Puerto Ricans savor governor's resignation, chart new course
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — After weeks of flagwaving, cowbell-clanging protests in the streets, Puerto Ricans on Thursday celebrated the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, even as they debated where the movement should go from here and how to root out the corruption and other chronic problems that fueled the unrest.
Some protesters immediately set their sights next on driving out Rosselló's designated successor as governor, Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez.
The governor's unprecedented resignation, which came at nearly midnight on Wednesday after a series of huge demonstrations, was a big victory for the tens of thousands who took to the streets. To some, it seemed to open an endless array of possibilities on this U.S. island territory of 3.2 million people.
“It's a new world,” said political expert Mario Negrón Portillo. “This can bring about change and consequences that we've never seen before.”
Rosselló was driven from office after a leak of vulgar and offensive chat messages between him and his close aides infuriated Puerto Ricans already tired of deep-seated corruption and mismanagement that have sent the island into a 13-year recession, a $70 billion debt crisis and the equivalent of bankruptcy.
Many, too, are resentful over the slow and fitful recovery from Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, killing thousands.
Some pledged to continue protesting against Vázquez, while others said they will no longer vote along party lines in the 2020 general elections.
The vast majority, however, were still savoring a historic event that many believe will permanently alter the course of an island long controlled by two main parties divided over what political status best favors Puerto Rico — statehood or territory.