#RickyRenuncia Protestors Demand Resignation of Puerto Rico’s Governor

By Ayana Byrd Jul 23, 2019

#RickyRenuncia Protestors Demand Resignation of Puerto Rico’s Governor

“Ricky, renuncia, el pueblo te repudia!”

These words were heard across Puerto Rico Monday (July 22). They translate to “Ricky resign, the people reject you” and they were directed at Governor Ricardo Rosselló.

In one of the largest demonstrations ever in a United States territory, about 500,000 people took to the streets—and shut down a highway—demanding the governor's resignation. The movement was sparked when Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism published nearly 900 pages of private texts between Rosselló and 11 male friends and advisors last week.

Messages included Rosselló saying someone should “beat up that whore," in reference to former New York City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; "Ricky Martin is such a male chauvinist that he f—- men because women don't measure up. Pure patriarchy"; and, regarding the dead bodies filling the morgue after 2017’s Hurricane Maria, "…don't we have some cadavers to feed our crows?"

But as The New York Times reports, the protests are also an “eruption of fury over the years of recession, mismanagement, natural disaster and corruption that have fueled a recent exodus.”

Per NPR, Rosselló said on Sunday (July 21) he will not resign, but that he will not run for re-election in 2020. But as the demonstrations show, the people—including government officials—are ready for him to leave now. Using the hashtag #RickyRenuncia (#RickyResign), many took to Twitter to document the ongoing efforts to oust him:  

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rntPuerto Rican celebrities, include Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee and Lin Manuel-Miranda, showed their support for the movement:

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rntAs the day went on, rain threatened the crowds, but they didn’t budge:

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rntProtests were also held in New York City and on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.:

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rntThe demonstrations in San Juan continued until close to midnight, when police began firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors who were in front of the governor’s mansion:

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rntOn Tuesday (July 23), CBS News reports that a judge issued search warrants for the cellphones of Rosselló and the other 11 men involved in the scandal as part of an ongoing investigation:

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Tags

#RickyRenunciaArchivePoliticsPoliticsPuerto RicoRicardo Rossello