Bay Area Puerto Ricans demand Gov. Ricardo Rosselló step down

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Puerto Rico is more than 3,600 miles away from San Francisco. Despite the distance, Puerto Ricans held a protest in front of City Hall calling for the resignation of the governor of that island, Ricardo Rosselló. This comes after he was caught in a private group chat making vile and threatening remarks.

A demonstration was scheduled to coincide with a much bigger protest on the island. People at both events demanded Rosselló step down.

"All of us together, we are over the issue of corruption, we're already so tired of it being institutionalized," said San Jose resident Ashley Gautier.

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Remarks made between the governor and his staff and cabinet members were leaked by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

For example, one against the federal board, which manages Puerto Rico's financial crisis, reads, "Dear Oversight Board, Go F*** Yourself."

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Another comment was made by his chief financial officer against the mayor of San Juan saying he wanted to shoot her.

According to the leaks, the governor responded, "You'd be doing me a grand favor."

Homophobic comments were also made against singer Ricky Martin.

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Puerto Rico is still in a deep financial recession. Emotions are still raw from the devastating Hurricane Maria and what they perceive was the lack of support from the Trump administration. They thought Governor Rosselló was someone they could trust.

"It's a betrayal, a huge betrayal," said Berkeley resident Jessica Arroyo. "It's not a party issue here, it's just a personal character issue and we need someone in that office who takes care of its people."

If the governor resigns, next in line would be the state secretary, a vacant position. It would then fall on the treasury secretary, but he resigned amid this scandal. That leaves the justice secretary who, in November 2018, was being investigated for violating an ethics law.

"We have the power like we can make a change so I'm hoping something positive comes," said Santa Clara resident Cesar Andreu.