Puerto Rican protesters demand governor quit
Rosselló’s leaked chats leave islanders outraged
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Waving flags, chanting and banging pots and pans, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans filled a central highway Monday to demand the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló in what appeared to be the biggest protest on the island in nearly two decades.
The demonstration came 10 days after the leak of 889 pages of obscenitylaced online chats between Rosselló and some of his close advisers. In the conversations, they insulted women and mocked constituents, including victims of Hurricane Maria.
The leak has intensified long-smoldering anger in the U.S. territory over persistent corruption and mismanagement by the island’s two main political parties, a severe debt crisis, a sickly economy and a slow recovery from Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017.
“The people have awakened after so much outrage,” said 69-year-old retired nurse Benedicta Villegas. “There are still people without roofs and highways without lights. The chat was the tip of the iceberg.”
Jannice Rivera, a 43-year-old mechanical engineer who lives in Houston but was born and raised in Puerto Rico and flew in solely to join the protest, said: “This is just the beginning. Finally, the government’s mask has fallen.”
The crowd surged along the Amerisaid can Expressway despite the punishing heat – toddlers, teenagers, professionals and the elderly, all dripping in sweat and smiling as they waved Puerto Rico flags large and small and hoisted signs.
One group dragged a portable karaoke machine and chanted, “Ricky, resign!”
“This is to show that the people respect themselves,” said Ana Carrasquillo, 26. “We’ve put up with corruption for so many years.”
Rosselló, a Democrat, announced Sunday evening that he would not quit, but sought to calm the unrest by promising not to seek reelection in 2020 or continue as head of his pro-statehood political party. That only further angered his critics, who have mounted demonstrations for more than a week.
“The people are not going to go away,” Johanna Soto, of the city of Carolina. “That’s what he’s hoping for, but we outnumber him.”
The territory’s largest newspaper, El Nuevo Dia, added to the pressure with the front-page headline: “Governor, it’s time to listen to the people: You have to resign.”
Organizers labeled the planned road shutdown “660,510 + 1” – which represents the number of people who voted for Rosselló plus one more – to reject his argument that he is not resigning because he was chosen by the people. In a video posted Sunday night on Facebook, Rosselló said he welcomed people’s freedom to express themselves.
Monday was the 10th consecutive day of protests, and more are being called for later in the week.