Tomorrow, there is scheduled to be yet another planned protest against Puerto Rico’s current governor Ricardo Rosselló in an attempt to force him to step down as governor. Throughout the past couple of weeks, Puerto Rico has been in intense turmoil as a result of leaked texts showing Governor Ricardo Rosselló using sexist, ableist, homophobic, and other offensive language. The texts spanked about 900 pages, and they mocked the LGBTQ community, insulted women, and even made fun of Hurricane Maria victims. The leaking of these texts, in a lot of ways, has just added fuel to the fire in Puerto Rico, which has experienced many economic and political challenges in recent years. Even before the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017 (which killed over 3,000 Puerto Ricans, ruined Puerto Rico’s water and communications systems, and destroyed thousands of homes), Puerto Rico dealt with massive debt and corruption. Since the hurricane, the economic struggle in Puerto Rico has only intensified under Rosselló’s guidance. Since Ricardo Rosselló’s election in 2016, he has neglected to make political strides towards American statehood, which was a goal of his going into office, and he has also been criticized for his response to the 2017 Hurricane Maria. Needless to say, the leaking of Rosselló’s unacceptable texts was all the Puerto Rican people (and global allies) needed to finally call for the governor’s resignation. For weeks now, Puerto Ricans have gathered in San Juan to protest the governor; there have been large demonstrations by horseback, kayak, and motorcycle, and the protests continue growing with the addition of celebrities like Ricky Martin and Bad Bunny. So far, Rosselló has refused to step down and, since early July, has been uncharacteristically silent on social media.
These protests are an interesting representation, in many ways, of the recent impact social media has had in determining political matters, at least in America and other free states. Social media has allowed residents of countries like America to hold their political representatives accountable and to push for the political changes they wish to see. Although the impact of social media in distributing global news definitely has its downsides, it's interesting to see how social media has allowed Puerto Ricans to fight for much needed political changes.
Links to learn more about the Puerto Rican protests:
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