Tag Archives: Governor Ricardo Rossello

Thousands fill streets of San Juan to demand Puerto Rico’s governor resign

FILE PHOTO - Demonstrators protest for the resignation of Puerto Rico's governor Ricardo Rossello in San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 21, 2019. REUTERS/Gabriella N. Baez

(Reuters) – Thousands of people began pouring into the streets of San Juan on Monday morning in massive demonstrations to demand that Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello resign over offensive chat messages.

FILE PHOTO: Puerto Rico's new governor Ricardo Rossello addresses the audience during his swear-in ceremony outside the Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Alvin Baez/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Puerto Rico’s new governor Ricardo Rossello addresses the audience during his swear-in ceremony outside the Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Alvin Baez/File Photo

Rossello’s announcement on Sunday that he would not seek re-election next year and would resign as head of the New Progressive Party seemed to have little effect on the crowds, who called for him to immediately step down as governor.

Crowds of people, some waving the U.S. island territory’s flag, gathered near San Juan’s baseball stadium for the latest in a series of more than a week of protests in the capital and elsewhere.

There is also a call for a general strike from trade unions. Many business owners decided to close shops and offices for the day, media reported.

Rossello, 40, asked for forgiveness and said he respected the wishes of Puerto Ricans in a message broadcast online on Sunday.

“I know that apologizing is not enough,” Rossello said in a video posted on Facebook. “A significant sector of the population has been protesting for days. I’m aware of the dissatisfaction and discomfort they feel. Only my work will help restore the trust of these sectors.”

His comments drew outrage from many Puerto Ricans, with social media videos showing San Juan residents leaning out of apartment windows banging pots and pans.

The publication on July 13 of sexist and homophobic chat messages between Rossello and top aides unleashed simmering resentment over his handling of devastating hurricanes in 2017, alleged corruption in his administration, and the island’s bankruptcy process.

“‘#Resign Ricky isn’t just a call for him to resign from the party, but from his seat as the top official,” Linda Michelle, an industrial engineer and Puerto Rico radio personality, tweeted on Sunday. “Whoever wasn’t sure about going to the march tomorrow has now made up their mind to go.”

“POWER OF THE PEOPLE”

Puerto Rico’s nonvoting representative to the U.S. Congress, as well as Democratic presidential candidates and lawmakers, have called for the governor to step aside after nine days of sometimes violent protests.

“Once again: Rossell must resign,” U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tweeted on Sunday in response to his video.

But Puerto Rico’s Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, who may take over leadership of the pro-statehood PNP, said Rossello’s actions “put an end to part of the controversies and trauma hitting our people”.

Puerto Rico House Speaker Carlos Mendez, also of the PNP, appointed an independent panel on Friday to investigate whether the chats warranted impeachment.

“I welcome the process started by the legislative assembly, which I will confront with complete truth,” Rossello said in the video.

The political turmoil comes at a critical stage in the island’s bankruptcy process as it tries to restructure some $120 billion in debt and pension obligations.

It has also raised concerns among U.S. lawmakers who are weighing the island’s requests for billions of federal dollars for healthcare and work to recover from Hurricane Maria, which led to nearly 3,000 deaths.

Opposing Rossello are a raft of Puerto Rican celebrities ranging from singer Ricky Martin and rapper Bad Bunny to “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Martin, a target of the governor’s chats, said he would march with protesters on Monday.

“I want to feel the power of the people,” Martin, 47, said in a Facebook video, urging legislative leaders to start an impeachment process.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Additional reporting by Luis Valentin Ortiz in San Juan, Karen Pierog in Chicago, Zach Fagenson in Miami and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Jonathan Oatis)

Puerto Rico governor knocks U.S. Army Corps response to restoring power after hurricane

Cars drive under a partially collapsed utility pole, after the island was hit by Hurricane Maria in September, in Naguabo, Puerto Rico

By Nick Brown and Jessica Resnick-Ault

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lacked urgency in restoring power to the storm-hit island, and that it was pushing the clean-up effort down the road.

The Army Corp was tasked as the leading federal agency to oversee power restoration in Puerto Rico about a week after the U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria.

Speaking to Reuters on a trip to New York, where he plans to meet Governor Andrew Cuomo, Rossello deflected to the Army Corps some of the criticism his administration has faced since Maria made landfall on Sept. 20.

Rossello and the island’s power authority, PREPA, were criticized for initially declining to seek so-called mutual aid from other U.S. public power utilities after the storm knocked out electricity to all of Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents.

That decision has become a focal point because it partly spurred PREPA to sign a no-bid contract with private firm Whitefish Energy Holdings – a deal Rossello canceled on Sunday after an uproar over its provisions.

Rossello has since sought mutual aid from utilities in New York and Florida.

But the initial decision to forgo it, he said on Thursday, was due in part to an understanding with the Army Corps that it could help restore power to Puerto Rico within 45 days, and would foot the bill at a time when the island’s bankrupt government could not afford to shell out much cash.

Six weeks after the storm, only about 30 percent of the island’s grid has been restored.

“We are very unsatisfied with the urgency the Corps” has shown, Rossello said. “Everything that has been done right now has been done by PREPA or the subcontractors PREPA has had.”

Jeff Hawk, a spokesman for the Army Corps, said in an emailed statement that “contracts usually take days to a couple of weeks, so we are moving quickly.”

Rossello also said he had some concerns about new parameters laid out on Tuesday by the federal board managing Puerto Rico’s finances, which would require his administration to submit a revised draft of a fiscal turnaround plan for the island by Dec. 22.

“We are in the process of answering to the board some of our concerns with the timelines,” Rossello said, adding that some of the parameters “are appropriate, and some are not, given the lack of information and the level of devastation in Puerto Rico.”

Puerto Rico filed the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history this year to restructure $72 billion in debt.

Rossello said the revised plan would be centered around a strategy of reducing the size of government, boosting private sector partnerships, and reforming education and healthcare systems.

 

(Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Susan Thomas)