Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Updated November 18, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
98-684
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
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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 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 Factbook, 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
Country
Independence
Date
Head of
Government
Last
Election/
Runoff
Next
Election/
Runoff
Argentina July 9, 1816 MILEI, Javier Oct. 22, 2023/ Nov. 19, 2023
Oct. 2027/ Nov. 2027
Bolivia Aug. 6, 1825 ARCE, Luis Oct. 18, 2020a 2025
Brazil Sept. 7, 1822 DA SILVA, Luiz Inácio (widely known as “Lula”)
Oct. 2, 2022/
Oct. 30, 2022
Oct. 2026
Chile Sept. 18, 1810 BORIC, Gabriel Nov. 21, 2021/
Dec. 19, 2021
Nov. 2025/
Dec. 2025
Colombia July 20, 1810 PETRO, Gustavo May 29, 2022/
June 19, 2022
May 2026/
June 2026
Ecuador May 24, 1822 NOBOA, Daniel Aug. 20, 2023/ Oct. 15, 2023b
Feb. 2025/
Apr. 2025
Paraguay May 14, 1811 PEÑA, Santiago Apr. 30, 2023 Apr. 2028
Peru July 28, 1821 BOLUARTE, Dinac Apr. 11, 2021/
June 6, 2021
Apr. 2026d
Uruguay Aug. 25, 1825 LACALLE POU, Luis Oct. 27,
2024/Nov. 24,
2024e
Oct. 2029/Nov.
2029
Venezuela July 5, 1811 MADURO, Nicolás July 28, 2024 Uncertainf
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, 2020, after the November 2019 results were annulled, 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 May 17, 2023, facing an imminent impeachment vote, President Guillermo Lasso invoked constitutional article 148, the so-called “crossed death” decree, dissolving congress and requiring snap general elections to choose a president and a legislature to serve the remainder of the current terms of office until 2025. Following elections in which no candidate won 50% of the vote, a runoff election was held between the top two candidates on October 15, 2023. Daniel Noboa won with 51.83% of the vote. President Noboa’s inauguration took place November 23, 2023, and Ecuador’s new National Assembly was seated on November 17. For additional information, see CRS In Focus IF11218, Ecuador: Country Overview and U.S. Relations, by Joshua Klein.
c. On December 7, 2022, Pedro Castillo 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.
d. Despite proposals by President Dina Boluarte and members of the legislature to hold early general elections in late 2023 or early 2024 in response to the impeachment and removal of former President Pedro Castillo, legislators failed to approve early elections in two successive congressional sessions as required by the constitution. Consequently, the electoral calendar remains unchanged, with the next general elections
T
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scheduled for April 2026. See Andrea Moncada, “Why Dina Boluarte Could Make It to 2026,” Americas Quarterly, April 10, 2023, https://americasquarterly.org/article/why-dina-boluarte-could-make-it-to-2026/.
e. Following Uruguay’s first round of elections, the top two candidates were Yamandú Orsi, who won 43.86% of the vote, and Álvaro Delgado, who won 26.82%. As neither candidate won a majority of the vote, a runoff election is scheduled for November 24, 2024.
f. After a decade of increasingly authoritarian rule, Venezuela held presidential elections that most international observers, including the U.S. Department of State, concluded did not meet international standards. Venezuela's National Electoral Commission (CNE) claimed that Nicolás Maduro won 51.2% of the vote, compared with 44.2% for Edmundo González Urrutia. These results contradict preelection polling, exit polls, and precinct-level vote tabulations published by the opposition. For more information, see CRS Insight IN12354, Venezuela’s 2024 Presidential Election, by Leticia Chacon and Clare Ribando Seelke.
Table 2. Mexico and Central America: Heads of Government and Election Schedules
Country
Independence
Date
Head of
Government
Last
Election/
Runoff
Next
Election/
Runoff
Mexico Sept. 16, 1810 SHEINBAUM, Claudia June 2, 2024a June 2030
Costa Rica Sept. 15, 1821 CHAVES, Rodrigo Feb. 6, 2022/
Apr. 3, 2022
Feb. 2026/
Apr. 2026
El Salvador Sept. 15, 1821 BUKELE, Nayib Feb. 4, 2024 Feb. 2029
Guatemala Sept. 15, 1821 ARÉVALO, Bernardo June 25, 2023/
Aug. 20, 2023
by 2027
Honduras Sept. 15, 1821 CASTRO, Xiomara Nov. 28, 2021 Nov. 2025
Nicaragua Sept. 15, 1821 ORTEGA, Daniel Nov. 7, 2021b Nov. 2026
Panama Nov. 3, 1903 MULINO, José Raúl May 5, 2024 May 2029
Source: Compiled by CRS. Notes: For information on Belize, see Table 3. a. Claudia Sheinbaum was inaugurated on October 1, 2024, as Mexico’s first female president. For more information, see CRS In Focus IF12765, Mexico: Key Issues for the Sheinbaum Administration and U.S.-Mexican Relations, by Clare Ribando Seelke and M. Angeles Villarreal.
b. 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 no democratic legitimacy.” See U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States, “OAS General Assembly Condemns the Ortega-Murillo Regime in Nicaragua,” November 12, 2021, https://usoas.usmission.gov/oas-general-assembly-condemns-the-ortega-murillo-regime-in- nicaragua/. See also CRS Report R46860, Nicaragua in Brief: Political Developments and U.S. Policy, by Maureen Taft-Morales (for further information, congressional clients may contact Karla Rios), and CRS In Focus IF12247, Nicaragua, by Karla I. Rios.
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Table 3. Caribbean: Heads of Government and Election Schedules
Country
Independence
Date
Head of
Government
Last
Election/
Runoff
Next
Election/
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 BRICEÑO, Johnny Nov. 11, 2020 by 2025
Cubaa May 20, 1902 DÍAZ-CANEL, Miguel Apr. 19, 2023 2028
Dominica Nov. 3, 1978 SKERRIT, Roosevelt Dec. 6, 2022b by Mar. 2028
Dominican Republic Feb. 27, 1844 ABINADER, Luis May 19, 2024 May 2028
Grenada Feb. 7, 1974 MITCHELL, Dickon June 23, 2022c by June 2027
Guyana May 26, 1966 ALI, Irfaan Mar. 2, 2020 by 2025
Haiti Jan. 1, 1804 DIDIER FILS-AIMÉ, Alix d Nov. 20, 2016e To be
determinedf
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 Grenadines
Oct. 27, 1979 GONSALVES, Ralph E. Nov. 5, 2020 by 2025
Suriname Nov. 25, 1975 SANTOKHI, Chandrikapersad
May 25, 2020 May 2025
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 2023, Cuba’s legislature selected Miguel Díaz-Canel for another five- year term. Díaz-Canel has served as president of the republic since Cuba’s legislature appointed him in October 2019. See Andrea Rodriguez, “Cuba’s Parliament Ratifies President Díaz-Canel for New Term,” Associated Press, April 19, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/cuba-assembly-president-miguel-diazcanel- 7f496a6b05f04aa3d3c7b4a1f3cb45dc.
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. Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021. Ariel Henry, named by Moïse but not yet sworn in, 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. On March 11, 2024, Henry agreed to resign after a transitional council was formed. On April 12, 2024, the Haitian governmental gazette published a decree establishing a nine-person council, effective until February 7, 2026, tasked with naming a new prime minister and cabinet. The transitional council was sworn in on April 25, 2024. See Evens Sanon and Dánica Coto, “Transitional Council in Haiti to Choose New Leaders Is Formally Established Amid Gang Violence,” Associated Press, April 12, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/haiti-transitional-council-gang-violence-
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86ae6d010d0fba2a5742ec82ec05ac25. See also U.S. State Department, “The United States Welcomes Establishment of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council,” press statement, April 12, 2024, https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-welcomes-establishment-of-haitis-transitional-presidential-council/. The transitional council first selected Garry Conille as prime minister, who was sworn in on June 3, 2024 and later appointed Alix Didier Fils-Aimé on October 11, 2024. See U.S. Department of State, “Designation of a New Prime Minister in Haiti Press Statement,” November 12, 2024, https://www.state.gov/designation- of-a-new-prime-minister-in-haiti/ . This follows a period of increasing civil unrest in Haiti. See CRS Report R47394, Haiti: Recent Developments and U.S. Policy, by Karla I. Rios and Clare Ribando Seelke. See also CRS Insight IN12331, Haiti in Crisis: What Role for a Multinational Security Support Mission?, by Karla I. Rios.
e. Haiti held controversial national elections on October 25, 2015. After postponing runoff elections several times, the Provisional Electoral Council announced that new presidential elections would take place instead in October 2016; these were delayed for a month due to Hurricane Matthew.
f. An April 12, 2024, decree created a transitional council that will exercise presidential powers until February 7, 2026, the date by which a new president must be sworn in. The transitional council appointed a provisional electoral commission, a requirement for elections to take place, on September 18, 2024. See Evens Sanon and Dánica Coto, “Transitional Council in Haiti to Choose New Leaders Is Formally Established Amid Gang Violence,” Associated Press, April 12, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/haiti- transitional-council-gang-violence-86ae6d010d0fba2a5742ec82ec05ac25?utm_source=substack& utm_medium=email. See also Haiti Libre, “Haiti - Elections: Finally a Provisional Electoral Council to prepare the first elections,” September 19, 2024, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43238-haiti-elections- finally-a-provisional-electoral-council-to-prepare-the-first-elections.html.
Author Information
Carla Y. Davis-Castro Senior Research Librarian
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
Congressional Research Service 98-684 · VERSION 195 · UPDATED 5
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