Puerto Ricans demand governor resign

Puerto Rico prepared for hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s resignation to block one of the island’s busiest highways Monday morning. Organizers called the protest in the capital city of San Juan “660,510 + 1,” indicating more people want Rosselló to leave office than the 660,510 who voted for him in the last election. The governor said Sunday he would not seek another term in 2020 but refused to step down immediately. Many of his deputies have resigned after an investigative organization released hundreds of pages of sometimes-obscene private chats between him and other government officials. “I hear you,” Rosselló said. “I have made mistakes, and I have apologized.”

Monday will be the 10th consecutive day of protests in the U.S. territory. Several U.S. congressmen from both parties, some Democratic presidential candidates, and the island’s nonvoting representative in the House of Representatives also continued pushing for Rosselló’s ouster. “The people are not going to go away,” said Johanna Soto, a citizen from the northeastern city of Carolina. “That’s what he’s hoping for, but we outnumber him.” The largest newspaper in the territory, El Nuevo Dia, ran a front-page headline that said, “Governor, it’s time to listen to the people: You have to resign.”