The Economist Latin America May 4, 2019

Politics Juan Guaidó, who is recognised as interim president of Venezuela by many democracies, appeared outside an air-force base in Caracas and urged the armed forces to overthrow the socialist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. Leopoldo López, an opposition figure kept under house arrest by the regime, appeared with Mr Guaidó after being freed by security personnel. America reiterated its support for Mr Guaidó. Backed by Russia and Cuba, Mr Maduro said he had defeated an attempted coup. Amid more protests, Mr Guaidó called for strikes to topple the government. Unions staged a national strike in Argentina to protest against the austerity policies of Mauricio Macri, the president. Mr Macri’s popularity has taken a dive of late, and he is up for re-election in October. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a spendthrift populist ex-president,…

Politics Juan Guaidó, who is recognised as interim president of Venezuela by many democracies, appeared outside an air-force base in Caracas and urged the armed forces to overthrow the socialist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. Leopoldo López, an opposition figure kept under house arrest by the regime, appeared with Mr Guaidó after being freed by security personnel. America reiterated its support for Mr Guaidó. Backed by Russia and Cuba, Mr Maduro said he had defeated an attempted coup. Amid more protests, Mr Guaidó called for strikes to topple the government. Unions staged a national strike in Argentina to protest against the austerity policies of Mauricio Macri, the president. Mr Macri’s popularity has taken a dive of late, and he is up for re-election in October. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a spendthrift…

OVER THE past two decades people across the world have seen digital services transform the economy and their lives. Taxis, films, novels, noodles, doctors and dog-walkers can all be summoned with a tap of a screen. Giant firms in retailing, car-making and the media have been humbled by new competitors. Yet one industry has withstood the tumult: banking. In rich countries it is perfectly normal to queue in branches, correspond with your bank by post and deposit cheques stamped with the logo of firms founded in the 19th century. Yet, as our special report this week explains, technology is at last shaking up banking. In Asia payment apps are a way of life for over 1bn users. In the West mobile banking is reaching critical mass—49% of Americans bank on their…

APRIL 30TH DAWNED promisingly in Venezuela. Juan Guaidó, acknowledged as the country’s interim president by many democracies and millions of Venezuelans, appeared outside an air-force base in Caracas flanked by national guardsmen to declare that the end of the dictatorship was imminent. By his side was a leader of the opposition, Leopoldo López, who had somehow been freed from house arrest. His presence, and that of the guards, suggested that Venezuela’s security forces were ready at last to withdraw their support for Nicolás Maduro, who has ruled his country catastrophically and brutally for the past six years. Thus began two days of rumour, intrigue and violence (see Americas section). As The Economist went to press the regime was still in charge and the generals were proclaiming their loyalty to it. Mr…

WHEN THE Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide victory in India’s general election in 2014, its leader, Narendra Modi, was something of a mystery. Would his government initiate an economic lift-off, as businessfolk hoped, or spark a sectarian conflagration, as secularists feared? In his five years as prime minister, Mr Modi has been neither as good for India as his cheerleaders foretold, nor as bad as his critics, including this newspaper, imagined. But today the risks still outweigh the rewards. Indians, who are in the midst of voting in a fresh election (see Asia section), would be better off with a different leader. Mr Modi is campaigning as a strongman with the character to stand up to Pakistan for having abetted terrorism. In fact, sending warplanes to bomb India’s nuclear…

OVER THE past two decades people across the world have seen digital services transform the economy and their lives. Taxis, films, novels, noodles, doctors and dog-walkers can all be summoned with a tap of a screen. Giant firms in retailing, car-making and the media have been humbled by new competitors. Yet one industry has withstood the tumult: banking. In rich countries it is perfectly normal to queue in branches, correspond with your bank by post and deposit cheques stamped with the logo of firms founded in the 19th century. Yet, as our special report this week explains, technology is at last shaking up banking. In Asia payment apps are a way of life for over 1bn users. In the West mobile banking is reaching critical mass—49% of Americans bank on…