There’s an important lesson for Americans in the Brazilian election that just ended in the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro’s defeat. No, it’s not about the fact that a less wealthy, more recently established democracy of over two hundred million people managed to get all their votes counted in a day, though this should obviously spark some reflection about the notoriously slow and chaotic nature of US elections.

Instead, it’s about the dangers of a politically extreme police.

The rapturous celebrations over the victory of left-wing challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last night were preceded by alarm that Brazil’s federal highway police were trying to steal the election from him. Reports of traffic jams and massive delays caused by police checkpoints on election day sparked fears of voter suppression, particularly since they were taking place overwhelmingly in Brazil’s northeast, a pro-Lula stronghold. According to a police memo obtained by the Brazilian Report, searches of vehicles shot up by 80 percent on the day of the runoff compared to the general election at the start of October.