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.
|
Country |
Independence |
Head of |
Last |
Next Presidential |
|
Argentina |
July 9, 1816 |
MACRI, Mauricio |
Oct. 25, 2015/ |
Oct. 27, 2019 |
|
Bolivia |
Aug. 6, 1825 |
MORALES, Juan Evo |
Oct. 12, 2014 |
Oct. 27, 2019 |
|
Brazil |
Sept. 7, 1822 |
BOLSONARO, Jair |
Oct. 7, 2018/ |
Oct. 2022 |
|
Chile |
Sept. 18, 1810 |
PIÑERA, Sebastián |
Nov. 19, 2017/ |
Nov. 2021 |
|
Colombia |
July 20, 1810 |
DUQUE, Iván |
May 27, 2018/ June 17, 2018 |
May 2022 |
|
Ecuador |
May 24, 1822 |
MORENO, LenÃn |
Feb. 19, 2017 |
Feb. 2021 |
|
Guyana |
May 26, 1966 |
GRANGER, David |
May 11, 2015 |
May 2020a |
|
Paraguay |
May 14, 1811 |
ABDO BENITEZ, Mario |
April 22, 2018 |
Apr. 2023 |
|
Peru |
July 28, 1821 |
VIZCARRA, MartÃnb |
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 |
VÃZQUEZ, Tabaré |
Oct. 26, 2014/ Nov. 30, 2014 |
Oct. 27, 2019 |
|
Venezuela |
July 5, 1811 |
MADURO, Nicolás |
May 20, 2018 |
May 2024c |
Source: The Congressional Research Service (CRS).
a. The Parliament passed a no-confidence vote in December 2018 and the decision was upheld by a court order to plan general elections in March 2019. The Guyana Elections Commission states that it may be ready for elections in July 2019, although the opposition is calling for elections to be held sooner. Taken from the National Post, "Officials: Guyana unable to hold required elections in March," February 5, 2019, at https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/officials-guyana-unable-to-hold-required-elections-in-march.
b. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was elected president in June 2016, but resigned on March 21, 2018, just ahead of a vote on impeachment. He was succeeded by First Vice President Martin Vizcarra, who is set to fill out the remainder of Kuczynski's term.
c. In a controversial move, Venezuela's presidential election was moved from December 2018 to May 20, 2018. See CRS In Focus IF10230, Venezuela: Political and Economic Crisis and U.S. Policy. Some countries have moved to recognize Juan Guaidó as interim president in 2019. See CRS Insight IN11024, Venezuela: U.S. Recognizes Interim Government.
|
Country |
Independence |
Head of |
Last |
Next |
|
Mexico |
Sept. 16, 1810 |
LÓPEZ OBRADOR, Andrés Manuel |
July 1, 2018 |
July 1, 2024 |
|
Belize |
Sept. 21, 1981 |
BARROW, Dean |
Nov. 4, 2015 |
Nov. 2020 |
|
Costa Rica |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
ALVARADO, Carlos |
Feb. 4, 2018/ |
Feb. 2022 |
|
El Salvador |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
SÃNCHEZ CERÉN, Salvadora |
Feb. 2, 2014/ |
Feb. 4, 2024 |
|
Guatemala |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
MORALES, Jimmy |
Sept. 6, 2015/ |
June 2019 |
|
Honduras |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
HERNÃNDEZ, Juan Orlando |
Nov. 26, 2017 |
Nov. 2021 |
|
Nicaragua |
Sept. 15, 1821 |
ORTEGA, Daniel |
Nov. 6, 2016 |
Nov. 2021 |
|
Panama |
Nov. 3, 1903 |
VARELA, Juan Carlos |
May 4, 2014 |
May 5, 2019 |
Source: CRS.
a. Nayib Bukele won the presidential elections held on February 3, 2019, and is scheduled to take office on June 1, 2019. See CRS Insight IN11034, El Salvador's 2019 Elections.
|
Country |
Independence |
Head of |
Last |
Next |
|
Antigua and Barbuda |
Nov. 1, 1981 |
BROWNE, Gaston |
March 21, 2018 |
by March 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 |
|
Cuba |
May 20, 1902 |
DÃAZ-CANEL, Miguela |
April 2018 |
April 2023 |
|
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 |
March 13, 2018 |
by March 2023 |
|
Haiti |
Jan. 1, 1804 |
MOÃSE, 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 |
|
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 |
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 a new president for a five-year term.