Puerto Rico governor to resign over chat leak
July 25, 2019
Crowds cheered in front of the governor's mansion in San Juan when Governor Ricardo Rossello announced he would be stepping down in face of protests. The online announcement followed an hourslong wait on Wednesday evening, after the leader of the US territory's House of Representatives, Carlos Mendez, threatened to launch impeachment procedures.
Rossello said his resignation would take effect on August 2.
"I trust that Puerto Rico will continue united and move forward as it always has," Rossello said in the message published on the government's Facebook page.
"And I hope that this decision will serve as a call for citizen reconciliation."
Leaks and corruption
The 40-year-old politician faced protests and major upheaval earlier this month, when his online chat with 11 other people, including government officials, was leaked. In it, Rossello calls one woman a "whore" and another "daughter of a bitch." He also makes fun of an obese man with whom he posed for a photo. Other participants, all of them male, also made jokes at the expense of constituents, including survivors of hurricane Maria, and made sexist and homophobic remarks.
Parallel to the online scandal, Rossello was also shaken by the FBI arresting Puerto Rico's former education secretary, Julia Keleher, and five other people, for suspected wrongdoing involving federal funds.
The revelations prompted mass protests in the US territory. On Sunday, Rossello gave up the leadership of his party and pledged not to seek reelection in 2020 in an apparent bid to appease his critics. However, he also repeatedly said he would not be resigning. His latest statement to that effect was on Tuesday, just a day before his announcement.
'Highest degree of humility'
Addressing the protesters on Wednesday, he said that their "demands have been overwhelming and I've received them with highest degree of humility."
Rossello took office in 2017, the year when the archipelago was hit by Hurricane Maria. The storm killed nearly 3,000 people and caused over $100 billion (€90 billion) in property damage. Nearly two years after Maria, the territory is still struggling with the aftermath.
Following the governor's resignation, the office would usually be claimed by Puerto Rico's secretary of state. However, Secretary of State Rivera Marin recently resigned over the leaked messages, so Rossello is to be succeeded by Justice Secretary Wanda Vasquez.
dj/msh (Reuters, AP, dpa)
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