<> also known as “Verano del 2019” (Summer of 2019), made history as one of the biggest protests in Puerto Rico’s history, demanding the immediate resign of the then governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares. The wave of protests were initiated after the Center of Investigative Journalism (CPI) exposed a private group chat (via an application called Telegram) in which the Governor and his assessors made fun of and insulted artist, politicians, journalists and even citizens with sexist, discriminatory, and homophobic comments.
The reveal of the private group chat was accompanied by: corruption scandals, the arrest of cabinet officials, poor financial management, and, finally, a highly deficient emergency response to Hurricane María’s destruction.
On July 24, 2019, after 15 consecutive days of intense protests, mostly concentrated at La Fortaleza in Old San Juan, the governor announced his resignation and left his position to Secretary of Justice, Wanda Vázquez Garced, on an interim basis.