Well, it's being used in the broader definition of a coup which is to 'remove a leader by force', though everybody seems to be using different terms for the whole thing, mainly depending on the point of view.
Guaido's ambassador to the US is calling it a constitutional crisis.It appears to be a combination coup and revolution/popular uprising. Gotta wonder if the coup part is spontaneous or planned though.
Usually, only the leadership matters when it comes to figuring out which is the case.
Anyway, shit is going down right now so expect the thread to get updated pretty fast.
Is not a coup on the basis they (Maduro and Co) aren't the state anymore, not since last january 10th and remain in power by momentun and brute force, not by true democratic mechanisms.
A de-facto State is still a State, my friend. And States don't need to be democratic. They just need to Be. You could argue that Guaidó has splintered the State into his own and Maduro's, but he was part of the State when he began the whole process, which is what tends to be used when it comes down to classification.
As I said, the word used depends on your point of view.
Starting to get bloody now. Context is that a video shows National Guard troops running over protestors, but the video isn't in the link itself, but is linked at the The Guardian liveblog post.
edit: *sees thread title change* I wouldn't call it a 'Venezuelan civil war' since it doesn't really meet the definition of a civil war, more of a popular revolt. If theres any counterprotestors clashing against the protestors, I haven't heard anything about it.