Top Latin American Presidents May 2026: Sheinbaum, Bukele and Abinader

LATIN AMERICA · POLITICS

Friday, May 29, 2026 — 22:00 BRT — By Juan Martinez

The Latin American presidential approval rankings published this month by CB Global Data show a regional landscape divided between governments with high citizen support and several facing sustained loss of public backing. Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele lead the table by a narrow margin. The reading provides a useful cross-country benchmark for foreign businesses, investors and expatriates tracking political-risk dynamics across Latin America.

The Latin American presidential approval rankings top tier

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum leads the May 2026 regional ranking with 67.8 percent positive image, narrowly edging out Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele at 67.5 percent. The Dominican Republic’s Luis Abinader completes the top three at 60.2 percent positive image. The three highest-rated leaders are the only ones clearing the 60 percent threshold, reflecting a meaningful gap between the top tier and the rest of the regional field.

The Sheinbaum reading shows a slight decline from earlier readings (70 percent in March) but maintains her at the top of the regional table. Her approval reflects continuity from the previous administration’s social-policy program and the ongoing political-economy framework, while Bukele’s approval continues to track the broader perception of his security record. Abinader’s score reflects sustained Dominican Republic economic stability and tourism-led growth.

Behind the top three, Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz takes fourth place at 55.6 percent, with Costa Rica’s Laura Fernández Delgado at 52.7 percent in fifth. Paz has benefited from a relatively short tenure and the political honeymoon associated with his recent assumption of office. Fernández Delgado’s approval reflects the early-mandate boost typical for new heads of state in Central American democracies.

The middle of the Latin American presidential approval rankings

Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sits in the middle band at 49.5 percent positive image. The reading reflects the political cycle around Brazil’s October 2026 general election, with the Q1 GDP beat at 1.1 percent providing some support to the headline number. Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega registers 48.5 percent, Paraguay’s Santiago Peña 46.6 percent, and Chile’s José Antonio Kast 43.4 percent.

Honduras’s Nasry Asfura sits at 41.9 percent, with Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi at 40.3 percent and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro at 40.0 percent (up 1.8 percentage points from March, holding the 12th position for the third consecutive month). Petro’s approval reflects political-cycle dynamics ahead of the May-June 2026 election cycle. The reading is relatively elevated for a lame-duck president in his final months.

Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa registers 39.4 percent, but is notable as the biggest monthly gainer in the regional ranking with a 3.7 percentage point increase from April. Guatemala’s Bernardo Arévalo follows at 36.9 percent, with Panama’s José Raúl Mulino completing the lower-middle tier. The mid-table generally reflects governments managing complex political-economy challenges without major scandals or extraordinary positive catalysts.

The bottom of the Latin American presidential approval rankings

Argentina’s Javier Milei sits in 16th place at 34.8 percent positive image, against 63 percent negative image. The reading reflects the cumulative effect of his fiscal-adjustment program, with Milei having led the regional ranking in December 2025 and fallen sharply since (marking one of the steepest declines tracked in the survey series). Argentine analysts cite the cumulative cost-of-living pressure as the principal driver.

Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez registers 24.1 percent positive image, holding the 17th position. She is also the biggest monthly faller in the May ranking with a 3.4 percentage point drop from April, reflecting continued economic and political pressures in Venezuela despite recent diplomatic openings with Washington on oil-sector matters. Inflation near 600 percent annually remains a principal driver.

Peru’s José María Balcázar takes the bottom of the table at 20.5 percent. Balcázar is currently serving as interim president following the constitutional turmoil that has affected Peruvian politics for several years, and his reading reflects both institutional instability and the structural challenges affecting Peruvian governance independent of the current officeholder. Peru has had multiple presidents over the past five years, each with similarly low approval.

Trends behind the Latin American presidential approval rankings

Three patterns emerge from the May reading. First, geographic clustering: Central American and Caribbean leaders dominate the top of the table, while South American leaders dominate the middle and bottom (with the notable exception of Bolivia’s Paz). Second, the relationship between economic performance and approval is weaker than expected, with several leaders facing economic challenges retaining moderate support.

Third, political orientation does not determine ranking position. The May 2026 reading places progressive leaders (Sheinbaum, Lula, Petro), conservative leaders (Bukele, Kast, Milei, Abinader) and centrist leaders (Paz, Fernández, Arévalo, Mulino) across the full range of approval levels. The pattern suggests that institutional performance, security outcomes and economic stability matter more than political-program orientation in shaping approval.

The CB Global Data series has been published monthly since 2023 and is widely cited across Latin American media. The reading shows the most-significant monthly changes for Noboa (+3.7pp), Petro (+1.8pp), Macri (Buenos Aires mayoral ranking, +0.4pp tracked separately), and Delcy Rodríguez (-3.4pp). The Argentine, Ecuadorian and Venezuelan readings track most volatile across recent monthly readings.

What the Latin American presidential approval rankings mean

For foreign businesses and investors, the cross-country approval data provide a useful additional dimension to standard political-risk frameworks. High approval typically correlates with policy continuity and reduced near-term reform risk. Low approval can signal either electoral defeat (in democratic systems) or extended institutional friction (in less democratic ones). External analysts such as the Brookings Institution have long tracked these dynamics.

For expatriates and residents choosing among Latin American destinations, the approval data complement safety, quality-of-life and economic-indicator benchmarks. Countries with stable political-economy frameworks (Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Uruguay) cluster differently from countries facing sustained political stress. The reading is particularly useful as a comparison alongside our recent capital-city mayors approval ranking.

The CB Global Data series is one of the few that allows direct monthly cross-country comparison of Latin American executives. Most national polling produces results that are not comparable across borders due to methodological differences. The regional series therefore fills a real gap for both academic and commercial analysts tracking regional political dynamics over time.

The Rio Times — Friday, May 29, 2026 — 22:00 BRT — By Juan Martinez