Telegramgate

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Telegramgate was a political scandal in Puerto Rico that was sparked by the posting of chat messages in the summer of 2019. In it, leading politicians expressed themselves insulting large parts of the population. This led to the largest mass protests in the history of the island and the resignation of the governor Ricardo Rosselló and other members of the government.

The name of the scandal is derived from the instant messaging service Telegram used . In relation to the most prominent actor and based on WikiLeaks , the name RickyLeaks was also circulating .

trigger

On July 8, 2019, local media released excerpts from private Telegram chat messages between Rosselló and his closest confidants, including lobbyists . On July 13, 2019 were nearly 900 pages with chat messages from the Puerto Rican NGO for investigative journalism , Centro de Periodismo investigativo (CPI), published.

Content of the chat messages

The messages from the chat group were perceived as vulgar , misogynistic and homophobic . The exclusively male members of the group made fun of political rivals, as well as their own supporters and well-known personalities such as the singer Ricky Martin , and spoke disrespectfully about the victims of Hurricane Maria in 2017 . In addition, the news aroused suspicions that there had been conflicts of interest and corruption .

Chat group members

The eleven members of the chat group include:

  • Ricardo Rosselló, Governor of Puerto Rico
  • Luis Gerardo Rivera Marín , Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
  • Anthony Maceira, Minister for Public Affairs of Puerto Rico
  • Raúl Maldonado, Minister of Finance of Puerto Rico until June 2019
  • Ricardo Llerandi , Chief of Staff of the Governor, Chief Administrative Officer of the Governor's Residence and Director of the Department of Trade and Export
  • Christian Sobrino, senior tax officer
  • Elías Sánchez, lobbyist and Rosselló's campaign manager in the 2016 gubernatorial election

Protests and political consequences

Protesters celebrate the announcement of the governor's resignation on July 25, 2019

In the country marked by a protracted economic crisis, difficult reconstruction after the hurricane and several corruption scandals, many Puerto Ricans saw the revelations as a drop that broke the barrel. Rosselló broke off his vacation in Europe and returned to Puerto Rico on July 11, 2019. At the airport he was received by demonstrators, who then continued their protest at his residence and who demanded his resignation. It was the prelude to a series of almost daily mass protests with sometimes more than 500,000 participants. Musicians who participated in the demonstrations, such as Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny , Residente or iLe, became figureheads of the protest movement. Athletes like Carlos Delgado , Jaime Espinal and Félix Trinidad also support the protests. One of the forms of protest was the cacerolazo .

The first resignations came on July 13: Lieutenant Governor Luis Marín and the tax officer Christian Sobrino resigned from their offices. On July 17, the Justice Department ordered everyone involved in the chat group to be summoned and their cell phones inspected. Meanwhile, tear gas was used during demonstrations .

On July 19, the President of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives established a committee to clarify whether there were grounds for impeachment against the governor. On July 23, a judge ordered the cell phones of the chat group members to be returned. On the same day, Ricardo Llerandi resigned from all his functions. Rosselló, however, declared that he did not want to resign. On July 24th, the President of the House of Representatives, after consulting the committee, decided to initiate impeachment proceedings. Thereupon Rosselló announced in the evening that he would resign on August 2nd.

On July 28th, Anthony Maceira resigned.

As the constitutional successor to the office of governor, Lieutenant Governor Marín, had already resigned, Justice Minister Wanda Vázquez Garced was the next in line. She herself was criticized, she was accused of improperly prosecuting party colleagues. At the demonstrations that were still taking place, the resignation of Vázquez was called for - as a preventive measure, so to speak. She herself announced on Twitter that she would not seek the post of governor. The next constitutional candidate would have been Finance Minister Francisco Parés, but since he was only 31 years old and the governor must be 35 or older, he was out of the question.

Finally, on July 31, Rosselló nominated the former representative of Puerto Rico in the US Congress , Pedro Pierluisi , as vice governor and thus as constitutional successor in the office of governor. Pierluisi was confirmed as Vice Governor by the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico on August 2, 2019. On the same day he was sworn in as the new governor of Puerto Rico. However, since the confirmation as vice governor by the second chamber of parliament, the Senate, was still pending, the legitimacy of the swearing-in as governor was often questioned. Following a complaint from the Senate, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ruled on August 7, 2019 that Pierluisi's swearing-in was not constitutional and that he could not remain in the office of governor. Therefore, Wanda Vázquez Garced was sworn in as the new governor at 5:00 p.m. on the same day.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ^ A b c d e Nicole Acevedo: What's behind Puerto Rico's protests, scandal? Here's 5 things to know. In: nbcnews.com . July 19, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Andreas Evelt: Resignation of Puerto Rico's governor - The new power of the people. In spiegel.de . July 26, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b c After mass protests: Puerto Rico's governor resigns. In: orf.at . July 25, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019.
  4. ↑ Almost all citizens insulted: "Rickyleaks" cost Puerto Rico's governor the job. In: derstandard.at . July 25, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019.
  5. ↑ Michael Deibert: Puerto Rico Governor Ousts Treasurer Amid Reported FBI Probe. In: bloomberg.com . June 24, 2019, accessed on August 3, 2019.
  6. ↑ a b Frances Robles, Patricia Mazzei: Puerto Rico Authorities Seize Cellphones Connected to Online Chat That Triggered Uprising. In: nytimes.com . July 23, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019.
  7. ↑ Embattled Puerto Rico governor asks forgiveness for profanity-laced rant in leaked messages. In: cbsnews.com . July 12, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019.
  8. ^ A b Nicole Acevedo, Gabe Gutierrez, Annie Rose Ramos: Puerto Ricans flood streets, demand resignation of governor in huge protest. In: nbcnews.com . July 22, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019.
  9. ^ Mónica B. Ocasio Vega Op-Ed: Puerto Ricans Turn to Cacerolas When Their Voices Have Been Silenced or Ignored. In: remezcla.com . July 24, 2019, accessed January 20, 2020.
  10. ↑ Luis Valentin Ortiz: Top Puerto Rico officials resign in group chat scandal that ensnares governor. In: reuters.com . July 14, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019.
  11. ↑ Nicole Chavez, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Leyla Santiago, Mayra Cuevas, Meridith Edwards: Puerto Rico protesters are clearing the streets after a night of demonstrations included police firing tear gas. In: cnn.com . July 18, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019.
  12. ↑ Mayra Cuevas, Dakin Andone, Amir Vera: Impeachment committee forms in Puerto Rico as protesters call for Gov. Rosselló to resign. In: cnn.com . July 20, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019.
  13. ↑ Patricia Mazzei, Frances Robles: Ricardo Rosselló, Puerto Rico's Governor, Resigns After Protests. In: nytimes.com . July 24, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019.
  14. ↑ Abel Alvarado: Renuncia Anthony Maceira, secretario de Asuntos Públicos de Puerto Rico. In: cnnespanol.cnn.com . July 28, 2019, Retrieved August 4, 2019 (Spanish).
  15. ↑ Puerto Rico governor's chosen successor may not be in place when Ricardo Rosselló resigns Friday. In: cbsnews.com . August 1, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019
  16. ↑ Frances Robles, Patricia Mazzei: Puerto Rico Governor Names Pedro Pierluisi as His Possible Successor. In: nytimes.com . July 31, 2019, accessed August 4, 2019.
  17. ↑ Frances Robles, Patricia Mazzei: Ricardo Rosselló Steps Down as Puerto Rico's Governor, and Pedro Pierluisi is Sworn in to Succeed Him. In: nytimes.com . August 2, 2019, accessed on August 3, 2019.
  18. ↑ Patricia Mazzei, Frances Robles: Puerto Rico Supreme Court Rules New Governor Was Unlawfully Sworn In. In: nytimes.com . August 7, 2019, accessed on August 7, 2019.
  19. ^ Nicole Acevedo: Puerto Rico has third governor in a week after Rosselló's successor ruled unconstitutional. In: nbcnews.com . August 7, 2019, accessed on August 7, 2019.