Ricky Martin And Bad Bunny Joined Protestors In Puerto Rico Calling For Gov. Ricardo Rosselló To Step Down

Thousands of protestors were met with tear gas and rubber bullets, the New York Times reported, as they flooded the streets in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Wednesday night demanding that Gov. Ricardo Rosselló step down.


The protestors — including Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, and Residente — made their way to Rosselló’s official house holding signs and chanting. According to CNN, Bad Bunny contained a sign calling for Rosselló’s resignation and Residente instructed them crowd: “This government has to start respecting the people. We can't stop protesting.”


Once the protestors made their way to the governor’s home, they were met with barricades put in place by police in riot gear and, eventually, the police hit them with rubber bullets and tear gas, the Times announced. Wednesday’s protest marked the fifth straight day of action from demonstrators demanding that the governor step down right after years of agitation with the government’s scandals and mismanagement. On July 13, the aggravation came to a head whenever nearly 900 pages of profoundly homophobic and misogynistic messages between Rosselló and his inner circle were procured and published by Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism. In response, Puerto Rican citizens started calling for him to step down. The governor rejected, and the protests began.


“He needs to know that no one in Puerto Rico wants him,” one protester yelled to the crowd on Wednesday, according to CNN.


The protests were matched across the nation, with demonstrators flooding streets in Miami, Orlando, and New York City chanting: “Viva Puerto Rico libre,” which translates to “Long live free Puerto Rico,” the Associated Press reported. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who attended the march in New York City, instructed them AP that right after years of corruption, these latest leaked messages are “the last straw and Puerto Ricans are standing up against it.”


“I'm so numb from politics in America,” Miranda told CNN. “But the people of Puerto Rico are numb and so they are waking us all up. I'm going to have their backs.”


The governor does not appear to be as moved by the people of Puerto Rico as Miranda is, though. He has regularly stated that he is going to not step down, a stance he repeated on Tuesday, moments immediately following the police force fired tear gas into a group of protestors. “I have not committed any unlawful or corrupt acts,” he reported, according to CNN. “I committed inappropriate acts and have expressed regret for that.”


Rosselló might not directly be stepping down once soon, although his his political objectives — including pushing for statehood for the U.S. Commonwealth — will probably be put on hold right after Puerto Rico's Justice Department issued summonses for each person involved in the message scandal with the governor, according to the New York Times. All 11 people, including Rosselló himself as well as his aides and Cabinet members, have been grouped to appear before department officials, a department official Mariana Cobian told CNN.


“I have never seen or heard of a transparent government,” Vanessa Ruiz, a teacher in Puerto Rico instructed them New York Times. She was at the protests on the island on Wednesday — it was her first protest ever. “I haven’t lived under a government that hasn’t been corrupt. This is why we came.”