As protesters flood Puerto Rican cities demanding that Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resign, the man himself has ducked local reporters and stayed out of sight as demonstrations surrounded the executive mansion in the capital’s colonial quarter, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, in the bankrupt commonwealth’s legislature, pressure is growing to remove Rosselló if he refuses to go on his own. Lawmakers convened a panel of lawyers to evaluate whether he can be impeached after the publication of scabrous text messages that insulted rivals and ordinary residents, and widespread allegations of corruption that have resulted in six indictments, including two former administration officials. “If the governor doesn’t resign in the next two or three weeks, then he may be confronted with a formal impeachment process,” said Kenneth McClintock, a former commonwealth secretary of state and senate president from Rosselló’s New Progressive Party. Lawmakers “are feeling the public pressure, but they’re also aware that they have to follow legislative formalities. It’s not an immediate process.” The U.S. commonwealth’s worst political crisis in decades has intensified for almost two weeks with Puerto Ricans pouring into streets to call on Rosselló to step down. The publication of the leaked text messages unleashed years of pent-up anger over the island’s governance amid a debt crisis, an economic recession that has lasted more than a decade and a fitful recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The situation may impede the island’s record bankruptcy, which is being managed by a federal oversight board negotiating with bondholders to reduce billions of debt. There are almost $18 billion of bonds tied to the central government and a pension system on the hook for an estimated $50 billion owed to current and future retirees. The government electric utility also wants to restructure $9 billion of debt. The board aims to submit a workout plan in the next few weeks, and a judge will hold a hearing in the case Wednesday.
