Protests turned into celebrations Thursday as residents of Puerto Rico cheered the news that their embattled governor will be resigning. Frustration on the island had been growing ever since a slew of insulting chat messages from the governor and his administration were leaked to the public.
Protesters maintain, however, that their work has just begun, as another march, attended by hundreds, took place in the city of San Juan on Thursday. Those in attendance called for "radical change," they want to clean house of the current administration because the political class is corrupt.
Rosselló Will Leave Office in August
Gov. Ricardo Rosselló offered his resignation close to midnight on Wednesday via Facebook Live. He said he will officially leave office on August 2. His term was set to end in 2021.
The Protesters
One of the protesters who attended was former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, whom Rosselló insulted in one of the leaked group chats.
"I mean, it's just a culmination of dragging this out unnecessarily. It added a lot of tension to the 10 or 12 days of just a lot of excitement and demands that he resign," Mark-Viverito said. "He was definitely a governor who in that chat was exposing his own moral character, and obviously it was a very flawed moral character, him and all the others that participated in that conversation."
What Happens Next
The line of succession, according to the constitution of Puerto Rico, calls for the Puerto Rican secretary of state to succeed the governor. However, the sectary of state already resigned, along with the more than 50 other officials in Rosselló's administration. The next person in line would be Sectary of Justice Wanda Vázquez. She says she is ready to lead Puerto Rico, but many protesters have called for her to resign as well. In the meantime, sources say Rosselló is actively looking for a replacement for the secretary of state who would be able to carry out his term until 2021.