A political leader demanding questionable policy from the central bank and testing the legal limits to get it - to Martin Redrado, sitting in Argentina, Donald Trump's stand-off with the Federal Reserve feels surprisingly familiar.
Redrado was fired as head of Argentina's central bank in 2010, after he resisted orders by then-President Cristina Kirchner to hand over reserves to help pay off national debts.
He fought the decision successfully in court, but eventually resigned in the face of what he told the BBC was intolerable pressure.
Today, the clash is remembered as one of the early warnings of the economic turmoil that later engulfed Argentina, exposing it to high inflation and a currency plunge from which the country is still recovering.
Trump's fight with the Fed has sparked debate about whether the US might be heading in a similar direction.
Since his return to office last year, Trump has accused the chair of the US central bank, Jerome Powell, of mishandling the economy and driving up debt costs for the government by keeping interest rates too high.
But his interventions at the bank have not been limited to social media complaints.
In August, Trump moved to sack a top policymaker, Lisa Cook, a decision now being challenged at the Supreme Court.
Then on Sunday, Powell said the Fed was facing a criminal probe from the Department of Justice, relating to cost overruns at a property renovation - concerns that Powell has dismissed as pretext.
Market reaction to the drama has remained muted, which analysts said was a sign that investors expect the bank to be able to continue operating freely.
But that faith will be tested in the coming weeks, when the Supreme Court is due to hear arguments about Cook's firing and the president is expected to announce his pick to replace Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends in May.
Redrado said he has been surprised to see echoes of his own battle happening in the US, long held up as a global model.
This seems more like an emerging market story, he said.
He is not alone in making the comparison.
This is what you do in banana republics, not what should happen in the United States of America, economist Jason Furman, who led former President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, told the BBC, using a derogatory term often used to describe countries with unstable politics and economies subject to the whims of a ruling class.
In an interview with CNBC, former Fed chair Janet Yellen, who served as Treasury Secretary under Joe Biden, raised a similar spectre as she warned against the way Trump wants the Fed to conduct policy. It is the road to a banana republic, she said.
Trump has remained defiant in the face of calls to limit his interference with the bank, a powerful economic player, which has access to vast financial reserves and the ability to influence borrowing costs across an economy.
He has denied involvement in the criminal probe, which he said had nothing to do with interest rates, while maintaining he has a right to express his views.
I think it's fine what I'm doing, he said.
But economists say Trump keeps up his attacks at the risk of the economy, arguing that hard-won evidence shows central banks deliver the best results when they operate without political pressure.
Even if the Fed became a tool of the president, analysts believe the US economy was unlikely to face as severe a fallout as smaller nations like Argentina and Turkey.
But some say there are already signs the fight is having consequences, pointing to an 8% fall in the value of the dollar against a basket of currencies over the last year.
Since the criminal probe became public, key Wall Street leaders and members of Congress, including some Republicans, have spoken up forcefully in defense of the Fed.
Analysts say they think the Fed will be able to maintain confidence in its policies, noting that it sets interest rates via a committee with 12 members, of whom the president appoints only seven and who each have long, staggered terms.
Redrado said he remained hopeful that the strength of US institutions would prevail, unlike in Argentina, while warning that Trump was running unnecessary risks.
President Trump is really defeating himself by having this kind of fight, he said. He should know better.
}
