Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is facing strong calls for his resignation after leaked documents revealed the governor had made disparaging and controversial remarks in private chats. Protesters on Sunday shouted, “We will kick you out!” and “Ricky resign!”
The leaked chats, provided by the Center for Investigative Journalism, revealed several incendiary remarks made by the governor to his inner circle in over 900 pages of recorded conversation. Rosselló wrote of the federal board responsible for overseeing the Puerto Rican financial crisis, “Dear Oversight Board, Go F*** Yourself.” The pages also include derogatory remarks about women and a homophobic mention of pop star Ricky Martin.
In one chat, Puerto Rican official Christian Sobrino Vega jokingly suggested to Rosselló that he should shoot the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz. The governor reportedly responded, “You’d be doing me a grand favor.”
Sobrino Vega and Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marín, who also participated in the chat, both resigned in the wake of the leaked pages. Rosselló asserted that he will not resign, saying, “Despite the difficulties that we have internal and external, the work will continue and the agenda will be completed in all areas, social, educational, safety, health, infrastructure, recovery and everything related to the financial situation that is a high priority among others. You do not give up on work already started, and today, more than ever, a lot of people are counting on my commitment to do so.”
Those calling for Rosselló’s resignation assert that his chats, which include insinuations of violence against journalists and suggest turning political opponents over to the police, reveal that he is corrupt and violated the trust of citizens by what he said.
