Why what happened in Bolivia was a coup

Bolivia woke up to a new interim president today in Jeanine Áñez, who was serving as the second deputy to Bolivia’s Senate President. She proclaimed herself the new head of state — even without being elected by her peers, as the country’s constitution determines. She promptly promised to hold new, “clean” elections soon.

Brazil quickly recognized Ms. Áñez as Bolivia’s legitimate leader, with Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo claiming that “all [democratic] rites have been respected,” and that Ms. Áñez “takes office legally.”

But did she? To answer that question, let’s first recapitulate the Bolivian crisis.

A timetable of the crisis in Bolivia

• 2016–2017. Three years ago, Evo Morales’ supporters called for a referendum to change the Constitution and allow him to run for a fourth consecutive term. The population voted no. The following year, however, the Supreme Court granted Mr. Morales that right, accepting his argument that by not being able to pursue his third re-election, his human rights were being violated.
• October 20, 2019. On election day, early polls suggested that Mr. Morales would have to meet challenger Carlos Mesa in a runoff stage. The vote count was suspended and, when it was resumed, the results gave the president a first-round win.
• October 22, 2019. Protests erupted across Bolivia, with the opposition accusing the government of tampering with the polls.
• October...