6 The EconomistOctober 26th 2019
The world this week Politics
Canada’sprime minister,
Justin Trudeau, won a second
term in office but his Liberal
Party lost its majority. The
Conservative Party won the
popular vote and wiped out the
Liberals in the oil-producing
western provinces of Alberta
and Saskatchewan. To enact
his programme, Mr Trudeau
will depend on support from
smaller parties, especially the
left-leaning New Democrats.Protests against a fare increase
on the metro in Santiago,
Chile’scapital, became viol-
ent, prompting the govern-
ment to impose its first curfew
since the end of a military
dictatorship in 1990. The un-
rest spread to other cities. At
least 18 people died in rioting.Bolivia’sopposition accused
the government of Evo
Morales, the country’s leftist
president, of attempting elec-
toral fraud. In the early count
in the presidential election his
centrist rival, Carlos Mesa,
appeared to be doing well
enough to enter a run-off. But
the count was mysteriously
suspended. When it resumed,
Mr Morales’s lead had wid-
ened, sparking protests.Brazil’s senate approved a
reform of the country’s absurd-
ly generous pensions. It raises
retirement ages and increases
workers’ contributions, and is
thus expected to reduce the
growth of Brazil’s debt.Mexicansecurity forces cap-
tured and then released the son
of Joaquín Guzmán (aka “El
Chapo”), the jailed former
leader of the Sinaloa drug gang.
The operation in the city of
Culiacán led to a gun battle in
which the soldiers were out-
numbered; 14 people died.Where does the time go?
Boris Johnson secured a new
Brexitwithdrawal deal with
the European Union, but was
compelled to request a further
extension past October 31st,
which he does not want. The
British prime minister’s deal
won a majority in one of its
stages through Parliament, but
his three-day timetable to
scrutinise the bill was rejected.
eugovernments discussed
whether to grant an extension,
and for how long.Abortion and gay marriage
became legal inNorthern
Ireland, despite a last-ditch
effort by conservatives to
prevent the change. The mea-
sures have already made an
impact. A judge in a case in
which a woman had bought
abortion pills instructed the
jury to acquit her.A lorry was discovered just east
of London with 39 dead sus-
pectedmigrants—thought to
be Chinese nationals—inside.Aneusummit shocked leaders
inthe Balkanswhen it
declined, mainly because of
pressure from France’s presi-
dent, Emmanuel Macron, not
to begin accession negotia-
tions with North Macedonia
and Albania.Two Green parties made signif-
icant gains in a general
election inSwitzerland, tak-
ing a combined fifth of the
vote. The right-wing populist
Swiss People’s Party came first
again in the multi-party sys-
tem, but saw its share of the
vote dip to 26%.The new regional powers
Russiaand Turkeystruck a
deal over northern Syria.
Turkey has invaded the region
in an effort to push out the
Kurds after America, which
had backed them, withdrew.
Russian and Syrian forces will
now ensure that the Kurds pull
back 30km from the border.
Russian and Turkish forces
will then patrol the Syrian side.
But Turkey’s “buffer zone” is
not as wide as it had hoped.A month after an election that
ended in deadlock,Israel’s
prime minister, Binyamin
Netanyahu, said he was unable
to form a new coalition govern-
ment. Mr Netanyahu’s political
rival, Benny Gantz, was then
invited to try. Mr Gantz’s alli-
ance, though, is more than a
dozen seats short of a majority.The government ofLebanon
approved a package of reforms
in response to big demonstra-
tions. Hundreds of thousands
of people have taken to the
streets, unhappy with the
struggling economy and poor
governance.Mmusi Maimane resigned as
leader of the Democratic Alli-
ance, the largest opposition
party inSouth Africa. Mr
Maimane was the first black
person to head the tradition-
ally whiteda. His departure
suggests it still has a problem
reaching out to black voters.Thousands of people took to
the streets inGuinea, as Presi-
dent Alpha Condé considered
scrapping the constitution.Russiahosted dozens of
Africanleaders at a summit in
Sochi, as part of an effort by
Vladimir Putin to exert more
influence on the continent.Talking about impeachment
America’smost senior dip-
lomat in Ukrainetold con-
gressmen that Donald Trump
had explicitly tied his request
to dig up dirt on Joe Biden to a
threat to withhold military aid.
Earlier, Rick Perry announced
his resignation as energy
secretary. He is under scrutiny
for his role as one of the “three
amigos” who liaised with
Ukrainian officials.Elijah Cummingslay in state
in Congress, the first black
politician to be accorded the
honour. Mr Cummings repre-
sented Baltimore for 23 years
before he died at the age of 68
earlier this month.After all that trouble
Hong Kong’sgovernment
formally withdrew the extradi-
tion bill that in June sparked an
anti-government movement,
which continues to roil the
city. The legislation would
have allowed suspects to be
sent to mainland China for
trial. Protesters say scrapping
it will not satisfy their
demands, which include full
democracy.The navies of Chinaand Japan
staged their first joint exercise
in eight years, which involved
ships practising communica-
tions in waters south of Japan.
Sino-Japanese relations are
thawing after years of tension.Family members buried the
ashes of Zhao Ziyang, the
Chinese Communist Party’s
chief during the Tiananmen
Square protests of 1989 who
was removed for sympathising
with the protesters. The cere-
mony marked a concession by
the authorities.Joko Widodo was sworn in for a
second term as president of
Indonesia. His new cabinet
includes as defence minister
Prabowo Subianto, the former
general whom he beat in April’s
presidential election.The most senior American
commander in Afghanistan
revealed that the number of
American troops in the coun-
try had fallen by 2,000 over the
past year, to 12,000. America
had been poised to withdraw
even more troops as part of a
peace deal with the Taliban
that fell apart last month.King Vajiralongkorn of
Thailandstripped his official
mistress of all her titles and
honours for being too uppity.
He had designated her as “royal
noble consort” only three
months ago.