The Economist Latin America January 1, 2022

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a giant of the anti-apartheid struggle, died, aged 90. Archbishop Tutu’s moral leadership and his opposition to violence earned him the Nobel peace prize in 1984. He later presided over the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a groundbreaking exercise in restorative justice, and condemned the corruption of South Africa’s post-apartheid governments, especially President Jacob Zuma’s. Somalia’s president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, suspended the powers of the prime minister, Hussein Roble, for alleged graft. Mr Roble said he would remain in office and accused the president of trying to stage a coup. A presidential election in Libya scheduled for December 24th was postponed, raising doubts about a UN-backed peace process. Rival factions could not agree on a legal framework for the vote or who should be eligible to run. The electoral commission…

AMERICANS ARE anxious about the stability of their democracy. Roughly 40% of the politically active say that members of the other tribe are evil; 60% believe they are a threat to the country. More than 80% think the system needs “major changes” or “complete reform”. Jeremiads from pundits about the decay of political life no longer seem to match the gravity of the threat. Some scholars have gone so far as to warn of the risk of civil war. All this became dangerously real in the attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol a year ago, which injured 140 police officers, in an attempt to prevent the certification of their champion’s defeat. After a fleeting moment of clarity, the majority of Republican lawmakers reverted to making excuses for Donald Trump because…

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a giant of the anti-apartheid struggle, died, aged 90. Archbishop Tutu’s moral leadership and his opposition to violence earned him the Nobel peace prize in 1984. He later presided over the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a groundbreaking exercise in restorative justice, and condemned the corruption of South Africa’s post-apartheid governments, especially President Jacob Zuma’s. Somalia’s president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, suspended the powers of the prime minister, Hussein Roble, for alleged graft. Mr Roble said he would remain in office and accused the president of trying to stage a coup. A presidential election in Libya scheduled for December 24th was postponed, raising doubts about a UN-backed peace process. Rival factions could not agree on a legal framework for the vote or who should be eligible to run. The…

MEN TEND to grow stubborn with age, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hardly pliable to start with. During 19 years in power in Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, he has locked up thousands of dissidents and critics: secular military officers, protesters, Kurdish activists, members of the Gulen religious movement. He has silenced or purged civil-society groups, the independent media and the judiciary. With every challenge that he survives—the Gezi Park protests of 2013, an attempted coup in 2016—his ego has grown. Sensible advisers have quit, leaving him surrounded by relatives and yes-men. A leader as powerful as Mr Erdogan can silence voices he does not wish to hear. But he cannot wish away the reality they describe. Since September, he has been trying to defy the laws…

NO BUSINESS WOULD welcome being compared to Big Tobacco or gambling. Yet that is what is happening to makers of video games. For years parents have casually complained that their offspring are “addicted” to their PlayStations and smartphones. Today, however, ever more doctors are using the term literally. On January 1st “gaming disorder”—in which games are played compulsively, despite causing harm—gains recognition from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as the newest edition of its diagnostic manual comes into force. A few months ago China, the world’s biggest gaming market, announced new rules limiting children to just a single hour of play a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and none the rest of the week. Western politicians worry publicly about some games’ similarity to gambling. Clinics are sprouting around the world,…

AMERICANS ARE anxious about the stability of their democracy. Roughly 40% of the politically active say that members of the other tribe are evil; 60% believe they are a threat to the country. More than 80% think the system needs “major changes” or “complete reform”. Jeremiads from pundits about the decay of political life no longer seem to match the gravity of the threat. Some scholars have gone so far as to warn of the risk of civil war. All this became dangerously real in the attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol a year ago, which injured 140 police officers, in an attempt to prevent the certification of their champion’s defeat. After a fleeting moment of clarity, the majority of Republican lawmakers reverted to making excuses for Donald Trump…