Ranking of salaries of Latin American presidents

A head of state's salary compared to other salaries can be an interesting factor in understanding a country's income inequality.

By Infobay

“It's an interesting indicator because you can define the price level, income differences and where presidents actually earn more or less,” said Javier Rodríguez Weber, doctor of economic history and professor at the university. (Udeler) of the Republic of Uruguay.

According to Bloomberg data, Costa Rica has the highest minimum wage in the region: USD 710, followed by Uruguay at USD 580, Chile (USD 520), Mexico (USD 445) and Guatemala (USD 420).

Then follow Bolivia (USD 342), Colombia (USD 335), Honduras (USD 329), Panama (USD 326) and Brazil (USD 283).

Argentina has the lowest minimum wage of the countries taken into account in this study, at USD 182 per month.

President salary

Using the comparative indicator used by Rodríguez Weber, President Bernardo Arevalo in Guatemala earns 46 times the country's minimum monthly salary. He is followed by Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Bové, whose monthly income is 40 times the minimum wage of his compatriots.

Below appears Colombian President Gustavo Pedro, who is paid the equivalent of 30 minimum wages. Javier Milei, meanwhile, multiplies the minimum by 26, and presidents Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Mexico) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil) continue on the list with salaries 22 times higher than the minimum wage in their respective countries. Countries.

Some of the gross monthly salaries of Latin American leaders are as follows:

Luis Lacalle Pou (Uruguay): USD 22,289.

Bernardo Arevalo (Guatemala): USD 19,062.

Rodrigo Chaves Robles (Costa Rica): USD 10,915.

Andrés M. López Obrador (Mexico): USD 9,994.

Gustavo Pedro (Colombia): USD 9,513.

Gabriel Boric (Chile): USD 8,092.

Laurentino Cordiso (Panama): USD 7,000.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil): USD 6,205.

Xiomara Castro (Honduras): USD 5,577.

Javier Mille (Argentina): USD 4,785.

Luis Arce (Bolivia): USD 3,014.

The case of Cuba and Venezuela

According to Torres Pérez, an academic at the Cuban Economic Studies Center (CEEC), “In Cuba, as in Venezuela, there is very little transparency about the personal lives of leaders.” There is no public information that reflects the salaries of Fidel Castro and his successor, Raul Castro, at the time. Data on the income of the current president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, is also unknown.

In the case of Venezuela, the constitution states that its president cannot earn more than 12 times the minimum wage. The last one was mandated by the Maduro government in March 2022. At the time, the minimum wage was set at 130 bolivars, equivalent to about USD 30 per month at the official rate. Today, after the sudden devaluation of the bolivar, that figure is less than USD 4 dollars. If this law is strictly followed, Nicolás Maduro should earn approximately USD 48, which is completely ridiculous.

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