The first night following the election, the major right-wing candidate declared a premature victory over his opponent, while the votes were still being counted across the crucial electoral battlegrounds. The proclamations of victory were followed almost immediately with anxious, paranoia-laced warnings of an incoming “fraud,” disappearing ballots, and accusations of attempts by the opposing side to “steal the election.” Calls for the country’s legal institutions to intervene soon followed. Eventually, this process culminated in a violent riot in the nation’s capital and attempts to seize public institutions with the support, or active passivity, of the police force.

While millions across the world have just witnessed this in the United States, I experienced a case of a déjà vu, as I remembered the dark pattern of similar right-wing revolts against legitimate left victories across Latin America.

No two countries or electoral processes can be compared with complete certainty. But the pattern developed by the right-wing and the far-right political forces across Latin America when dealing with imminent electoral defeat appears to have reached US shores. The strategy has long been a crucial part of the Venezuelan right-wing opposition’s arsenal, featuring prominently in each major election and electoral process since the 2013 presidential contest.