Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has gone quiet as hundreds of thousands of protesters swarm his official residence, La Fortaleza in Old San Juan, calling for his resignation.
Puerto Ricans have been gathering outside of the residence all week after leaked chats showed Rosselló and top advisers insulting women and political opponents and even mocking victims of Hurricane Maria, which ravaged the island in 2017. Meanwhile, the governor himself has gone nearly silent, departing from his trend of regular public appearances.
During his tenure, the governor has been known to hold a handful of press conferences per week, taking questions in both Spanish and English, but he has appeared in public on just four occasions since July 11. All but one appearance were “highly controlled” situations.
New protests broke out on Friday afternoon as unionized workers organized a march to La Fortaleza. Smaller protests are expected across the island this weekend before what will likely be a massive demonstration on Monday.
Calls for Rosselló to resign are even coming from U.S. Democratic presidential candidates, with Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Julian Castro being the first to demand his resignation. Sen. Elizabeth Warren later followed in his footsteps with a call of her own. On Saturday, former Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 front-runner, echoed their sentiments. President Trump has also joined in the criticism, slamming Puerto Rico’s leadership amid the chaos.
Rosselló has apologized for the messages but refuses to step down.
During one of his few recent press conferences, Rosselló asked the people of Puerto Rico to forgive him for his public comments, which included derogatory statements about a New York female politician of Puerto Rican descent and vulgar references to singer Ricky Martin’s homosexuality.
However, his own representative has resigned because of the controversy, and residents don’t appear to be ready to forgive him any time soon.
“He was making an effort, carrying out his governor’s role,” said Jessica Castro, a 38-year-old San Juan resident attending a Friday evening protest with her family. “He was mocking everyone behind their backs, the people who believed in him. People are really disillusioned. He’s got to go.”
