So he's gone. From the sound of it things escalated to nearing the point of a full-on violent uprising before he finally stepped down, following various other resignations. I'm glad it ended before things came to that point.Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello says he is resigning effective Aug. 2 in the face of public furor over an obscenity-laced online chat that showed the governor and close advisers insulting women and mocking constituents including the victims of Hurricane Maria.
The 40-year-old Rossello is the first governor to resign in the modern history of Puerto Rico, a territory of 3.2 million United States citizens that is mired in a 13-year recession and still recovering from the Category 4 hurricane two years ago.
Public outrage over the leaked chats and federal corruption charges against former government officials sparked massive demonstrations across San Juan in the largest protest movement on the island since Puerto Ricans successfully marched to demand an end to U.S. Navy military training on the island of Vieques more than 15 years ago.
Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez will become the new governor.
As protests over messaging scandal grow, Puerto Rico orders search of governor's phone
Rossello, a first-term governor for the U.S. territory, had previously resisted calls to step down over a scandal local media have dubbed "Rickyleaks."
Puerto Rico has been rocked by protests for nearly two weeks after offensive chat messages from July 13 between Rossello and his aides, several of whom have already quit, were made public. The messages contained profane language used to describe female politicians and gay Puerto Rican celebrities, including singer Ricky Martin.
An independent panel of lawyers commissioned by the speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives to investigate the offensive messages found four felonies and one misdemeanor may have been committed during the Telegram message group chats, one of the lawyers, Luis Rodriguez-Rivera, said in an email.
Thousands of protesters outside the powder-blue and white governor's mansion grew ever more impatient for news from Rossello earlier on Wednesday. Rows of riot police marched past the residence, dubbed "the Fortress," in preparation for what some thought could become a night of confrontation if Rossello did not step down.
Puerto Rico's constitution says the island's secretary of state would become governor in the event of a resignation, but Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marin left the post due to the chat scandal. Next in line is Vazquez, whom many protesters reject because of her ties to the governor.
A string of Rossello's closest aides have stepped down as prosecutors investigated the scandal. The governor's chief of staff Ricardo Llerandi resigned on Tuesday, citing concerns for the safety of his family.
I'm curious as to what exactly was said in that chat to constitute multiple felonies, but if so, then good riddance. I only wish that certain other (ie, Orange) officials could be so easily forced out of office, or that the American people had the collective integrity and motivation to take to the streets like this and force them out.
And these are people our country denies the vote to for explicitly racist reasons. Puerto Rico has been put through hell in recent years. The least we can do is make them a fucking state already.
