A determined Puerto Rican community is now at ease after Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced his resignation Wednesday (July 24). The decision arrived after his private chats, corrupted investigations, and arrests leaked to the public resulting in the country’s mass protest.
NBC News reports that his resignation will go into effect on Aug. 2 after the former governor recorded a video published on Facebook where he trumpeted his many accomplishments while in office including making strides for the Caribbean nation’s communities and fighting for corruption.
“I was willing to face any challenge, fully understanding that I would prevail against any accusation or process,” Rosselló said. “I hope this decision serves to citizen reconciliation.”
Enormous crowds stood outside the governor’s mansion Tuesday evening (July 23) as he publicly stepped down, cheering and chanting “Puerto Rico! Puerto Rico!” followed by “Ricky, te botamos! (“Ricky, we threw you out!”).
For nearly two weeks, protests rang out throughout the United States territory which shut down a major highway on Monday (July 22) in San Juan. Popular Puerto Rican musicians joined in solidarity with their fans on social media while a protest song produced by iLe and Bad Bunny “Afilando los Cuchillos” (“Sharpening the Knives”) became a street anthem, The New York Times reports.
Rosselló’s resignation ends a Puerto Rican political empire as his father Pedro J. Rosselló was governor from 1993 through 2000. Elder Rosselló resigned from the New Progressive Party just days before his son stepped down as governor.
