Number of the week: Benítez dodges ousting in Paraguay

Welcome to “Number of the Week,” where we choose a single figure that helps us understand what is going on in Brazil. This week’s number is about how the president of Paraguay managed to keep his office despite political and sanitary unrest:

42-36 vote

One of the first Latin American countries to close its borders when the pandemic struck, Paraguay managed to avoid a large-scale health crisis for months. But when the crisis did hit, it hit hard. The coronavirus is now spreading faster than ever in Paraguay, and hospitals report dramatic medicine shortages and nearly no remaining beds in intensive care units.

For many Paraguayans, the crisis made existing problems — such as corruption and the unreliability of the public healthcare system — simply untolerable. Protests erupted in capital Asunción, with thousands demanding the resignation of President Mario...