Hard numbers: AMLO wins small in recall, Jakarta students protest, Ukrainians dodge the draft, we learn to do nothing

AMLO wins small in recall, Jakarta students protest, Ukrainians dodge the draft, we learn to do nothing
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Ismael Rosas/ Eyepix Group

90: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) got the support of 90% of voters in Sunday’s recall referendum. The catch? Turnout was just 18% of eligible voters, less than half of the threshold for the referendum to be legally binding. AMLO’s term ends in 2024, and he cannot run again.

6: Six police officers in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta were wounded in their attempt to control a protest by hundreds of students angry over rising food prices and rumors that two-term president Joko Widodo may be hatching a plan to exceed constitutional term limits.

15,000: While the vast majority of Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have complied with general mobilization laws that prohibit them from leaving the country, some draft dodgers have paid up to $15,000 to be smuggled across the border to safety in the EU, according to the New York Times.

0: A Harvard PhD candidate has found that, among non-industrial societies studied in the 1970s and 1980s, the most common activity during the day was doing absolutely nothing. As in, zero. Not farming, not chatting, not sleeping, not cooking, not weaving. Just, nothing. So turn off your notifications and give it a shot.

More from GZERO Media

Last Thursday, Brazil’s Supreme Court delivered a historic verdict: Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president who tried to overturn the 2022 election, was convicted along with seven close allies for conspiring against democracy and plotting to assassinate his rivals, including President Lula. Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison and barred from office until 2060. At 70, he will likely spend his remaining years behind bars.
Last Thursday, Brazil’s Supreme Court delivered a historic verdict: Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president who tried to overturn the 2022 election.

Last Thursday, Brazil’s Supreme Court delivered a historic verdict: Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president who tried to overturn the 2022 election.

This summer, Microsoft released the 2025 Responsible AI Transparency Report, demonstrating Microsoft’s sustained commitment to earning trust at a pace that matches AI innovation. The report outlines new developments in how we build and deploy AI systems responsibly, how we support our customers, and how we learn, evolve, and grow. It highlights our strengthened incident response processes, enhanced risk assessments and mitigations, and proactive regulatory alignment. It also covers new tools and practices we offer our customers to support their AI risk governance efforts, as well as how we work with stakeholders around the world to work towards governance approaches that build trust. You can read the report here.

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Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for plotting to overturn the 2022 election and allegedly conspiring to assassinate President Lula. In this week's "ask ian," Ian Bremmer says the verdict highlights how “your response… has nothing to do with rule of law. It has everything to do with tribal political affiliation.”