Ecuador: So was that a coup attempt?

There are plenty of things to talk about regarding yesterday's events in Ecuador. But for fun, I'll start with the semantics. I saw people arguing all day over the use of the word "coup" or "golpe."

Reasons why it was a coup attempt:

• The biggest reason to consider it a coup attempt is that people were uncertain whether Ecuador's government would survive the crisis. Uncertainty about the government stability made it feel like a coup attempt was taking place.
• The president was held in a hospital against his will by members of the security forces.
• Former President Lucio Gutierrez appeared to use the situation to call for new elections.

Reasons it was not a coup attempt:

• The biggest reason to not consider it a coup attempt is that police protesters did not appear to have the goal of changing the government. They seemed to be protesting to change a law and the situation spiraled out of control. Even at its peak, the police never demanded that President Correa and his government step down or offered a different leader in his place which is a rather vital step in a coup attempt.
• The military fully backed the president and the democratic government. While President Correa's life was in danger, the executive branch as an institution appeared fairly solid throughout the crisis.
• A presidential kidnapping or assassination attempt is not necessarily a coup attempt. The authors have to have the intent of changing the government, not just an individual leader or law.

So what will you call it?

• Feel free to use or not use "coup attempt." You're not wrong if you use it or don't use it. I find myself using that term at times in speaking with people because of the uncertainty of the day. However, I don't think it's completely accurate as the police do not appear to have tried to change who runs the government institutions.
• The word "protest," though that's how it started, doesn't seem to capture the gravity of the situation, and I would recommend something stronger to describe the day's full events.
• Someone yesterday used the term "mutiny," which I thought was an interesting choice in place of coup. Perhaps "insurrection." I've seen the words "insubordination" and "rebellion" in Ecuador's media. More words for consideration.
• "Crisis", "unrest", and "instability" are always good generic terms. I tend to use those when I don't want to fight the semantic argument.

President Correa and his supporters appeared yesterday to want to use the words "coup attempt." History is written by the winners. For that reason, beyond any other definition discussions everyone else has, yesterday's events will likely be known as a "coup attempt."

Finally, it matters what happens after this. If Correa goes on to have a successful term and hand off power democratically to another leader some day, 30 September 2010 will likely be known as the day of the coup attempt against Correa. However, if this is just one in a string of events that threatens or eventually brings down Correa's government, then yesterday will look differently in the history books, perhaps as the start of an insurrection or popular protest movement. Future events over the coming months and years will shape how yesterday is described, so there can't be a complete and full answer one day later.