Like many others, I'm watching the events in Nicaragua closely (and not just because I'm going there in a few months). There are real concerns about democracy and stability in that country.
Over the past few days we saw a group of government-backed violent protesters in Nicaragua block a legislative session and then fire upon the building that the legislature tried to use as an alternate location.
If this had been the military blocking and firing upon a branch of government instead of a mob, we'd be calling it a "coup" or a "coup attempt." We know what to call it when we see a military do it. The historical images of those events (both recent and not so recent) are etched in the mind of every person who has studied Latin America.
Can there be a "mob coup"? Is there a difference when a branch of government is attacked or overthrown by the military or a violent group of protesters? How do you differentiate between protests defending democracy or fighting for democracy and protests overthrowing it? Does it matter for the OAS democracy charter?
I don't know the answers. Those are just some of the many questions the situations in Nicaragua, Honduras and other countries are raising in the hemisphere. It would be nice to see a real debate about these at the OAS, UNASUR and elsewhere.
