87-555: Solidarity protests: Authorities Protesters no centralized leadership Government Telegramgate , also known as Chatgate or RickyLeaks , was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló , then Governor of Puerto Rico , which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet . The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, and discussed how they would use
174-414: A "whore", made homophobic remarks about Ricky Martin , and called San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz "una tremenda HP [hija de puta]" - transl. "a total daughter of a bitch" . The chats revealed plans to control the media and smear political opponents, and Rosselló shared confidential state information with the non-government officials in the chat. Other parts of the conversations joked about
261-505: A discussion of the operation of Internet troll networks on social media, elitist comments, and mockery of the troubles of Puerto Ricans as they continue to recover from 2017's Hurricane Maria that caused approximately 3,000 deaths. In one message, Rosselló's chief financial officer joked about the people who died in Hurricane Maria, and an apparent death threat made by Rosselló against Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz . As
348-410: A harder line with creditors. Puerto Rico has received authority from the federal government to reduce its debt with legal action and this may make creditors more willing to negotiate instead of becoming embroiled in a long and costly legal battle. On May 31, Rosselló unveiled his $ 9.56 billion proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year. The budget prioritized paying pensions, increasing spending in
435-472: A mass protest in Old San Juan calling for Rosselló to resign as governor. Artists such Ricky Martin were present. Protests were also held in other cities and countries, including London , Santiago , Montreal , Seattle , New York City, Boston , Orlando , Amsterdam , Barcelona , Madrid , Stockholm , Paris , Slovenia , Norway , and Vienna . On July 24, 2019, after previously defending
522-466: A medical research company in Beijing, China . Rosselló claimed to have developed various drugs then later clarified that they were still in the research phase of development. Rosselló became involved in politics during the 2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election when his father Pedro Rosselló lost a party primary against the eventual Governor Luis Fortuño . Rosselló was a Hillary Clinton delegate to
609-593: A million people at a single event on July 17. On July 22, up to a million protesters shut down the Expreso Las Américas , an 11-lane highway. While several of his staff resigned in the wake of the leaks, Rosselló initially refused to resign as governor and simply resigned as president of the governing pro-statehood New Progressive Party on July 21 and said he would not seek re-election in the 2020 Puerto Rican general election . By July 22, there had been eleven consecutive days of protests, near La Fortaleza ,
696-497: A political commentator, writing columns for El Vocero , a daily newspaper published in San Juan , covering politics, science, healthcare and economics topics. Additionally, Rosselló appeared as a regular guest analyst in several political radio talk shows . He published a book that depicted the accomplishments of his father's administration (1993–2001). All copies of the limited edition print were exhausted in one day. To diffuse
783-525: A program intended to attract business investment to Puerto Rico, put in place by Law 13–2017; in addition to creating the Destination Marketing Organization, which encourages tourists to visit the island, enacted in 2017 by Law 17–2017. On February 5, 2018, Rosselló announced a broad education reform. The reform aim to incorporate school vouchers and charter schools into the bankrupt U.S. territory's education system. It
870-409: A result of the leak, protests were held for several consecutive days throughout Puerto Rico demanding Rosselló's resignation. An estimated 500,000 people took to Old San Juan on July 17, 2019, as part of the protests. After first stating that he intended to complete his term as governor, Rosselló later promised to resign on August 2, which he did. Rosselló was born 1979 in San Juan, Puerto Rico ,
957-511: A state election office; according to The New York Times , they had "broke[n] open and became infested by rats". A spokeswoman for the elections commission said the offices were being used as a storage point at the request of the First Lady. Raúl "Rauli" Maldonado Nieves, the son of former Treasury Secretary Raúl Maldonado Gautier, claimed to have been present in a meeting in which Ricardo Rosselló demanded an amendment to an audit report into
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#17327939021541044-603: Is a Puerto Rican politician who served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 until his resignation in 2019, after overwhelming protests related to the Telegramgate scandal. He is the son of former governor of Puerto Rico and pediatric surgeon Pedro Rosselló . In 2010, Rosselló founded the political advocacy group Boricua ¡Ahora Es! to advocate for changing the current political status of Puerto Rico . Rosselló supports Puerto Rican statehood . Following several years of political advocacy, Rosselló announced that he would seek
1131-412: Is limited to release information on suspicion of terrorism to relevant authorities, such as IP address and telephone number, and not the content of conversations. The Department of Justice of Puerto Rico was also asked to cooperate in providing extracted information from cell phones of some of the chat's participants, with the purpose of obtaining unaltered and authentic content directly from the source, but
1218-584: Is on recess, any nomination is legitimate until the legislature goes back in session. As a result, the President of the Senate , Thomas Rivera Schatz , challenged the legitimacy of his ascent to office in the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico . Protests continued, with their main focus shifting to calling for Pierluisi's resignation. The Supreme Court then ruled his ascent to power unconstitutional. Afterwards,
1305-496: Is runway to establish these reforms and have Washington recognise that they have a role to play." He also implemented austerity measures, instructing Puerto Rican government agencies to cut operating expenses by 10% and reduce political appointees by 20%. To ensure funds would be available to pay for "essential" government services Rosselló signed a fiscal emergency law on January 28, 2017, that would set aside funds that might otherwise be required for debt payments. In late January,
1392-646: Is to establish a platform where we can reduce a 131 agencies to 30 or 35 agencies in Puerto Rico." In June 2019, Ricardo Rosello announced that $ 2 million had been appropriated to the Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development (ODSEC by its Spanish initials) for construction of new roofs. The total number of homes that could receive new roofs was 180, of the 20,000 to 30,000 homes still missing roofs since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Wanda Vázquez Garced ,
1479-532: The 2016 election , and held a campaign rally the next day at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan that surpassed the previous attendance record held by Ricky Martin. At the rally, he endorsed Jenniffer González , a Republican, for Resident Commissioner. On June 5, 2016, Rosselló won the New Progressive Party primary against incumbent Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi , thus becoming
1566-491: The 2016 general elections . That same day that, Pierluisi was sworn in as acting secretary of state, while a new document with an additional 100 pages of the controversial chat was released by journalist Sandra Rodríguez Cotto. The very next day, August 1, the Senate of Puerto Rico denied Pierluisi confirmation before Rosselló's resignation, thus preventing him from becoming acting governor. After confirmation hearings, Pierluisi
1653-606: The House Natural Resources Committee , which oversees Puerto Rico policy, called for the governor to resign amid the scandal. Jenniffer González , Puerto Rico's sole representative in Congress, said that she thought Rosselló should not seek re-election the following year as a result of the incident. Thomas Rivera Schatz , President of the Senate of Puerto Rico , took to Twitter and Facebook to call upon Rosselló and every government official included in
1740-519: The New Progressive Party . However, three days later, Rosselló announced that he would resign as governor, effective August 2, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. AST , and was to be replaced by Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez Garced , who, at the time, was the next eligible cabinet member to become Rosselló's successor; most of Rosselló's immediate cabinet members had either resigned or were relieved of their positions by Rosselló. As Treasury Secretary, Pares Alicea would have been next to succeed, but he did not meet
1827-833: The New York City Council Melissa Mark-Viverito , as well as local journalists and celebrities. Rosselló described Mark-Viverito as a "puta" , Spanish for whore; Mark-Viverito responded to this soon afterwards on her Twitter account, condemning his use of the word. Several members of the New Progressive Party also condemned the governor's expressions. The transcript, released July 13, shows government officials, including Rosselló, conspiring to operate an internet troll network to discredit press, journalists and opposition politicians, according to several news sources. In one message, Rosselló jokes about shooting Carmen Yulín Cruz ,
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#17327939021541914-568: The Puerto Rico Department of Justice ordered that all participants be interviewed and have their phones inspected. The FBI would neither confirm nor deny that it is investigating those involved. On July 19, the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico formed an impeachment committee, its members being three attorneys appointed by House leader Carlos "Johnny" Méndez , to consider whether Rosselló committed impeachable offenses based on
2001-493: The Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections ' inability to deliver voting ballots in time on August 9. Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and former Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi both ran for the New Progressive Party nomination for Governor of Puerto Rico, resulting the latter as the winner. The 2020 Puerto Rico gubernatorial elections were held on November 3, 2020, with six candidates running for
2088-546: The U.S. Congress , Jenniffer González , said that she believed Rosselló should not seek re-election as a result of the incident, but supported the idea that he should remain in office. Thomas Rivera Schatz , President of the Puerto Rican Senate, called upon Rosselló and every government official included in the chat to resign, but not before supporting the Governor's position to remain in office, and downplaying
2175-482: The United States government to take action. Boricua ¡Ahora Es! actively campaigned during the 2012 Puerto Rico status referendum . Rosselló was accused by Bolivian author Lupe Andrade of plagiarizing her column Responsabilidad y democracia ("Accountability and Democracy"). He denied the claim and no legal action followed. Since 2012, Rosselló was mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate for
2262-510: The death toll from Hurricane Maria . When interviewed by Democracy Now on July 23, 2019, Carla Minet from the Puerto Rico Center for Investigative Journalism stated that it was those jokes that were particularly painful as many Puerto Ricans had been unable to properly bury their dead in the chaotic days that followed Hurricane Maria, and reading chats where the governor mentioned "cadavers", and did not stop others from joking about
2349-511: The fifth plebiscite on June 11, 2017, with three options: "Statehood", "Current Territorial Status" and "Independence/Free Association". It initially did not offer the second option, which was added at the request of United States Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ). On June 11, 2017, the results of the plebiscite were 97% in favor of statehood. However, the plebiscite results have been marred and been called into question. Due to months of calls for boycotting by his political rivals and confusion,
2436-525: The 2008 nominating convention and an Obama delegate to the 2012 convention. In 2008, he participated in Clinton's get-out-the-vote efforts for the June 1 Puerto Rico presidential primary, appearing in her final TV ad with several Democratic political leaders, including fellow statehooder Kenneth McClintock and commonwealth's Roberto Prats and José A. Hernández Mayoral. Following this event, Rosselló became
2523-465: The 2016 election cycle. In 2013, he began organizing a group of collaborators to build what he called Plan para Puerto Rico ( Plan for Puerto Rico ). This plan would serve as a blueprint to deal with the economic and political problems and Puerto Rico and by being built years before a candidacy, it would represent a more complete and realistic political agenda. In 2014, Rosselló utilized his political platform to perform several protest events against
2610-589: The Governor and refusing to impeach him, the Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly announced that they would immediately begin impeachment proceedings unless Rosselló resigned. Later that day he announced that he would resign as governor of Puerto Rico effective 5 pm AST August 2, to be replaced by Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez Garced until she reportedly declined the position. In his last minutes in office, Rosselló nominated Pedro Pierluisi as Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, with
2697-502: The Governor's residence in San Juan. On July 24, Rosselló announced that he would resign as governor on August 2. On August 2, Pedro Pierluisi , former Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico was sworn in immediately after Rosselló left office, but was later ordered by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico to abandon, since his swearing-in was not constitutional. Ultimately, the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico , Wanda Vázquez Garced , who
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2784-472: The Knives ), with lyrics by Bad Bunny , Residente , and iLe , was released during the protests. After Rosselló announced his resignation, the song " Te Boté " ( transl. I Dumped You ) was sung by protesters as they happily ripped down posters with his image and dumped them in garbage bins. Perreo , a doggy-style dancing of reggaeton music was mentioned by people of Puerto Rico as contributing to
2871-567: The PDF document purporting to be a transcript of the Telegram chat "is not an original, that it is not a complete document, and that it has been modified." Ultimately, on November 24, 2020, the panel determined that criminal elements were not set up in the crimes that were described in the report, due to lack of evidence to sustain the accusations, adding that there were no loss of public funds or damage to public property. The panel also didn't find that
2958-614: The Telegram chat. Rosselló released a statement in which he apologized for the comments, excusing himself by explaining that he had been working 18-hour days and was releasing tension. Rosselló added that he would not resign as Governor of Puerto Rico and indicated that he did not know who leaked the chat or when it was deleted. On July 13, 2019, the entirety of the chat was made public by local news agency Centro de Periodismo Investigativo . The screenshots were reported by El Nuevo Día as containing vulgar and homophobic comments and attacks against other politicians, such as former Speaker of
3045-401: The administrative prosecution of its participants. As part of the investigation process, the ethics office's lawyers interviewed seven witnesses, including chat participants, and six affidavits were taken. Additionally, two other chat participants were contacted, but declined to cooperate with the investigation. Witnesses that were interviewed admitted the instant-messaging application Telegram
3132-586: The chat log. On July 23, a judge issued an order requiring all participants in the conversation to surrender their phones, which were then seized. On July 24, the committee recommended five articles of impeachment against Governor Rosselló. On July 28, the Secretary of Public Affairs, Anthony Maceira, resigned. On July 21, Rosselló announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2020 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election , but he initially refused to resign as governor. He also announced his resignation as President of
3219-759: The chat to resign; Carlos "Johnny" Méndez , Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico , did the same. On July 13, former governor Sila María Calderón called upon Rosselló to resign as well as former governor Luis Fortuño who published a letter on his social media. On July 19, former San Antonio mayor and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro became the first 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to call for Rosselló's resignation, followed by two fellow presidential contenders, Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Senator Bernie Sanders . The Puerto Rico primary elections were held on August 9 and 16, 2020, among nationwide controversy with
3306-415: The containers as, according to Maldonado Nieves, the report would have "affected" the First Lady. The FBI opened an investigation into the finances and donation requests of Unidos por Puerto Rico to handle Hurricane Maria-related donations. Unidos por Puerto Rico , which received $ 41 million in donations, was run for a time by Jorge del Pino, brother-in-law of lobbyist Elías Sánchez, who was also involved in
3393-444: The content of the chat led to carrying out a crime. Protests calling for the governor to resign began upon his return to Puerto Rico from France on July 11, 2019, and continued as of July 22. A July 17 protest in Old San Juan had an attendance of 500,000 people at its peak. Protests were also held in other municipalities, cities, and countries. Another protest which was held in Old San Juan on July 22, also drew hundreds of thousands and
3480-463: The dead, was seen as an unforgivable betrayal. After Raúl Maldonado Gautier vacated his post, Rosselló nominated Francisco Parés Alicea to the position of Secretary of Treasury on July 1, who was functioning as interim at the time and as assistant secretary of internal revenue prior to taking over as interim. He was confirmed by the Senate a week later and assumed office on July 22, the day after Rosselló announced his resignation as governor. Prior to
3567-523: The federal control board created under PROMESA gave the government until February 28 to present a fiscal plan - including negotiations with creditors - to solve the problems. It is essential for Puerto Rico to reach restructuring deals to avoid a bankruptcy-like process under PROMESA. A moratorium on lawsuits by debtors was extended to May 31. Rosselló hired investment experts Rothschild & Co to assist in convincing creditors to take deeper losses on Puerto Rico's debts than they had expected. The company
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3654-593: The full log's publication, on July 10, 2019, a 32-count federal indictment resulted in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arresting six people, including two former high-ranking Puerto Rico government officials who served in Rosselló's government , on charges of conspiracy and other crimes in connection with millions of dollars in federal Medicaid and education funds. Rosselló was vacationing in France at
3741-663: The government which was saddled with outstanding debt of $ 70 billion or $ 12,000 per capita at a time with a 45% poverty rate and 14.2% unemployment that is more than twice the mainland U.S. average. The Commonwealth had been defaulting on many debts, including bonds, since 2015. Rosselló discussed the situation and sketched out his plans in an interview with the international Financial Times in mid January and indicated that he would seek an amicable resolution with creditors and also make fiscal reforms. "There will be real fiscal oversight and we are willing to sit down. We are taking steps to make bold reforms. ... What we are asking for
3828-495: The governor belonged to, were leaked. The authenticity of these screenshots was confirmed the following day by Chief of Staff Ricardo Llerandi , who — along with several other high-ranking government officials — participated in the chat. Some on Twitter have dubbed the scandal Telegramgate. Rosselló interrupted his vacation in France to fly to Puerto Rico and attend a press conference where he took responsibility for his part in
3915-443: The governor leaving office; Pedro Rosselló, Ricardo's father, had criminalized reggaetón during his term as Governor of Puerto Rico (1993–2001) in such length that record store employees were arrested for selling the genre's music. After the resignation announcement, celebrations took place in front of La Fortaleza with people dancing perreo , after weeks of protesting and demands. Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona), chair of
4002-502: The governor who followed his troubled tenure, stated all contracts signed by Rosselló would be reviewed by her administration. Rosselló's alleged corruption was given as a reason to further delay promised funds for Hurricane Maria recovery, as announced by United States Department of Housing and Urban Development on August 6, 2019. By the time Rosselló took office, the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis posed serious problems for
4089-519: The group chat scandal. On August 28, 2020, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Government Ethics Office announced the investigation into the leaked 889-page chat dialog between Rosselló and members of his cabinet was completed. The investigation, which began on July 15, 2019, was closed due to inability to authenticate evidence, an essential element for the imputation of unethical conduct, rendering impossible for
4176-553: The intention of Pierluisi becoming Puerto Rico's next governor. The Special Independent Prosecutor's Panel , which investigated the Telegraph scandal, submitted their evidence to the Institute of Forensic Sciences. The Institute's detailed analysis concluded that the PDF document purporting to be a transcript of the Telegram chat "is not an original, that it is not a complete document, and that it has been modified." Rosselló
4263-421: The island's health system, public safety, and transportation. At the same time, the budget proposed cutting in the departments of education, natural resources, housing, agriculture, correction, and justice. Of the education cuts, it included over a $ 200 million cut for Puerto Rico's public university, which had experienced organized student strikes for over two months. The budget directed $ 2 billion for
4350-585: The island, and he also created the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety. In July 2017, Rosselló signed a bill that enacts regulations and makes the use of marijuana legal for medicinal use. The move goes further than the executive order issued by his predecessor which in Roselló's words, "ignored the legislative process and, following an executive order, promulgated a regulation without due discussion with all sectors and representatives elected by
4437-436: The local press. The full 889-page copy of the conversations was published July 13, by local investigative news agency Puerto Rico Center for Investigative Journalism. Among those identified in the chat logs are: The chat messages were found by the general public to be vulgar, homophobic and racist and described as a " bro " culture among the group. Chat members referred to New York City Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito as
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#17327939021544524-440: The mayor of San Juan. Allegedly, Rosselló improperly conducted public business on the chat, as one of the participants — Elías Sánchez — no longer worked directly with Rosselló. The chat has been cited as giving Sánchez an unfair advantage in his business dealings, as he was privy to internal government affairs while working for Wolf Popper, a company that does business with government agencies. Puerto Rico's sole representative in
4611-410: The media to target potential political opponents. The leak came in the midst of allegations by former Secretary of Treasury of Puerto Rico , Raúl Maldonado Gautier, that his department boasted an "institutional mafia" that Rosselló was involved in. The leaks also came a year after a previous scandal, dubbed WhatsApp Gate, involving other members of Rosselló's cabinet. Mass protests arose, reaching up to
4698-466: The message, he allowed the material to be public domain and published it on the La Obra de Rosselló website for everyone to read. In 2012, Rosselló founded Boricua ¡Ahora Es! , a political advocacy group that advocates changing Puerto Rico's current political status. The movement featured a grass-roots educational campaign, suggesting that involvement of the international community may be necessary for
4785-663: The method of zero base budget for the preparation of the budget for the fiscal year 2017–2018. The last executive order Rosselló signed on his first day was the OE-2017-006; it decrees a public policy within the Government of Puerto Rico that guarantees equal pay and work for women employees. He also began the process of restructuring Puerto Rico's national debt. In 2017, Rosselló signed the Permitting Reform Act , streamlining business permitting processes on
4872-513: The minimum wage in Puerto Rico. In 2017, he signed the Equal Pay Act, pushing for equal pay regardless of gender. In 2018 he signed six laws targeting the reform of the insurance industry, as a response to how insurance companies acted during recent hurricanes. In December 2017, Rosselló signed the "New Government Law", which was intended to consolidate agencies in order to improve efficiency and save capital. Rosselló stated, "the objective
4959-573: The nomination of the New Progressive Party (PNP in Spanish) for Governor of Puerto Rico in 2016. After winning the New Progressive Party primary, Rosselló was elected governor in the 2016 general election , defeating five other candidates. In July 2019, Rosselló faced widespread controversy after a group chat on the Telegram app between Rosselló and his staff was made public. The chat included vulgar, sexist, homophobic and misogynistic language,
5046-731: The office of Governor of Puerto Rico. Former Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, who Ricardo Rosselló chose to succeed as Governor of Puerto Rico after the latter announced his resignation, was declared the winner by the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections. He was sworn in as Governor of Puerto Rico on January 2, 2021, as per the Constitution of Puerto Rico . Ricardo Rossell%C3%B3 Ricardo Antonio Rosselló Nevares ( Latin American Spanish: [roseˈʝo neˈβaɾes] ; born March 7, 1979)
5133-610: The office of Governor of Puerto Rico. Pierluisi, former Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico during the Luis Fortuño administration and former Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico during the Pedro Rosselló administration, was Ricardo Rosselló's former adversary in the 2016 primaries of their party , which resulted in Rosselló's victory over Pierluisi as the New Progressive Party 's nominee for Governor of Puerto Rico in
5220-444: The party's candidate for governor and heading to the general election against PPD candidate David Bernier . He made Puerto Rican statehood the central issue of his campaign, and views statehood as the key to economic recovery. On November 8, 2016, Rosselló defeated five other gubernatorial candidates and was elected Governor of Puerto Rico, receiving 41% of the vote. He was sworn in on January 2, 2017. Upon his election, Rosselló
5307-566: The people." Rosselló has stated that he intends to shrink the size of government, through reducing funding to various parts of the bureaucracy. He also started an effort on labor reform, which was revoked after differences between the governor's intended version and the version developed by the Financial Oversight and Management Board. Rosselló then tabled a second version of the plan in March 2018. Rosselló took credit for raising
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#17327939021545394-468: The permit obtaining process for development of projects that promote a new or improved infrastructure for the lending of services for the citizens and for economic development within Puerto Rico. The fourth executive order, OE-2017-004, creates an interagency group of projects critical for the infrastructure, a collateral effect of the OE 2017–003. The fifth executive order, OE-2017-005, orders the implementation of
5481-497: The policies of the incumbent governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Padilla . Some of these events included a march against a proposed Value Added Tax . Rosselló described that he intended to apply a scientific approach to governance. As a part of this, he traveled to other countries and US states to study how they approached various problems in governing, such as Finland, Estonia, and Florida. On September 19, 2015, he confirmed his intention to run for Governor of Puerto Rico in
5568-581: The protests calling for Rosselló's resignation as a "small" group of people that are "always protesting". Calls for his resignation were made by Democratic U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva , chair of the House Natural Resources Committee ; former governor Sila María Calderón , former governor Luis Fortuño , former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and presidential contender Julian Castro , and Democratic U.S. Representative and presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard . On July 17, 2019, an estimated 500,000 people participated in
5655-400: The public pension system of Puerto Rico that were underfunded by about $ 50 billion. To balance this increase, the budget eliminated millions of dollars in annual subsidies to 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, forcing the mayors to find funding in other areas. In addition, the budget focused payments for the debt services and the federal control board. Rosselló also announced tax breaks for
5742-598: The region history, at 9.3%. However, because Rosselló had fired the director of Puerto Rico's Office of Statistics due to dissatisfaction with the unflattering reports emanating from that office, it is unclear how accurate this information (or any of the statistical data touted by the Rosselló administration) is. In June 2018, he began the process of privatizing the island's energy infrastructure, and in November 2018, he pledged for Puerto Rico to switch entirely to renewable energy by 2050. In 2018 Rosselló also started InvestPR,
5829-434: The required minimum age of 35, in which case, the next in line was Secretary of Justice Vázquez Garced, who announced in a tweet that she was not interested in becoming governor and that she hoped Rosselló appointed someone before his last day. Before Rosselló's resignation was effective, he announced his nomination of Pedro Pierluisi to the position of Secretary of State on July 31, with the intention of having him succeed
5916-408: The son of Pedro Rosselló and Maga Nevares . His older brothers are Juan Óscar (b. 1971) and Luis Roberto (b. 1973). Pedro Rosselló served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. Rosselló's paternal great-grandfather, Pedro Juan Rosselló Batle, immigrated in 1902 at the age of 23 from Lloseta , Mallorca , Spain. Rosselló attended high school at Colegio Marista de Guaynabo . He
6003-410: The then-Secretary of Justice, Wanda Vázquez was sworn in as the new governor of Puerto Rico, becoming the second woman to assume the office and the first person to take over the position by succession and not by a democratic election. In July 2019, among calls for her husband to resign due to a scandal stemming from his involvement in the incriminating group chat, his wife, First Lady Beatriz Rosselló ,
6090-468: The time of the leaks on July 11, which forced him to return to the island. Several members of Rosselló's cabinet, who were involved and part of the chat log conversations, resigned following its publication of the document. Luis Rivera Marín and Christian Sobrino resigned from their positions in the government on July 13; In addition, press secretary Dennise Peréz resigned on July 19, and chief of staff Ricardo Llerandi followed suit on July 23. On July 17,
6177-408: The turnout for the plebiscite was 23% of the eligible electorate. Rosselló plans on creating a commission that will ensure the validity of the referendum in Congress. He has stated that he does not believe that Puerto Rico yet has the political infrastructure to pursue statehood, and that he intends to develop it. On July 8, 2019, screenshots of a group chat on the Telegram messaging service , which
6264-480: The working class and retirees. A tax reform bill was presented by the governor in December 2018, which included a work tax credit of between $ 300 and $ 2000 to each taxpayer and reduced the corporate tax rate from 39% to 37.5%. Prior to this, Rosselló reduced the sales tax from 11.5% to 7% for restaurant prepared foods. During 2018, Rosselló announced that Puerto Rico had reached its lowest unemployment rate in
6351-405: Was 15, that killed a woman and her child. The original 1994 newspaper article that reported on the crash, along with the victim's other son, the twin brother of the deceased, who was also in the car at the time of the accident, named Rosselló as the drunk driver. The court that saw the case, however, ruled controversially that the other person in the vehicle, Rosselló's friend Ricardo Molinari Such,
6438-473: Was a cacerolazo ( transl. a mass-banging of pots and pans ), where people across the islands banged on pots and pans, demanding his resignation. Banging pots and pans has been a method of protesting by other Latin American nations in the past. In Puerto Rico residents were timing the banging of pots and pans for 8 p.m. each night. A song, " Afilando los cuchillos " ( transl. Sharpening
6525-485: Was a proponent of adoption rights for same-sex couples , created the first advisory board on LGBT issues, supported a ban on conversion therapy and under his administration for the first time the residence of the governor was illuminated in rainbow colors, a nod to the support of his administration to the LGBT community. Furthermore, Rosselló was highly critical of President Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies. Rosselló
6612-465: Was also exploring the possibility of convincing insurers that had guaranteed some of the bonds against default, to contribute more to the restructuring, according to reliable sources. The governor also planned to negotiate restructuring of about $ 9 billion of electric utility debt, a plan that could result "in a showdown with insurers". Political observers suggest that his negotiation of the electrical utility debt indicated Rosselló's intention to take
6699-410: Was confirmed as Secretary of State by House of Representatives on August 2; the Senate still had to conduct a ratification to confirm Pierluisi as secretary of state. However, he was sworn in as Governor of Puerto Rico on August 2, at 5:00 p.m. AST , immediately after Rosselló's term ended, despite not being confirmed by the Senate. He did so relying on a law that stated that when the legislature
6786-458: Was criticized for her management of Unidos por Puerto Rico ( transl. United for Puerto Rico ), a non-profit organization she created after Hurricane María which had been under investigation by the FBI. The First Lady had pointed out as having delayed the distribution of disaster relief supplies. In August 2018, at least 10 trailers which held these supplies were found abandoned in a lot near
6873-422: Was initially reluctant to take office, was sworn in as Governor of Puerto Rico. She became the second woman to assume the office and the first person to take over the position by succession and not by a democratic election. On July 8, 2019, a small segment of Telegram chat messages between Ricardo Rosselló and various members of his cabinet , former advisors, and former campaign managers were leaked and spread by
6960-463: Was married to Natasha Marie Cervi from 2008 to 2010. On October 14, 2012, Rosselló married Beatriz Areizaga in a wedding ceremony held in New Orleans, Louisiana . The couple have a daughter, Claudia Beatriz, and a son, Pedro Javier. His cousin is Roy Rosselló , a singer and former member of boy band Menudo . Rosselló was linked to a car accident caused by a drunk driver in 1994, when he
7047-511: Was not shared due to the criminal investigation they're still conducting. On November 10, 2020, special prosecutors handed their investigation into the Rosselló administration's involvement in the chat scandal to the Special Independent Prosecutor's Panel , after ten days of redacting the document. The Panel submitted their evidence to the Institute of Forensic Sciences. The Institute's detailed analysis concluded that
7134-703: Was reported to have set a protest record, with NBC News estimating the crowd size to be potentially over 1 million by 1pm (AST). The crowd size was reported to have eclipsed the previous record set when protestors gathered in 2004 to denounce the US Navy training missions in the island-municipality of Vieques . Many protested in creative ways, while doing yoga, holding signs while scuba diving under water, on horse-back, drumming, with face-painting, via group prayers, and with public demonstration of reminders of those who died in Hurricane María . On July 19, there
7221-658: Was selected to compete in the International Mathematical Olympiads . Rosselló earned a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2001 in biomedical engineering and economics. As a researcher in college, Rosselló focused on adult stem cell research . He received a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan . Rosselló is a co-founder of Beijing Prosperous Biopharm,
7308-473: Was signed into law in March 2018. In 2019, Rosselló became the president of the Council of State Governments. Rosselló is considered socially liberal . He supports abortion rights , gender equality , legalization of medical marijuana but opposes its legalization for recreational use . In terms of LGBT rights , Rosselló has a mixed record. Initially, he came out against marriage equality , however he
7395-502: Was strongly in favor of statehood for Puerto Rico to help develop the economy and to help Puerto Rico's 500-year old colonial dilemma. "Colonialism is not an option .... It's a civil rights issue ... The time will come in which the United States has to respond to the demands of 3.5 million citizens seeking an absolute democracy" he stated. In January 2017, he announced that Puerto Ricans will be given an opportunity to vote in
7482-407: Was the main form of communication between Rosselló and members of his cabinet but declined to authenticate the content of the leaked document, expressing malevolous alterations were presented on it. The ethics office's lawyers attempted to prove the authenticity of the content of the conversations through a certification request to the instant-messaging company itself, but were unsuccessful; the company
7569-585: Was the second-youngest person to become Governor of Puerto Rico. On his first day as governor, Rosselló signed six executive orders. His first executive order was the OE-2017-001, decreeing a state of fiscal emergency. The second order was the OE-2017-002, which creates the COF with the intent of obtaining, maximizing and overseeing more federal funds. The third executive order, OE-2017-003, looks to streamline
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