The highway, Expreso Las Américas, teemed with people who carried Puerto Rican flags, waved protest signs and chanted to demand the removal of Rosselló, who said Sunday that he would not seek reelection in 2020 but would stay in office through his current term — and face possible impeachment.
Monday’s protest paralyzed San Juan, although it was not clear if organizers had reached their goal of drawing 1 million people — about a third of the island’s population — to the highway.
As the crowd on the highway thinned in the afternoon, people once again packed the street in front of the governor’s mansion, amassing in front of the same barricade where they have gathered for more than a week.
A series of scandalous text messages touched off the demonstrations.
Protests against Rosselló began more than a week ago, after the publication of 889 pages of a leaked group chat between the governor and his closest aides. Besides being offensive, the messages revealed a cozy relationship between the governor and former staff members who now represent special interests.
The crude messages were the final straw for Puerto Ricans who have suffered for years because of economic austerity measures and the devastation of Hurricane Maria.
Trump called the governor ‘terrible.’
“The people of Puerto Rico like me, but the leadership is corrupt and incompetent,” President Donald Trump said during an appearance at the White House with the prime minister of Pakistan on Monday.
The president warned that leaders in Washington were wary of sending aid to Rosselló’s administration — a reason some members of the governor’s own party have cited to demand his resignation.
“The senators are not happy about it and Congress is not happy about it,” Trump said.
Even though many Puerto Ricans agree that their government is flawed, they tend to consider Trump’s criticism offensive.
The president cited his experience holding the Miss Universe pageant twice on the island as evidence that he has “many Puerto Rican friends.”
“I have a real understanding of Puerto Rico,” he said. “I’m the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico.”
Rosselló continued to defend himself in a tough interview.
Perhaps in an attempt to speak directly to Trump, the governor appeared on Fox News on Monday afternoon, where anchor Shepard Smith pressed him on his lost support: “You’re a man on an island by yourself. How long can you stay there?”
“My commitment is to follow through on some of the efforts that I established for the people of Puerto Rico,” Rosselló said in his first one-on-one interview since the political crisis began.
Asked to list the people who still back him, the governor mentioned only the mayor of rural San Sebastián, Javier Jiménez — who later said Rosselló was mistaken. Jiménez wrote on Facebook that he has not asked for the governor’s resignation only because he backs the Legislature’s taking steps toward impeachment.
Rosselló, who was freshly shaven for the appearance after months of having a beard, argued that his administration has already taken steps to combat corruption.
“We need to fix the system,” he said.
Rain showers did not deter the crowds.
Julianna Pérez and her sister, Manuela Hernández, were soaked from the rain that fell on protesters, but they said they felt invigorated by the demonstration.
“This is a new generation,” said Pérez, 24. “We are showing them that we want things done differently. We are going to eliminate partisan politics.”
She said the governor had to answer for a series of debacles, including the number of people who died after the hurricane, education funds that were steered toward favorite contractors and storm aid that went to waste.
The sisters woke up at 4 a.m. to hit the road from Ponce, in the southern part of Puerto Rico. Pérez and Hernández are convinced their journey was worth it.
“This is going to be marked in history,” Pérez said. Her sister finished her sentence: “In the history of Puerto Rico, there will be a before and after: before and after this moment.”
Estefany Bermúdez, a student, said she had never attended a protest before. She was struck by the sea of people that stretched across the highway, even in the pouring rain. People danced and sang under the downpour.
“We have to defend our rights,” Bermúdez said. “We voted for him, and he didn’t do his job well, so now he has to hear us. Now they have to hear us all over the world.”
Music stars, truckers and students — the protests are drawing people from all walks of life.
Attending the march Monday were Puerto Ricans not only from municipalities across the island but also from the vast Puerto Rican diaspora, returning to the island to join the protests.
There were retirees, college students, waiters, electricians, truckers — groups that sometimes protest separately but rarely, if ever, together. Some marchers shared sandwiches to keep their energy up under the blazing sun. The heat index was forecast to exceed 100 degrees.
Ruth Vélez, a 62-year-old retiree, said Hurricane Maria destroyed her house in the municipality of Bayamón and the government’s reconstruction program turned her down for help.
“I lived in that house for 30 years,” she said. “Now I’m on the street.”
Artists Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, Ednita Nazario, Residente and Olga Tañón joined the crowd. Under a banner reading “#RickyGameOver,” Tañón belted out a rendition of “Preciosa,” a well-known patriotic Puerto Rican song. A moment of silence was held for the hurricane victims.
Near the front of the march, protesters held a white banner with black letters that spelled out a message for the governor, “#RickyRenuncia” and “#NiCorruptosNiCobardes” — Neither the corrupt nor the cowardly.
Marchers yelled, “Ricky, ¡renuncia, el pueblo te repudia!” — Ricky, resign, the people reject you.
Mismanagement, a recession and a botched response to Hurricane Maria are at the heart of the crisis.
The protests amount to a rejection of decades of mismanagement by leaders who always seemed to benefit while ordinary Puerto Ricans suffered. Grievances have been building up over 12 years of economic recession, a debt crisis that has prompted layoffs and cutbacks in public services and the botched response to Hurricane Maria.
The chat messages and the arrests this month of six people with ties to the Rosselló government were too much for many Puerto Ricans, who said they could no longer tolerate mocking, profanity and corruption, real or perceived, by leaders who were supposed to be fighting on their behalf in Washington and San Juan.
The capital’s biggest mall didn’t open and cruise ships were turned away.
Rosselló’s defiance and decision to remain in office has only fueled protesters to stay in the streets longer. Late Sunday, demonstrators trapped a group of mayors and lawmakers who had met with the governor, blocking them from leaving until police intervened. The spontaneous protest took place in the upscale municipality of Guaynabo, a place typically supportive of the governor, signaling that he has few places on the island left on his side.
Before Monday’s march, the biggest shopping mall in San Juan, Plaza Las Américas, announced that it would not open for the day. Some banks also were closed and university classes were canceled.
And cruise ships were again diverted from calling at the port Monday, keeping thousands of tourists away from small businesses in Old San Juan that depend on them.
On Monday morning, El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper, published a rare front-page editorial. “Governor, it’s time to listen to the people,” read the above-the-fold headline. “You must resign.”
What do the protesters want?
They want to be rid of both Rosselló and another target of their ire, the unelected oversight board created by Congress to manage the finances of the island’s government, which owes far more than it can pay to its creditors. Thousands of government workers have been laid off, services have been cut, tuition raised and schools closed as Puerto Rico has struggled to resolve the debt crisis; none of that has been popular.
Rosselló has tried at times to push back against “la junta,” as the board is known. But many Puerto Ricans lump the two together in their frustration and fury. The protesters have taken to chanting “Ricky, renuncia, y llévate a la junta” — Ricky, resign, and take the board with you.
The governor has said he will serve out his term.
Rosselló, whose term runs through 2020, said Sunday that he would not seek reelection, but also that he did not intend to resign. But some politicians have spoken of impeaching him and legislative leaders have asked a panel of jurists to issue a recommendation on whether to pursue impeachment charges.
One complication is that Puerto Rico has no lieutenant governor to take his place. The island’s secretary of state is supposed to step in as acting governor when needed, but that post is currently vacant — and the power to fill it belongs to Rosselló, though his nominee would have to be approved by the island’s Legislature. Leaders of the governing New Progressive Party are scrambling to find a candidate.
If there is no secretary of state, the governorship would go next to the secretary of justice, Wanda Vázquez Garced, but powerful legislative leaders from her party do not seem interested in having that happen.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.