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| Thousands demand resignation of Puerto Rico’s governor |
| 2019-07-19 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Thousands marched in Puerto Rico for a fifth day on Wednesday demanding the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rossello, following corruption accusations and the leak of text chats in which he made sexist and homophobic remarks. To the chant of "Ricky, renuncia!" ("Ricky, resign!") large crowds gathered in the capital San Juan clamoring for Rossello to leave office -- which he is refusing to do. Local celebrity performers such as rapper Benito Martinez ("Bad Bunny"), pop icon Ricky Martin and Rene Perez ("Residente") had urged their fellow Puerto Ricans to demonstrate. "Not just me, but many Puerto Ricans will hit the streets to demonstrate for what is correct," rapper Martinez told the Spanish-language Telemundo network before heading to the march. Police fired tear gas at the crowd on Monday after a fire broke out near the government headquarters. Five protesters were arrested. The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is a US territory and residents are American citizens, but it does not have the same congressional representation accorded to states. Rossello is under pressure after US federal agents arrested contractors and government officials -- including former education secretary Julia Keleher -- on corruption charges. The protests erupted after the Center for Investigative Journalism on Saturday released 889 pages of text chats on the encrypted messaging app Telegram in which Rossello and 12 other male administration members criticize officials, politicians and journalists. They shared memes, jokes and crude sexual insults, according to the Center and an excerpt published by local daily El Nuevo Dia. In one exchange, chief financial officer Christian Sobrino makes homophobic references to Latin superstar Martin. Martin, of "Livin’ la Vida Loca" and "She Bangs" fame, vented his fury in a video posted on Twitter. "They mocked our dead, they mocked women, they mocked the LGBT community, they made fun of people with physical and mental disabilities, they made fun of obesity," he said. "It’s enough -- this cannot be." Demonstrators are also angry over Rossello’s handling of the Hurricane Maria emergency in 2017, which left nearly 3,000 dead, and the island in financial crisis. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 A friend (originally from Puerto Rico) just got back from visiting family there and said he didn't see a lot of significant problems, and that the worst ones were the same as before the hurricane. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2019-07-19 20:49 |
| #4 you mean like the mayor of San Juan? Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2019-07-19 13:14 |
| #3 And Mayors too. Don't forget Mayors. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2019-07-19 09:00 |
| #2 Trump:"Told ya so. You're welcome" |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2019-07-19 01:22 |
| #1 not just the executive branch officials in the legislative branch and many municipal officials have been charged over the past year and not just this year, corruption is endemic in PR, almost everyone has to pay a bribe at some point and sometimes you have to pay twice because the first guy wasn't the right guy to bribe |
| Posted by: lord garth 2019-07-19 01:12 |