Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet
on Leaders and Elections
Updated May 22, 2020
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
98-684
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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 Intel igence Agency’s (CIA’s)
World Fact Book, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Election Guide,
Economist Intel igence Unit (EIU), and other news sources.
Table 1. South America: Heads of State and Election Schedules
Last
Independence
Head of
Election/
Next
Country
Date
Government
Runoff
Election/Runoff
Argentina
July 9, 1816
FERNÁNDEZ, Albertoa
Oct. 27, 2019
Oct. 2023
Bolivia
Aug. 6, 1825
ÁÑEZ, Jeanineb
Oct. 20, 2019c
TBD
Oct. 7, 2018/
Brazil
Sept. 7, 1822
BOLSONARO, Jair
Oct. 28, 2018
Oct. 2022
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
Ecuador
May 24, 1822
MORENO, Lenín
Feb. 19, 2017
Feb. 2021
Apr. 2, 2017
Guyana
May 26, 1966
GRANGER, David
Mar. 2, 2020d
2025
Paraguay
May 14, 1811
ABDO BENITEZ, Mario
Apr. 22, 2018
Apr. 2023
Apr. 10, 2016
Peru
July 28, 1821
VIZCARRA, Martíne
/June 5, 2016
Apr. 2021
Suriname
Nov. 25, 1975
BOUTERSE, Desiré Delano
May 25, 2015
May 25, 2020
Oct. 27,
Uruguay
Aug. 25, 1825
LACALLE POU, Luis
2019/Nov.24,
Oct. 2024
2019
Venezuela
July 5, 1811
MADURO, Nicolás
May 20, 2018
May 2024f
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
a. See CRS Insight IN11184, Argentina’s 2019 Elections.
b. Evo Morales stepped down from office on November 10, 2019, fol owing October 20, 2019, presidential
elections that international election observers assert were marred by fraud. Second Vice President of the
Senate, Jeanine Áñez, declared herself interim president on November 12, 2019.
c. On November 23, 2019, Bolivia passed a law that annul ed the results of the October 20 elections. On
March 22, 2020, Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal suspended preparations for national elections
scheduled for May 3 fol owing a declaration of a two-week national quarantine to prevent the spread of
COVID-19. A new election date has yet to be set. See CRS Insight IN11198, Bolivia Postpones May Elections
Amidst COVID-19 Outbreak, by Clare Ribando Seelke.
d. The Granger government lost a no-confidence vote in the country’s legislature in December 2018. New
elections held on March 2, 2020, were marred by fraud al egations. Final results are on hold pending a
recount that began on May 6, 2020. See CRS In Focus IF11381, Guyana: An Overview, by Mark P. Sul ivan.
e. 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 constitutional y succeeded him and is
set to fulfil the remainder of Kuczynski’s term.
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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, by Clare Ribando Seelke). 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
Independence
Head of
Election/
Next
Country
Date
Government
Runoff
Election/Runoff
Mexico
Sept. 16, 1810
LÓPEZ OBRADOR, Andrés Manuel
July 1, 2018
July 1, 2024
Belize
Sept. 21, 1981
BARROW, Dean
Nov. 4, 2015
Nov. 2020a
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
Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821
GIAMMATTEI, Alejandro
June 16, 2019/
2023
Aug. 11, 2019
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. While elections are expected to take place in November 2020, they are constitutional y due by February 13,
2021. See Economist Intel igence Unit, Belize Country Report, 2nd Quarter 2020.
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Table 3. Caribbean: Heads of State and Election Schedules
Last
Next
Independence
Head of
Election/
Election/
Country
Date
Government
Runoff
Runoff
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. 6, 2019
March 2025
July 5 2020/July
26, 2020Error!
Dominican Republic
Feb. 27, 1844
MEDINA, Danilo
May 15, 2016
Reference
source not
found.
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
June 5, 2020
St. Lucia
Feb. 22, 1979
CHASTANET, Al en
June 6, 2016
by June 2021
St. Vincent and the
Grenadines
Oct. 27, 1979
GONSALVES, Ralph E.
Dec. 9, 2015
by Dec. 2020c
Trinidad and Tobago
Aug. 31, 1962
ROWLEY, Keith
Sept. 7, 2015
by Dec. 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 2019, Cuba’s legislature selected Miguel Diaz-Canel for a five-year
term. In October 2019, Cuba’s legislature appointed Diaz-Canel as president of the republic under Cuba’s
new constitution.
b. In April, the Dominican Republic announced that elections would be moved from May to July 2020 due to
the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis. See Jim Wyss, “Dominican Republic Delays Presidential vote amid
Coronavirus Pandemic,” Miami Herald, April 13, 2020.
c. While the government has said elections wil be held before the end of 2020, elections are official y due by
March 2021. See Economist Intel igence Unit, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Country Report, 1st
Quarter 2020.
Author Information
Carla Y. Davis-Castro
Research Librarian
Acknowledgments
Nese F. DeBruyne, CRS Senior Research Librarian, was the former author of this report.
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
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Congressional Research Service
98-684 · VERSION 117 · UPDATED
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