aug. 25, 1825
VÁZQUEZ, Tabaré
Oct. 27, 2019
Nov. 24, 2019e
Venezuela
July 5, 1811
MADURO, Nicolás
May 20, 2018
May 2024f
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
a. Alberto Fernández was elected president on October 27, 2019, and is scheduled to take office on
December 10, 2019. See CRS Insight IN11184, Argentina’s 2019 Elections.
b. Bolivia’s October 20, 2019, first-round election was marred by allegations of fraud in the vote tabulation.
The country’s electoral agency maintains that Evo Morales won a narrow first-round victory, but opposition
candidate Carlos Mesa is rejecting the electoral agency’s assertion. Morales has agreed to have the
Organization of American States (OAS) audit the election results, and to participate in a second-round
election later this year if recommended by the OAS. Mesa has called for the election to be redone.
c. President Granger announced that general elections wil be held on March 2, 2020. See Alexis Rodney,
“Development under the Coalition continues as Guyana readies for elections,” Guyana’s Department of
Public Information, October 2, 2019.
d. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was elected president of Peru in June 2016, but resigned on March 21, 2018, just
ahead of a vote on impeachment. First Vice President Martín Vizcarra constitutionally succeeded him and is
set to fulfil the remainder of Kuczynski’s term.
e. A runoff election is to be held on November 24, 2019, between the top two presidential candidates: Daniel
Martínez and Luis Lacalle Pou. See Luisa Leme, “Three Takeaways from Uruguay’s First-Round Presidential
Vote,” Americas Society/Council of the Americas, October 28, 2019.
Congressional Research Service

1

---

link to page 3 link to page 4 Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

f.
In a controversial move, Venezuela’s presidential election was moved forward from December 2018 to May
20, 2018. Most Venezuelans and much of the international community considered the May 2018 election, in
which then-President Nicolás Maduro won reelection, as il egitimate (CRS In Focus IF10230, Venezuela:
Political Crisis and U.S. Policy). The United States and over 50 other countries have recognized Juan Guaidó,
elected president of Venezuela’s National Assembly in January 2019, as Interim President of Venezuela yet
Maduro remains in power (CRS Insight IN11024, Venezuela: U.S. Recognizes Interim Government, by Clare
Ribando Seelke).
Table 2. Mexico and Central America: Heads of State and Election Schedules
Last
Next
Country
Independence
Head of
Presidential
Presidential
Date
Government
Election/
Election
Runoff
Mexico
Sept. 16, 1810
LÓPEZ OBRADOR, Andrés
July 1, 2018
July 1, 2024
Manuel
Belize
Sept. 21, 1981
BARROW, Dean
Nov. 4, 2015
Nov. 2020
Costa Rica
Sept. 15, 1821
ALVARADO, Carlos
Feb. 4, 2018/
Feb. 2022
Apr. 1, 2018
El Salvador
Sept. 15, 1821
BUKELE, Nayib
Feb. 3, 2019
Feb. 4, 2024
June 16, 2019/
Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821
MORALES, Jimmya
Aug. 11, 2019
2023
Honduras
Sept. 15, 1821
HERNÁNDEZ, Juan Orlando
Nov. 26, 2017
Nov. 2021
Nicaragua
Sept. 15, 1821
ORTEGA, Daniel
Nov. 6, 2016
Nov. 2021
Panama
Nov. 3, 1903
CORTIZO, Laurentino
May 5, 2019
May 2024
Source: Compiled by CRS.
a. Alejandro Giammattei was elected president in a runoff election on August 11, 2019, and is scheduled to
take office on January 14, 2020.
Table 3. Caribbean: Heads of State and Election Schedules
Last
Next
Country
Independence
Head of
Date
Government
Presidential
Presidential
Election
Election
Antigua and
Barbuda
Nov. 1, 1981
BROWNE, Gaston
Mar. 21, 2018
by Mar. 2023
Bahamas
July 10, 1973
MINNIS, Hubert
May 10, 2017
by May 2022
Barbados
Nov. 30, 1966
MOTTLEY, Mia
May 25, 2018
by May 2023
Cubaa
May 20, 1902
DÍAZ-CANEL, Miguel
Apr. 2018
Apr. 2023
Dominica
Nov. 3, 1978
SKERRIT, Roosevelt
Dec. 8, 2014
Dec. 6, 2019
Dominican Republic Feb. 27, 1844
MEDINA, Danilo
May 15, 2016
May 2020
Grenada
Feb. 7, 1974
MITCHELL, Keith
Mar. 13, 2018
by Mar. 2023
Haiti
Jan. 1, 1804
MOÏSE, Jovenel
Nov. 20, 2016
Oct. 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 June 2021
Congressional Research Service

2

---

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

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
Source: Compiled by CRS.
a. Cuba does not have direct elections for its head of government. Instead, Cuba’s legislature selects the
members of the 31-member Council of State, with the president of that body serving as Cuba’s head of
government and head of state. In April 2018, Cuba’s legislature selected Miguel Díaz-Canel for a five-year
term. In October 2019, Cuba’s legislature appointed Díaz-Canel as president of the republic under Cuba’s
new constitution.
Author Information

Carla Y. Davis-Castro

Research Librarian


Acknowledgments
Nese F. DeBruyne, CRS Senior Research Librarian, was the former author of this report.


Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

Congressional Research Service
98-684 · VERSION 101 · UPDATED
3

---