Crowds cheered in front of the governor's mansion in San Juan when Governor Ricardo Rosello announced he would be stepping down in face of protests. The online announcement followed an hours-long wait on Wednesday evening, after the leader of the US territory's House of Representatives, Carlos Mendez, threatened to launch impeachment procedures, Deutsche Welle reports.
Rosello said his resignation would take effect on August 2.
"I trust that Puerto Rico will continue united and move forward as it always has," Rossello said in the message published on the government's Facebook page.
"And I hope that this decision will serve as a call for citizen reconciliation."
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The 40-year-old politician faced protests and major upheaval earlier this month, when his online chat with 11 other people, including government officials, was leaked. In it, Rosello calls one woman a "whore" and another "daughter of a bitch." He also makes fun of an obese man with whom he posed for a photo. Other participants, all of them male, also made jokes at the expense of constituents, including survivors of hurricane Maria, and made sexist and homophobic remarks.
Parallel to the online scandal, Rosello was also shaken by the FBI arresting Puerto Rico's former education secretary, Julia Keleher, and five other people, for suspected wrongdoing involving federal funds.
The revelations prompted mass protests in the US territory. On Sunday, Rosello gave up the leadership of his party and pledged not to seek reelection in 2020 in an apparent bid to appease his critics. However, he also repeatedly said he would not be resigning. His latest statement to that effect was on Tuesday, just a day before his announcement.
