2026 elections: five Latin American countries head to the polls

Five Latin American countries will elect their presidents in 2026, including two of the region’s three largest democracies by population: Brazil and Colombia. The elections will be held under strong political polarization and will define the power the left keeps at the continental level, which today governs from Brasilia and Bogotá.

The electoral calendar

The first date is in Central America: Costa Rica votes on February 1, with a possible runoff on April 5. Peru follows, on April 12, with a second round scheduled for June 7. Brazil and Colombia, the two heavyweights, will hold highly polarized presidential elections between left and right blocs. Haiti completes the calendar amid its security crisis.

The Trump factor

An additional question hovers over the polls: how much can the US president influence them? Donald Trump demonstrated in 2025 his willingness to throw the weight of his presidency and the US Treasury into regional votes. He did so in Argentina’s legislative elections and Honduras’ presidential elections, backing right-wing forces and warning he would cut financial aid if those options were defeated. In both countries, as in Ecuador with Daniel Noboa’s reelection, the Trump-backed options won.

An unprecedented precedent

“To an unprecedented degree since the end of the Cold War, the Trump administration and the president himself have put their finger on the scale to influence electoral outcomes in Latin America,” says Cynthia Arnson, a regional expert at Johns Hopkins University, to BBC News Mundo. The 2026 elections are also played out in the economy: the region carries weak growth and discontent with incumbents fuels a punishment vote.

The practical takeaway

Latin America defines this year the course of its main economies and regional integration. Results in Brazil and Colombia, which concentrate much of regional trade and investment, will affect import costs and the flow of remittances reaching countries like the Dominican Republic. What Latin American polls decide will be felt far beyond their borders.