Puerto Rico’s embattled governor Ricardo Rosselló said on Wednesday that he will step down from the island’s most senior political position. Throughout the week, massive protests calling for his resignation brought the US territory to a halt, with some news outlets describing the demonstrations as the largest in its recent history.
Rosselló’s position became increasingly precarious after the Puerto Rican Center for Investigative Journalism released a series of communications between Rosselló and his staff containing sexist, homophobic and violent content. Amongst the communications were mocking references to victims of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017.
On Sunday, Rosselló stepped down as leader of the New Progressive party and pledged not to stand for re-election in 2020. However, protesters and politicians from both Puerto Rico and mainland USA made clear that they would only be satisfied with nothing short of resignation. On Wednesday, attorneys working for Puerto Rico’s speaker of the House of Representatives, Carlos Méndez Núñez, said that they found three instances of content within the communications that constitute impeachable offenses.