Global Election Updates

Latin America & The Caribbean

Costa Rica and Barbados both held general elections in February, with incumbent administrations winning and retaining control of the executive and legislative branches. In both instances, the candidates elected will continue to advance agendas focused on security cooperation with the United States.

On February 2, Costa Rica held general elections to elect a new President and all 57 seats within Costa Rica’s unicameral legislative body. Laura Fernández, the candidate from the ruling Partido Pueblo Soberano (PPS), declared victory with 48% of the vote after only a single round. She was followed by center-right candidate Álvaro Ramos (PLN), who received 33% of the vote. Laura Fernández, a former minister under President Rodrigo Chaves (PPS), promised iron-fisted measures against crime, including imposing a state of emergency and other policies inspired by President Nayib Bukele’s security model in El Salvador. She also pledged to continue President Cháves’s political project, raising concerns that previous efforts to dismantle institutions will persist in the new administration. President Chávez will serve in the new cabinet as Minister of the Presidency, following Laura Fernández’s inauguration on May 8. Laura Fernández’s party (PPS) will hold 30 of the total 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly, enough to pass legislation. However, PPS failed to secure a two-thirds majority (38 seats) to enact the constitutional changes the new president needs to implement her security agenda.

Barbados held general elections on February 11 to elect the 30 members of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Barbados. Prime Minister Mia Mottley of the Barbados Labor Party (BLP) secured a third term and a majority in the National Assembly, winning 30 seats. PM Mottley is popular for her role in driving the country’s transition from a constitutional monarchy to a parliamentary republic in 2021, removing the British monarch as head of state. Under her leadership, Barbados has also substantially reduced its debt-to-GDP ratio. PM Mottley and her cabinet were formally sworn into office on February 16, pledging to improve security, transportation, and the cost of living. However, PM Mottley’s policy agenda aims to strengthen Barbados’s international role to address the current geopolitical environment, urging CARICOM members to deepen regional unity to defend their collective interests. Barbados maintains good relations with the United States, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to deepen bilateral efforts to fight organized crime and drug trafficking.

Europe

In Portugal following a runoff election on February 8, António José Seguro, a moderate candidate and member of Parliament representing the Socialist Party (SP), secured the presidency with 66.7% of the vote. Seguro defeated André Ventura, a political newcomer who founded the far-right Chega (“enough” in Portuguese) party in 2019. Seguro ran on a platform to uphold Portugal’s political norms and institutions after the overthrow of the regime established by former authoritarian leader António de Oliveira Salazar. Seguro will replace Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), SP’s traditional political rivals.

Despite the transfer of power, Seguro’s presidency represents a preservation of the status quo. Both SP and PSD have historically supported Portugal’s EU membership. Portuguese citizens’ support for the EU remains high, with 91% rating EU membership positively. However, the rise of Ventura and his party Chega, on an anti-immigration and Eurosceptic platform, has permanently altered Portugal’s political landscape. Following snap parliamentary elections in 2025, Chega became the main opposition group in Portugal’s 230-member unicameral parliament. Seguro’s victory was partly assured by the backing of his candidacy by elements within Portugal’s conservative political establishment

The role of the presidency is largely ceremonial, but the President retains some key powers, including the power to dissolve parliament, appoint a government, and veto legislation. Despite Seguro’s victory, Ventura and Chega’s meteoric rise signals that Portugal is no longer immune to the rise in right-wing populism that has taken place elsewhere in Europe. The question now is whether Seguro and his party, SP, can cooperate with other parties, including PSD, to blunt further gains by Ventura and his party in future elections.