Frances Robles and Patricia Mazzei

Even so, Pierluisi’s ascension remained uncertain, as a tense power struggle among leaders of the ruling New Progressive Party, which supports Puerto Rican statehood, threatened to derail his nomination and keep the territory in political turmoil.

Questions about the complicated succession have lingered since last week, when Rosselló announced his imminent exit. He was under fire for his participation in a leaked exchange of rude text messages and faced intense pressure from a mass uprising of Puerto Ricans who were fed up with corruption, a stagnant economy and a poor response to Hurricane Maria in 2017.

A local blogger on Wednesday posted a new set of messages from the same chat, revealing more insults — and a discussion of how to help a Cabinet member who was under investigation.

Pierluisi, 60, was expected to take the oath of office as secretary of state Wednesday, the governor’s office said. Rosselló called a special session of the Legislative Assembly for Thursday, the day before he is scheduled to step down, to confirm the recess appointment.

In a statement, Rosselló said he picked Pierluisi, his former 2016 primary rival, because of his experience as Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner in Washington, and before that as secretary of justice when Rosselló’s father, Pedro Rosselló, was governor in the 1990s.

The governor said that Pierluisi intended to serve through the end of the current term but would not run for reelection as governor in 2020.

“His aspiration is to complete this term, so that the successes we have achieved do not disappear,” Rosselló said. “The electoral process that will begin in the coming months will allow other highly qualified leaders to put their ideas and character to the people’s consideration, as Pierluisi and I did in the last primary.”

Pierluisi said he would be responsive to the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans whose street protests ended Rosselló’s term as governor.

“I have listened to the people’s messages, their demonstrations, their demands and their concerns,” Pierluisi said in a statement accepting the nomination. “And in this new challenge in my life, I will only answer to the people.”

But first, he will have to contend with the powerful Senate president, Thomas Rivera Schatz, who let it be known before the nomination was even official that Pierluisi would not have enough votes to win confirmation.

Under Puerto Rico’s constitution, the secretary of state automatically replaces a governor who leaves office. But the last official to hold the post, Luis Rivera Marín, stepped down over his role in the leaked private group chat on the messaging app Telegram that precipitated the political crisis. His departure created a critical vacancy before Rosselló’s resignation, which becomes effective at 5 p.m. Friday.

It left Wanda Vázquez, the secretary of justice, next in line. But Vázquez made clear that she was not a politician and preferred not to step in as governor. Hundreds of protesters, denouncing Vázquez’s close ties to the disgraced Rosselló, rallied outside the Justice Department on Monday and demanded that she, too, resign.

Behind the scenes, Rosselló, 40, negotiated with legislative leaders to try to find a consensus candidate who could be left in charge of the troubled government until next year’s election. But it was difficult for them to find a candidate who could be confirmed by the Legislative Assembly and be acceptable to the public. Protesters said repeatedly that they were tired of crony politics.

Pierluisi served eight years in Washington as Puerto Rico’s nonvoting resident commissioner in Congress during the Obama administration. Like Rosselló, he is a Democrat when it comes to national politics, although many New Progressives are Republicans.

Pierluisi, a lawyer, could have a conflict of interest because he works for a firm that does external legal consulting for the unelected federal oversight board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances. On Tuesday, Pierluisi was placed on a leave of absence from the law firm, O’Neill &amp; Borges.

His brother-in-law, José Carrión III, remains the chairman of the federal oversight board. The New York Times found in 2016 that Pierluisi introduced legislation as resident commissioner that would benefit at least two Wall Street companies that had hired his wife, María Elena Carrión, for financial advice. (Pierluisi and his wife are in the process of divorcing, the Puerto Rican news media have reported.)

Pierluisi’s ties to the unpopular oversight board do not sit well with some lawmakers. Several went on television to call his nomination unacceptable.

“No one can question his abilities,” Rep. José Meléndez, a member of the New Progressive party, told WAPA, a local station. “But I saw him in meetings with the board, and he was on the side of the board. That puts him in conflict with government policies. He’d probably have to recuse himself. It’s going to be very difficult for him to govern without access to the fiscal control board.”

Sen. José Antonio Vargas Vidot, a political independent, chided the statehood party for not looking outside of its usual ranks for a nominee. “It’s as if the PNP doesn’t have anyone without a conflict,” he told WAPA.

Yet Gisela Gómez, 45, who sells homemade sweets to tourists in San Juan, the capital, said she participated in the massive march last week to oust the governor and was pleased with Pierluisi’s selection.

“We have to run all of the corrupt ones out and replace it with a new government,” Gómez said. “I don’t know much about politics, but from what I have heard, of all of them out there, he is the best one.”

Juan Pagán, 57, a cabdriver who was standing on a street corner in Old San Juan hoping to pick up cruise ship passengers, said that although he does not vote for the New Progressive Party, he thinks Pierluisi is an acceptable candidate.

“At least he’s the least bad,” Pagán said.

“The party is completely corrupt. History has said that that is the most corrupt party in history,” he added, noting that there were dozens of arrests during the administration of Rosselló’s father.

The choice of Pierluisi suggested that Rosselló remains determined to keep Rivera Schatz, one of his rivals in the party, from succeeding him.

But Rivera Schatz could prove to be an unstoppable foe: If lawmakers block Pierluisi’s confirmation, then his recess appointment would be rejected and he would no longer be secretary of state, said Efrén Rivera Ramos, a law professor at the University of Puerto Rico. That would leave Vázquez as the next governor.

Rivera Schatz is known to dislike Vázquez and to harbor ambitions to run for governor himself next year. And he holds considerable sway within his party; he became its interim leader after Rosselló relinquished the role of president.

But he, too, is considered a divisive figure. The protesters who marched against Rosselló and then Vázquez also chanted to Rivera Schatz: “No te vistas, que no vas” — Don’t get dressed; it’s not going to be you.

In a statement Wednesday, Rivera Schatz said the confirmation process will play out and lawmakers will perform their constitutional duty. But he did not mention Pierluisi by name or refer to his chances at winning the Senate vote — which he indicated might not take place until midafternoon on Friday.

“There is no problem that does not have a solution, and in Puerto Rico we should focus on solutions,” Rivera Schatz said. “We should promote unity, not discord.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/us/pedro-pierluisi-puerto-rico-governor.html" id="28ad666e-4aa2-30ab-ac06-7a7f14d62756">The New York Times</a>.

Governor in Puerto Rico Picks Successor, but He Doesn't Have Final Say

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The ousted governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, chose his successor Wednesday, nominating Pedro Pierluisi, who formerly represented the island in Congress, to serve as secretary of state. The move positions Pierluisi to take over as governor when Rosselló’s resignation becomes effective later this week.

A judge issued warrants for the cellphone seizures Monday, said Mariana Cobián Rodríguez, a spokeswoman for the Puerto Rico Department of Justice. She declined to name those who had been ordered to surrender their phones.

Rosselló was the administrator of the monthslong group chat, which was conducted on the Telegram messaging app and included some of his closest advisers, Cabinet officials and lobbyists. The dozen men, including Puerto Rico’s secretary of state and chief financial officer, used the group to discuss government business, criticize their political foes and make jokes about their friends. The nearly 900 pages of messages, published by the Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico, also included a joke about shooting Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of the territory’s capital, San Juan.

The Puerto Rico Bar Association issued a report last week suggesting seven potential crimes revealed in the chat, including the threats against Cruz as well as possible instances of diversion of funds, conspiracy, disclosure of private information and intention to terminate employment based on political beliefs.

The association also questioned the legality of discussing government business with people in the chat who were not government employees.

The local news media reported that some of the participants in the chat had already turned over their devices willingly. But Mayra López Mulero, a lawyer for the former treasury secretary, Raúl Maldonado, said last week that Maldonado would not turn over his phone without a warrant. “They’re not going to find anything,” López said. “Nothing is going to happen.”

The disclosure of the messages caused an explosion of civic rebellion. An island of 3.2 million people, already impatient over years of economic, corruption and infrastructure problems, took to the streets in protest.

On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people shut down a main highway and paralyzed San Juan. Small protests continued throughout the day Tuesday.

Rosselló released a statement Tuesday reaffirming his intention to remain as the island’s governor.

“Yesterday, as in the past few days, I have remained attentive and silent to the statements made as part of the citizens’ right to free expression,” he said. “When one party speaks legitimately, the other is responsible for listening carefully. The people are talking, and I have to listen.”

He added that any further statements he makes “will be directed to the actions that we carry out as part of the government’s work, as promised and expected by the people.”

But with support eroding on all sides, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Rosselló to govern. On Tuesday, the governor’s chief of staff, Ricardo Llerandi, who was among the people who participated in the chat, resigned. He also stepped down as the chief administrator of the governor’s mansion and as the executive director of the government commerce and exports office.

Llerandi, the local press reported, surrendered his cellphone last week without waiting for a judicial order.

“The past few days have been difficult for everyone,” he said in a resignation letter that was released by the government. “As an individual, I can tolerate the threats I have received, but I can never allow them to affect my home.”

Earlier in the day the interim director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Washington also resigned, saying that the recent events associated with Rossello’s administration “directly contradict my personal values and ethics.” Also Tuesday, another high-profile member of the governor’s party, a wealthy owner of a shopping center, called for the governor to give up his post.

Melissa Mark-Viverito, a former speaker of the New York City Council whom the governor had referred to in the Telegram chat as a whore, said the seizure of the phones is important.

“The search of the phones, assuming data was not breached or erased, will prove what many of us already understand from having read the 800+ pages,” she said in a text message, “that there was extensive crimes committed.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/puerto-rico-cellphone-warrants.html" id="09d8d95c-e5dc-305a-a423-d2346a6629cc">The New York Times</a>.

Puerto Rico Authorities Seize Cellphones Connected to Online Chat That Triggered Uprising

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Law enforcement authorities in Puerto Rico executed search warrants Tuesday against several people in Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s inner circle whose exchange of sexist and homophobic chat messages triggered a popular uprising on the island.

People arrived by the busload hours before the demonstration was scheduled to begin, carrying Puerto Rican flags, protest signs and whistles. They broke into chants demanding the ouster of Rosselló, who said Sunday that he will not seek reelection in 2020 but will remain in office — and face possible impeachment.

Monday’s protest is part of an island-wide strike that could paralyze Puerto Rico beyond San Juan. Organizers hope to draw 1 million people — about a third of the island’s population — to the highway, Expreso Las Américas. That would eclipse the massive crowd that marched from the Capitol to the governor’s mansion, La Fortaleza, on Wednesday, culminating in clashes with police.

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.

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.

Before Monday’s march, the biggest shopping mall in San Juan, Plaza Las Américas, announced that it would not open for the day.

And cruise ships will again be 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.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/us/puerto-rico-protests-updates.html" id="0dbe4b03-f5c1-38ed-a9d3-e2c6cfb18560">The New York Times</a>.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Thousands of Puerto Ricans shut down traffic on a major highway in San Juan early Monday, assembling for what is expected to be one of the largest protests the island has ever seen against Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló, who has resisted persistent calls for his resignation.

Demonstrators Shut Down Traffic in San Juan

A series of scandalous text messages touched off the demonstrations.

The capital’s biggest mall won’t open and cruise ships are being 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.

Attending the march Monday were Puerto Ricans not only from municipalities across the island but also members of the vast Puerto Rican diaspora who returned home to join the protests.

Outside of the main protest gathering point, Hiram Bithorn Stadium in the San Juan neighborhood of Hato Rey, demonstrators arrived to music and kiosks selling anti-Rosselló memorabilia. Artists Ricky Martin and Residente were again expected to join the crowd.

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.

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.

But Rosselló did not resign the governorship, as tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have demanded.

“I am aware of the dissatisfaction and discomfort you have,” Rosselló said in a brief address on Facebook Live. “I have heard you, and I hear you today. I have made mistakes, and I have apologized.”

“All of my time must be dedicated to the responsibilities that I took on as governor,” he added.

Far from quelling the furor that has led to more than a week of mass protests in San Juan, the governor’s announcement seemed to have the opposite effect: People quickly gathered on the street outside the governor’s official residence in the Old San Juan neighborhood and said they were even more determined than ever to oust him.

The demonstrators banged on drums, blew whistles and screamed through blaring loudspeakers. Drivers honked their car horns as people of all ages waved flags through the streets.

The announcement came the day before what is expected to be a major protest march Monday morning along a major highway in San Juan. The demonstration is expected to shut down not just the highway and a nearby shopping mall, but wide areas of the capital. Cruise ships will again be diverted from calling at the port Monday, keeping thousands of tourists away from small businesses in Old San Juan that depend on them.

“He thinks this is going to calm the people, but what it will do instead is energize even more people to hit that march tomorrow,” said Meiling Villa, 57, who drove three hours from Mayagüez to be in San Juan for the march Monday.

“I made that drive because I have children, and they live in the United States because they see no future here,” she said. “I could be home in my house with the air conditioning. But I am here for my children, my grandchildren and my 83-year-old mother, who would give anything to be able to be at that march.”

Rosselló’s administration, bogged down by a debt crisis and the slow recovery from Hurricane Maria, has recently been plagued by a corruption scandal and by revelations of crude and offensive messages shared in a private group chat by the governor and his inner circle. Publication of those leaked messages last weekend touched off protests that have unified people of various political parties and those who normally ignore politics.

Protesters said the governor seemed to have miscalculated his ability to govern for what remains of his term, which runs through 2020.

“It was a good step, but it’s not what we are looking for,” said Heriberto Marín Centento, 58. “He is trying to fool the people. The people lost confidence in him, and he trying to do what he can to win time. He does not seem to realize that he cannot govern effectively.”

Rosselló said he was prepared to face possible impeachment. Some lawmakers in Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives have already taken steps to begin impeachment proceedings. But leaders of the governing party, the New Progressive Party, have been slower to embrace the idea, perhaps waiting for Rosselló to leave on his own.

After the announcement Sunday evening, Rosselló held an emergency meeting with several New Progressive Party mayors and lawmakers. Protesters banging pots and pans assembled outside, blocking some of the politicians from leaving and clashing with the police.

And another top member of Rosselló’s administration resigned. Gerardo Portela, who held three government roles, including one as Puerto Rico’s principal investment officer, stepped down, saying the comments by officials in the administration did not match his “values and principles.”

Sunday’s announcement may mollify some New Progressives. Thomas Rivera Schatz, the president of the island’s Senate, wrote on Facebook shortly after the governor’s address that Rosselló’s moves “put an end to part of the controversies and trauma that shook our people.”

“Other issues still pending will also be attended to,” he added.

But other high-profile members of Rosselló’s party, including Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón, the island’s nonvoting resident commissioner in Congress, have already called for the governor to resign. In an open letter Friday, González-Colón argued that a governor who had lost credibility could not remain in office while so much federal money for Medicaid and for the recovery from Hurricane Maria was at stake in Washington.

“The events of the past two weeks have worsened, even more so over the last six days, paralyzing economic activity and government activity, portraying an anarchic Puerto Rico to the rest of the world,” González-Colón wrote. “This is not sustainable.”

Puerto Rico’s political parties, which are divided over whether the island should remain a commonwealth, become a state or seek independence, do not match up neatly with those on the mainland. Though they are both New Progressives and support Puerto Rican statehood, González-Colón is a Republican in national politics, while Rosselló is a Democrat.

The resignation chorus outside of Puerto Rico has grown to include two New York Democrats: Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, the longest-serving Puerto Rican in Congress, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is of Puerto Rican descent and has become an icon for young progressives. Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have also said that Rosselló must go.

On Friday, the Puerto Rican Bar Association released a report outlining the legal grounds for lawmakers to pursue impeachment. El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper, published an editorial accusing legislative leaders of slow-walking impeachment and letting the political crisis continue. The governor’s press secretary, Dennise Pérez, resigned Friday, saying she drew the line after someone called her “corrupt” in front of her son.

In his address, Rosselló said demonstrators’ right to free expression would be protected, and he promised to work to regain their trust.

“I recognize that apologizing is not enough,” he said. “Only my work will help restore the confidence of those sectors and get us on the path to true reconciliation.”

Saadi Rosado of the Feminist Collective, a women’s rights group that has been protesting the administration for months, said that while the governor’s announcement may have been intended to defuse the protests planned for Monday, it would actually make things worse for him.

“On the one hand, he has already begun to recognize the strength of the movement, and on the other hand, he is adding fuel to the fire, because we are not going to stop until his resignation,” Rosado said. “That message continues to nourish this movement, and the indignation is already felt here in the streets because of that message.”

Edgar Figueroa, 24, was doing brisk business a few blocks from the governor’s mansion Sunday evening, selling black T-shirts asking for the governor’s resignation.

“He’s finally feeling the pressure,” Figueroa said. “At first he was saying ‘no’ to all the demands. That was the first ‘yes.’ It will be the first of many.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/us/puerto-rico-ricardo-rossello-resignation.html" id="e802a10d-817e-3da1-a39f-ffac2615df05">The New York Times</a>.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Facing an angry public uprising against his administration, Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico announced on Sunday evening that he would not seek reelection in 2020, and would step down as president of his political party.

Governor of Puerto Rico Refuses to Resign Amid Protests

The announcement came the day before what is expected to be a major protest march Monday morning along a major highway in San Juan. The demonstration is expected to shut down not just the highway and a nearby shopping mall, but wide areas of the capital.

Defying Protests, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico Refuses to Resign

After the announcement Sunday evening, Rosselló held an emergency meeting with several New Progressive Party mayors.

But Rosselló refused to resign, as tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have demanded.

Far from quelling the furor that has led to more than a week of mass protests in San Juan, the governor’s announcement seemed to have the opposite effect: People quickly gathered on the street outside the governor’s official residence and said they were even more determined to oust him.

His administration, bogged down by a debt crisis and the slow recovery from Hurricane Maria, has recently been plagued by a corruption scandal and by revelations of crude and offensive messages shared in a private group chat by the governor and his inner circle. Publication of those leaked messages last weekend touched off the protests.

But other high-profile members of Rosselló’s party, including Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón, the island’s nonvoting resident commissioner in Congress, have already called for the governor to resign. In an open letter Friday, González-Colón argued that a governor who has lost credibility cannot remain in office while so much federal money for Medicaid and for the recovery from Hurricane Maria is at stake in Washington.

The resignation chorus outside of Puerto Rico has grown to include two New York Democrats: Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, who is the longest-serving Puerto Rican in Congress, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is of Puerto Rican descent and has become an icon for young progressives. Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have also said Rosselló must go.

More protests have been planned, including an islandwide strike Monday that is expected to block off a major highway. Plaza Las Américas, a shopping mall in San Juan, will be closed all day as a result. Cruise ships will again be diverted from calling at the port, keeping thousands of tourists away from small businesses in Old San Juan that depend on them.

In his address, Rosselló said demonstrators’ right to free expression will be protected, and he promised to work to regain their trust.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Facing an angry public uprising against his administration, Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico announced Sunday evening that he would not seek reelection in 2020, and would immediately step down as president of his political party.

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Frances Robles and Patricia Mazzei

Articles written by the author

Governor in Puerto Rico Picks Successor, but He Doesn't Have Final Say

Puerto Rico Authorities Seize Cellphones Connected to Online Chat That Triggered Uprising

Demonstrators Shut Down Traffic in San Juan

Demonstrators Shut Down Traffic in San Juan

Governor of Puerto Rico Refuses to Resign Amid Protests

Defying Protests, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico Refuses to Resign

Governor of Puerto Rico Refuses to Resign Amid Protests

Defying Protests, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico Refuses to Resign