That only further angered his critics, who have mounted street demonstrations for more than a week.
On Sunday evening, Rosselló, a Democrat, sought to calm the unrest by promising not to seek re-election in 2020 or continue as head of his pro-statehood New Progressive Party. territory over persistent corruption and mismanagement by the island's two main political parties, a severe debt crisis, a sickly economy and a slow recovery from Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017. The leak has intensified long-smoldering anger in the U.S.
The protest came 10 days after the leak of 889 pages of online chats in which Rosselló and some of his close aides insulted women and mocked constituents, including victims of Hurricane Maria. "Finally, the government's mask has fallen," said Jannice Rivera, a 43-year-old mechanical engineer who lives in Houston but was born and raised in Puerto Rico and flew in to join the crowds. The demonstration appeared to be the biggest protest on the island in nearly two decades. Ricardo Rosselló in a crisis triggered by a leak of offensive, obscenity-laden chat messages between him and his advisers. Waving flags, chanting and banging pots and pans, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans jammed a highway Monday to demand the resignation of Gov.