As mass street protests demanding his immediate resignation intensified over the weekend and are expected to continue growing Monday, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello stepped down as head of his party on Sunday and announced he will not seek reelection in 2020--but stopped short of leaving his post.
"To every Puerto Rican man and every Puerto Rican woman, I've heard you and I hear you today," Rossello said during a Facebook livestream. "I've made mistakes and I have apologized."
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who is running for governor in 2020, tweeted in response to Rossello's remarks: "It is not enough. He needs to go!"
Rossello's announcement came over a week after the publication of nearly 900 pages of conversations between the governor and his aides, which contained racist and sexist messages and mockery of the victims of Hurricane Maria.
The revelations were met with outrage and sparked a flood of demonstrations calling on Rossello to step down immediately.
Rossello's decision Sunday came just hours ahead of what is "expected to be one of the biggest protests ever seen" in Puerto Rico, according to the Associated Press.
"Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to take over one of the island's busiest highways Monday morning to press demands for the resignation of Rossello over an obscenity-laced leaked online chat the governor had with allies as well as federal corruption charges leveled against his administration," AP reported.
Monday will mark the 10th consecutive day of widespread street demonstrations against Rossello. Johanna Soto, a Puerto Rico resident, told AP that the protests will continue until the governor steps aside.
"The people are not going to go away," said Soto. "That's what he's hoping for, but we outnumber him."
