Puerto Rico’s Governor to Resign After Weeks of Public Outcry

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said he would resign from office, bowing to public outcry over scandals that have convulsed the U.S. territory’s political system and further imperiled its economy.

His decision Wednesday marked the first-ever resignation of a Puerto Rico governor and followed the release of nearly 900 pages of vulgar messages between him and his advisers, sparking protests that drew hundreds of thousands of demonstrators into the streets of San Juan.

Mr. Rosselló said his resignation would be effective on Aug. 2 at 5:00 p.m. The governorship would typically be passed to the secretary of state, but he was among several officials who recently resigned. Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez is next in the line of succession and Mr. Rosselló said she would replace him. He said he would help facilitate an orderly transition.

“I gave the maximum, dedicating day and night, weekends and holidays to meet the needs of my people,” Mr. Rosselló said. “I feel that to continue in this position presents difficulty for the success that we have achieved to endure.”

His announcement came after 11:30 p.m., hours after it was expected—a delay that left many in Puerto Rico anxious and wondering whether it would come at all.

Mr. Rosselló—a member of Puerto Rico’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party and a Democrat—was elected in 2016, promising to dig Puerto Rico out of a mountain of bond debt and pension obligations and to reverse a decade of economic contraction. But his successor will assume office as many of those problems remain unsolved.

Puerto Rico has struggled to rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, while it navigates a court-supervised bankruptcy and clashes with the Trump administration. Recent public protests have demanded a harder line against the unpopular fiscal board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances and steering its restructuring.

Ms. Vázquez said Mr. Rosselló made “the right decision, for the good of both his family and for Puerto Rico, as I let him know.” She said she would assume the governor’s office “if necessary,” leaving open the possibility that another politician from the New Progressive Party could be elevated to the role.