Puerto Rico Grinds To a Halt

GENERAL STRIKE DEMANDS ROSSELLO RESIGNATION

Photo by Twitter user @jorge32389

Thousands of Puerto Ricans are pouring into the streets today to demand the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló after the revelation of screen captures of chats with his advisors and cabinet members on the Telegram app. Rosselló has resigned as president of his party, the PNP, and has said that he will not run for reelection in 2020, but he refuses to step down as Governor.

Protests have rocked the archipelago for the better part of the last two weeks. But today's demonstrations are expected to be the largest yet, possibly the largest in Puerto Rico's history. As of the time of this writing, Las Americas Expressway was already shut down due to the crowds, and thousands are gathering at Hiram Bithorn Stadium for a march later today to Jesús Pinero Avenue.

Other marches and protests will be taking place across Puerto Rico, and protests are expected in front of the Governor's mansion -- La Fortaleza -- in Old San Juan.

Keep up with the latest by checking out the Puerto Rico Monitor's Twitter feed. Live video
of today's events  from WAPA TV will be available below all day today.

PUERTO RICO GOVERNMENT IN CRISIS

GOV. ROSSELLO IN HOT WATER OVER LEAKED CHATS

The government of Puerto Rico was thrown into turmoil starting on July 8th, when screenshots of chat sessions involving Governor Ricardo Rosselló on the Telegram application where made public. A few more pages where released the next day, and on July 13th, 889 pages of the chat screenshots were released by the Center for Investigative Journalism. The chats in question happened during December 2018 and January 2019.

The chat screens included several troubling statements, slurs, jokes and threats made by several of the chat participants: the Governor, Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marín, Public Affairs Secretary Ramón Rosario, legal counsel Alfonso Orona, CFO Christian Sobrino and lobbyist Elías Sanchez, among others. 

The chat scandal comes just days after the arrest of former PR Education Secretary Julia Keleher and other Rosselló administration officials on corruption charges

Some of the highlights from the chats:

• Participants joked about killing San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.
• Homophobic slurs and other insults where used against member of the press, political opponents and celebrities like Ricky Martin.
• Insults against the federal Financial Control Board that oversees the island's finances.
• Mockery of the Governor's neighbors in Cayey -- where Rosselló has a vacation home --  and their poverty.
• Jokes about the backlog of dead bodies in Puerto Rico's forensic science center.
• Coordination of actions by online trolls on behalf of the Governor, rigging of online polls and    collusion with journalists in order to receive favorable coverage.
• Jokes about the weight of a Rosselló campaign volunteer.
• Directive by Rosselló to "sic" the police on or jeopardize the employment of political rivals.
• The Governor expressed a desire to "take care of" Arnaldo Claudio, the federal monitor assigned to oversee Puerto Rico's troubled police force.

The full text of the chats (in Spanish) is available as a pdf at this link. 

Some of the most controversial remarks, translated to English, can be found here.

Numerous politicians, celebrities and private citizens have called for the Governor's resignation. So far, he refuses to step down, although some cabinet officials involved in the chats have announced their resignations. Widespread anti-Rosselló  protests have rocked the city of San Juan, starting the weekend of the chat revelations and continuing into this week.

For ongoing updates on the political crisis and the protests happening  in response to the chat scandal, keep an eye on our Twitter feed. The latest headlines and updates can also be seen on the ticker at the top of this page.