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Puerto
Rico
prepares
for
massive
protest
to expel
governor
By
DÁNICA
COTO
5-6
minutes
SAN
JUAN,
Puerto
Rico
(AP) —
Puerto
Rico
braced
early
Monday
for what
many
people
expected
to be
one of
the
biggest
protests
ever
seen in
the U.S.
territory
as irate
islanders
pledged
to drive
Gov.
Ricardo
Rosselló
from
office.
Hundreds
of
thousands
of
people
were
expected
to take
over one
of the
island’s
busiest
highways
Monday
morning
to press
demands
for the
resignation
of
Rosselló
over an
obscenity-laced
leaked
online
chat the
governor
had with
allies
as well
as
federal
corruption
charges
leveled
against
his
administration.
The
anticipated
march in
the
capital
of San
Juan
came a
day
after
Rosselló
announced
that he
would
not
quit,
but
sought
to calm
the
unrest
by
promising
not to
seek
reelection
or
continue
as head
of his
pro-statehood
political
party.
That
only
further
angered
his
critics,
who have
mounted
street
demonstrations
for more
than a
week.
“The
people
are not
going to
go
away,”
said
Johanna
Soto, of
the
northeastern
city of
Carolina.
“That’s
what
he’s
hoping
for, but
we
outnumber
him.”
Organizers
labeled
the
planned
road
shutdown
“660,510
+ 1,”
which
represents
the
number
of
people
who
voted
for
Rosselló
plus one
more to
reject
his
argument
that he
is not
resigning
because
he was
chosen
by the
people.
Monday
would be
the 10th
consecutive
day of
protests,
and more
were
being
called
for
later in
the
week.
The
island’s
largest
mall,
Plaza de
las
Américas,
closed
ahead of
the
protest
as did
dozens
of other
businesses.
In a
video
posted
Sunday
night on
Facebook,
Rosselló
said he
welcomed
people’s
freedom
to
express
themselves.
He also
said he
was
looking
forward
to
defending
himself
against
the
process
of
impeachment,
whose
initial
stages
are
being
explored
by
Puerto
Rico’s
legislature.
“I
hear
you,” he
said the
brief
video.
“I have
made
mistakes
and I
have
apologized.”
The
889
pages of
chat on
the
encrypted
app
Telegram
between
the
governor
and 11
close
allies
and
members
of his
administration,
all men,
showed
the
governor
and his
advisers
insulting
women
and
mocking
constituents,
including
the
victims
of
Hurricane
Maria.
Hours
after
Rosselló
spoke
Sunday,
another
top
government
official
submitted
his
resignation.
“Unfortunately
the
events
in
recent
weeks,
including
the
attitudes
reflected
in the
comments
of
officials
and
advisers
of the
current
administration,
do not
match my
values
and
principles,”
wrote
Gerardo
Portela,
principal
investment
officer,
president
of
Puerto
Rico’s
Economic
Development
Bank and
executive
director
of the
Housing
Finance
Authority.
Since
the chat
leaked
July 13,
hundreds
of
thousands
of
Puerto
Ricans
have
marched
to
Rosselló’s
official
residence
in the
largest
protest
movement
on the
island
since
Puerto
Ricans
successfully
demonstrated
to bring
an end
to U.S.
Navy
military
training
on the
island
of
Vieques
more
than 15
years
ago.
Ramphis
Castro
of
Guayama
arrived
in San
Juan
late
Sunday
after
more
than an
hour-long
drive to
prepare
for
Monday’s
march.
He said
he was
incensed
after
Rosselló’s
announcement
Sunday.
“When is
he going
to say
that
he’s
resigning,”
Castro
exclaimed.
“This
makes
people
even
more
angry.”
The
upheaval
comes as
the U.S.
territory
is
struggling
to
recover
from
Hurricane
Maria
and
trying
to
restructure
part of
$70
billion
in debt
amid a
13-year
recession
in this
territory
of more
than 3
million
American
citizens
who do
not have
full
representation
in
Congress
or a
vote for
president.
Normally,
a
governor
who
resigns
would be
replaced
by
Puerto
Rico’s
secretary
of
state,
but Luis
Rivera
Marín
quit
that job
amid the
uproar
over the
chat, so
the next
in line
would be
the
justice
secretary,
Wanda
Vázquez.
Pressure
on
Rosselló
to step
down has
intensified
as the
chorus
calling
for his
resignation
grew to
include
Puerto
Rico
music
superstars
Ricky
Martin,
Bad
Bunny
and
Residente
and a
string
of U.S.
politicians
including
Congress
members
from
both
parties,
several
Democratic
presidential
candidates
and
Puerto
Rico’s
non-voting
representative
in
Congress.
Rosselló
was
elected
governor
in
November
2016
with
nearly
50% of
the
vote,
and he
had
already
announced
his
intention
to seek
a second
term. A
graduate
of MIT
with a
doctorate
in
genetics,
he is
the son
of
former
Puerto
Rico
Gov.
Pedro
Rosselló,
who flew
to the
island
to
marshal
support
after
the chat
was made
public.
The
governor
belongs
to the
New
Progressive
Party,
which
seeks
statehood
for the
island,
and he
is also
a
Democrat.
Most of
his time
has been
spent
seeking
federal
funds
since
Hurricane
Maria
devastated
the
island
on Sept.
20,
2017,
and
battling
austerity
measures
implemented
by a
federal
control
board
that
Congress
set up
to
oversee
the
island
government’s
finances.
The
upheaval
against
Rosselló
prompted
at least
four
cruise
ships to
cancel
visits
to
Puerto
Rico,
and many
officials
worry
about
the
impact a
resignation
would
have on
the
already
fragile
economy
as the
island
rebuilds
from
Maria, a
Category
4 storm
that
caused
more
than an
estimated
$100
billion
in
damage.
Another
concern
is the
recent
string
of
arrests
involving
federal
corruption
charges
targeting
Puerto
Rico
officials,
among
them two
former
agency
heads,
including
former
education
secretary
Julia
Keleher.
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