Puerto Rico’s Rosselló: Teflon to toxic
Once-admired governor now fighting to survive
Embattled Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló clung to power Tuesday as his political crisis deepened, massive protests continued unabated and calls for his ouster intensified.
A judge issued search warrants early Tuesday for the cellphones of government officials tied to a myriad of recently leaked vulgar online chats between Rosselló and some of the top male leaders of his government. Every day brings more resignations and hints that criminal charges could follow.
Tens of thousands of protesters shut down streets Monday in the Hato Rey section of San Juan to demand Rosselló’s resignation. Organizers are considering another massive protest for Saturday.
“His political base is dwindling to almost nonexistent,” Carlos A. Suárez Carrasquillo, a Puerto Rico native who lectures on Latin American at the University of Florida, told USA TODAY. “But if anyone can survive this, it is him.”
Rosselló resigned the presidency of his political party and announced he
won’t run in next year’s gubernatorial election. But he refused to resign as governor, saying he is focused on completing the island’s recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Maria and on battling political corruption.
“The people are talking and I have to listen,” Rosselló said in a brief statement Tuesday. “These have been moments of total reflection and of making decisions that are executed based on the concerns of the people of Puerto Rico and their best interests.”
The controversy began less than two weeks ago with the arrest of Rosselló associates on corruption charges. The next day, the crass text conversations began emerging. One female political foe was described as a “whore.”
Popular San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and beloved singer Ricky Martin were targeted. Comments were made against women, disabled people and even those suffering after Maria.
Rosselló, who has apologized, said Tuesday that he would address only government-related matters “as promised, and as expected by the people.”
Rosselló’s rule can be divided neatly into the before and the after. Before the chats burst into the public domain, the handsome and charming governor appeared to have a Teflon coat.
Rosselló, 40, graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in biomedical engineering and economics before earning a doctorate in the former at the University of Michigan. His father, Pedro Rosselló, a physician, was Puerto Rico’s seventh governor, from 1993 to 2001. Ricardo Rosselló virtually grew up in “La Fortaleza” – the governor’s mansion – and his political career was nurtured in his father’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
He ran for governor with little experience and a campaign built around technological solutions to Puerto Rico’s many problems. He won a fouryear term and took office Jan. 2, 2017.
Suárez says Rosselló remained popular even a couple of weeks ago. He weathered criticism for a “difficult” recovery after Maria and appeared wellpositioned to survive the latest round of political corruption, Suárez says.
But the tiny island of 3 million people was stunned, hurt and angered by the callousness of the chats.
Calls for his resignation have come from across the island and the USA. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic, called him “grossly incompetent.” Puerto Rico’s nonvoting member of Congress, Jenniffer Gonzalez, Florida Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and New York Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez have called for him to go.
“Either he felt untouchable or he felt like they would never get out,” Suárez says. “But no one could foresee the mass mobilization of the protests, the effectiveness of the protest leaders in getting people out on the streets.”