input: from typing import List
  
  def find_max(numbers: List[int]) -> int:
      """
      Given a list of integers, this function returns the maximum element.
      
      >>> find_max([1, 43, 78, 3, 92, 42])
      92
      >>> find_max([-1, -43, -78, -3, -92, -42])
      -1
      """
output:     if not numbers:
          raise ValueError("The list is empty")
      max_num = numbers[0]
      for num in numbers:
          if num > max_num:
              max_num = num
      return max_num