

Latin America and the Caribbean:
Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Updated February 24, 2023
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
98-684
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his 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
T 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 compiled
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 Government and Election Schedules
Last
Independence
Head of
Election/
Next
Country
Date
Government
Runoff
Election/Runoff
Argentina
July 9, 1816
FERNÁNDEZ, Alberto
Oct. 27, 2019
Oct. 2023
Bolivia
Aug. 6, 1825
ARCE, Luis
Oct. 18, 2020a
2025
Brazil
Sept. 7, 1822
DA SILVA, Luiz Inácio (widely
Oct. 2, 2022/
Oct. 2026
known as “Lula”)
Oct. 30, 2022
Chile
Sept. 18, 1810
BORIC, Gabriel
Nov. 21, 2021/
Nov. 2025/Dec.
Dec. 19, 2021
2025
Colombia
July 20, 1810
PETRO, Gustavo
May 29, 2022/
May 2026/June
June 19, 2022
2026
Ecuador
May 24, 1822
LASSO, Guil ermo
Feb. 7, 2021/
Feb. 2025
Apr. 11, 2021
Paraguay
May 14, 1811
ABDO BENITEZ, Mario
Apr. 22, 2018
Apr. 2023
Peru
July 28, 1821
BOLUARTE, Dinab
Apr. 11, 2021/
Apr. 2024c
June 6, 2021
Uruguay
Aug. 25, 1825
LACALLE POU, Luis
Oct. 27, 2019/
Oct. 2024
Nov. 24, 2019
Venezuela
July 5, 1811
MADURO, Nicolás
May 20, 2018d
Due by Dec.
2024
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Notes: For information on Guyana and Suriname, see Table 3.
a. Elections were held on October 18, after the November 2019 results were annul ed, and then delayed in
March 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19. See CRS In Focus IF11325, Bolivia: An Overview, by Clare
Ribando Seelke.
b. On December 7, 2022, Pedro Castil o attempted to dissolve congress, create a government of exception,
and rule by decree. That same day, the Peruvian Congress impeached Castillo, who was arrested shortly
afterwards. Also on December 7, Vice-President Dina Boluarte was sworn in as president.
c. On December 20, congress voted to bring both presidential and congressional elections forward to April
2024, two years earlier than scheduled. However, the second vote required to make this constitutional
change has not been taken. See Alexander Vil egas, “Peru Congress Shelves President Boluarte's Bil for
Early Elections,” Reuters, February 3, 2023, at https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-congress-
shelves-president-boluartes-bil -early-elections-2023-02-04/
d. In a controversial move, Venezuela’s presidential election was moved earlier 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, See CRS In Focus IF10230, Venezuela: Political Crisis and
U.S. Policy, by Clare Ribando Seelke.
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Table 2. Mexico and Central America: Heads of Government 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
Costa Rica
Sept. 15, 1821
CHAVES, Rodrigo
Feb. 6, 2022/
Feb. 2026/Apr.
Apr. 3, 2022
2026
El Salvador
Sept. 15, 1821
BUKELE, Nayib
Feb. 3, 2019
Feb. 2024
Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821
GIAMMATTEI, Alejandro
June 16, 2019/
June 2023
Aug. 11, 2019
Honduras
Sept. 15, 1821
CASTRO, Xiomara
Nov. 28, 2021
Nov. 2025
Nicaragua
Sept. 15, 1821
ORTEGA, Daniel
Nov. 7, 2021a
Nov. 2025
Panama
Nov. 3, 1903
CORTIZO, Laurentino
May 5, 2019
May 2024
Source: Compiled by CRS.
Notes: For information on Belize, see Table 3.
a. Prior to the elections, the Ortega government arrested eight people who sought to challenge Ortega in the
elections and dozens of political and civil society leaders. Much of the international community, including the
United States, rejected the elections; the Organization of American States declared that the elections “were
not free, fair or transparent and have not democratic legitimacy.” See U.S. Mission to the Organization of
American States, “OAS General Assembly Condemns the Ortega-Muril o Regime in Nicaragua,” November
12, 2021, at https://usoas.usmission.gov/oas-general-assembly-condemns-the-ortega-muril o-regime-in-
nicaragua/. See also CRS Report R46860, Nicaragua in Brief: Political Developments and U.S. Policy, by Maureen
Taft-Morales and CRS In Focus IF12247, Nicaragua, by Karla I. Rios.
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Table 3. Caribbean: Heads of Government and Election Schedules
Last
Next
Independence
Head of
Election/
Election/
Country
Date
Government
Runoff
Runoff
Antigua and Barbuda
Nov. 1, 1981
BROWNE, Gaston
Jan. 18, 2023
by July. 2028
Bahamas
July 10, 1973
DAVIS, Philip
Sept. 16, 2021
by Sept. 2026
Barbados
Nov. 30, 1966
MOTTLEY, Mia
Jan. 19, 2022
by Jan. 2027
Belize
Sept. 21, 1981
BRICEŇO, Johnny
Nov. 11, 2020
by 2025
Cubaa
May 20, 1902
DÍAZ-CANEL, Miguel
Apr. 2018
2023
Dominica
Nov. 3, 1978
SKERRIT, Roosevelt
Dec. 6, 2022b
by Mar. 2028
Dominican Republic
Feb. 27, 1844
ABINADER, Luis
July 5, 2020
May 2024
Grenada
Feb. 7, 1974
MITCHELL, Dickon
June 23, 2022c
by June 2027
Guyana
May 26, 1966
ALI, Irfaan
Mar. 2, 2020d
by 2025
Haiti
Jan. 1, 1804
HENRY, Ariele
Nov. 20, 2016a
Postponed
indefinitelyg
Jamaica
Aug. 6, 1962
HOLNESS, Andrew
Sept. 3, 2020
by 2025
St. Kitts and Nevis
Sept. 19, 1983
DREW, Terrance
Aug. 5, 2022
by 2027
St. Lucia
Feb. 22, 1979
PIERRE, Philip
July 26, 2021
by 2026
St. Vincent and the
Oct. 27, 1979
GONSALVES, Ralph E.
Nov. 5, 2020
by 2025
Grenadines
Suriname
Nov. 25, 1975
SANTOKHI,
May 25, 2020
May 2025
Chandrikapersad
Trinidad and Tobago
Aug. 31, 1962
ROWLEY, Keith
Aug. 10, 2020
by 2025
Source: Compiled by CRS.
Notes: Although Belize is located in Central America and Guyana and Suriname are located in South America,
all three are members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
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 November 2022, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit called a snap election that was held on December 6,
2022, ahead of elections constitutionally due by March 2025.
c. In May 2022, Prime Minister Keith Mitchell called a snap election held on June 23, 2022, ahead of elections
constitutionally due in March 2023.
d. Irfaan Ali was sworn into office on August 2, 2020, five months after elections were held on March 2, 2020.
Allegations of fraud and vote tampering delayed the election results as supporters of the ruling government
led by President David Granger pursued legal challenges. See CRS In Focus IF11381, Guyana: An Overview, by
Mark P. Sul ivan and Joshua Klein.
e. President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021. Haitian Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph was
in charge in the immediate aftermath. Moïse had named Ariel Henry as prime minister, but not sworn him in
the day before his death. Henry became de facto prime minister on July 20, 2021. Under the Haitian
Constitution, either the Council of Ministers under the Prime Minister should govern or, in the last year of
a presidential term, the legislature should elect a provisional president. There has been no functioning
legislature since January 2020 and there are no remaining elected officials. See CRS Report R47394, Haiti:
Recent Developments and U.S. Policy, by Clare Ribando Seelke and Karla I. Rios. See also CRS In Focus
IF12182, Haiti: Political Conflict and U.S. Policy Overview, by Clare Ribando Seelke and Maureen Taft-Morales.
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
f.
Haiti held controversial national elections on October 25, 2015. After postponing runoff elections several
times, the Provisional Electoral Council announced new presidential elections would take place instead in
October 2016; these were delayed for a month due to Hurricane Matthew.
g. On January 13, 2020, most of the national legislature’s terms expired without the body having passed an
elections law to elect new legislators. From that date until his death, President Moïse ruled by decree.
Moïse appointed a new Provisional Electoral Council by decree, which announced a constitutional
referendum that could change electoral laws, and parliamentary and presidential elections. The moves were
arguably unconstitutional. In September 2021, de facto Prime Minister Henry dissolved the Provisional
Electoral Council and has since said he also plans to hold a constitutional referendum and elections soon
after. Elections were repeatedly postponed and no date has been set. Henry has said he will remain in office
until new elections are held. Civil society and political coalitions are calling for an interim government to
take his place, in part because they say his term expired when Moïse’s should have, on February 7, 2022.
Author Information
Carla Y. Davis-Castro
Research Librarian
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Congressional Research Service
98-684 · VERSION 166 · UPDATED
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