Puerto Rico lawmakers push to impeach crisis-beset governor

Puerto Rico's opposition lawmakers called for the legislature to start impeachment proceedings against besieged Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who has been crippled by two weeks of mass protests calling for his ouster over scandalous text messages and corruption investigations.

Rossello, who took office in 2017, remained out of public view Wednesday despite newspaper reports that his resignation is imminent. But with his administration in disarray following a string of staff departures, Puerto Rico's minority party in the House of Representatives, led by Rafael "Tatito" Hernandez, asked the speaker to take steps to remove him.

"Every day that goes by while the governor is still in office threatens our stability," Hernandez said in an interview Wednesday. "Right now, this is the only option we have."

Speaker Carlos "Johnny" Mendez, a member of Rossello's New Progressive Party, called lawmakers to the capitol to receive a report from a panel of three lawyers charged with examining whether Rossello could be impeached. Enrique Colon Santana, one of the lawyers, said they had found evidence of crimes, but declined to elaborate.

The moves add pressure on Rossello to step down amid upheaval that's plunged the bankrupt island deeper into uncertainty as it struggles to revive a recession-scarred economy and rebuild from 2017's devastating Hurricane Maria.

Rossello's office on Wednesday said the governor is contemplating his future.

"He is in a process of reflection and of listening to the people," according to a statement. "Whatever decision he makes, it will be communicated officially, as usual."

The popular outcry was set off by a massive leak of chats among Rossello and his aides in which they disparaged his opponents in profane, sexist language and appeared dismissive of the struggles of ordinary Puerto Ricans. That came on the heels of the arrest of two of his former top aides and four others on federal charges of theft, money laundering and wire fraud. The officials were charged with steering contracts to favored companies, which reinforced protesters' feelings that the government is rife with patronage and corruption.

Over the past week, Rossello became increasingly unable to govern as tens of thousands of protesters flooded San Juan's colonial quarter for evening protests, where they chanted, banged drums and vented at a chief executive depicted as a prisoner, mobster or goat on their placards. On Sunday, they celebrated a partial victory when Rossello stepped down as head of his New Progressive Party and said he wouldn't seek a second four-year term in the 2020 election.

That failed to contain the outrage, and Rossello was further weakened by the resignation of key staff members. Since the disclosure almost two weeks ago of the text messages, the administration has lost its investment officer, press secretary and two fiscal agency heads -- one of whom lasted just five days. The governor's chief of staff quit Tuesday night.

The parade of departures muddled the constitutional line of succession. It also threatened to strengthen the hand of a congressionally mandated fiscal oversight board that wields sweeping power to impose austerity measures and which represents the commonwealth in its bankruptcy. Two courts are holding hearings in the case Wednesday.

In San Juan federal court, Martin Bienenstock, an attorney for the federal board, said it will miss its self-imposed deadline for filing a restructuring plan for debt tied to the central government. He said that "recent events" haven't changed the board's legal positions.

U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain paused the litigation for 120 days and ordered bondholders and commonwealth and board officials to attend mediation sessions aimed at resolving lawsuits stemming from the bankruptcy.

While Rossello has clashed with the board over the budget, such conflicts only underscored Puerto Ricans' feelings of powerlessness and contempt for politicians whose profligacy drove the territory into ruin. On Tuesday, the board said in a statement that the street protests reflect "a justified crisis of confidence in government institutions."

The hundreds of text messages among Rossello and his aides triggered fury that contrite statements couldn't soothe. In one, the governor's former chief financial adviser joked about dead bodies piling up in morgues after Hurricane Maria, the storm that crippled the power system for weeks.

The broader anger stemmed from years of mismanagement, corruption and cutbacks, including the closing of hundreds of schools, as well as the halting recovery from the hurricane. Retired government workers are also in limbo, uncertain about how their pension checks will be cut because Puerto Rico's retirement system has run out of cash.

The stage was set by a series of corruption allegations. The lurid texts were released days after the U.S. Justice Department announced the indictments of Rossello's former education secretary and health insurance administration director. Rossello's Treasury Secretary Raul Maldonado was fired last month after disclosing a federal corruption investigation.

Prices on most Puerto Rico securities have held steady as investors have grown accustomed to defaults, bankruptcies and destruction. General obligations with an 8% coupon and maturing in 2035 traded Wednesday at an average of about 53 cents on the dollar, little changed from before the indictments and leaked chats, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

But the crisis has affected investment as Puerto Rico's ability to woo business "has definitely been impaired," said Jose Ledesma-Fuentes, president and board chairman of Puerto Rico's Chamber of Commerce.

"We have a lot of very key and crucial vacancies that need to get filled immediately," he said.

Rossello's reported impending departure was preceded by that of his chief of staff, Ricardo Llerandi, who resigned Tuesday night. Press secretary Denisse Perez quit, as did the island's secretary of state, Luis Rivera Marin. Chief investment officer Gerardo Portela said Sunday he would leave. Christian Sobrino, the head of the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority who participated in the offensive chats, resigned this month. His successor, Jose Santiago Ramos, submitted his resignation Friday after a week. He'll be off the job Aug. 16.

“There isn’t an adult running the day-to-day government,” said Hernandez, the House minority leader.