Puerto Rico鈥檚 political leadership is unraveling at high speed, pushed along by an ex-education secretary鈥檚 arrest last week and the leak of private messages between Gov. Ricardo Rossell贸 and his top officials that include derogatory comments about the teachers鈥� union president.
Julia Keleher, who was appointed by Rossell贸 as secretary in late 2016 and served as the island鈥檚 schools chief until April, was related to how she handled millions of dollars in government contracts. Her arrest reignited ongoing debates about her and the governor鈥檚 successful push to expand educational choice, close hundreds of schools, and reform the island鈥檚 education bureaucracy, as well as her status as a non-Puerto Rican.
See Our In-Depth Coverage: Putting Puerto Rico鈥檚 Schools Back on Track
Then on Saturday, the Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico 鈥攎ostly in Spanish鈥攂etween Rossell贸 and some of his top advisers. The leaked messages have caused a political firestorm on the island, leading to several resignations and growing calls for the governor to step down.
Among the messages鈥� targets was the Asociaci贸n de Maestros de Puerto Rico, the island鈥檚 teachers鈥� union, and its president, Aida D铆az. In a Dec. 19, 2018 exchange, the then-chief financial officer of Puerto Rico, Christian Sobrino, responded to a statement from AMPR about union negotiations by saying in English, 鈥淚 DONT [sic] NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS!鈥�
If that epithet sounds familiar, you might be thinking of former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, who once called the National Education Association a 鈥渢errorist organization.鈥�
Four days earlier, in response to other comments from D铆az in support of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yul铆n Cruz, Sobrino said he was 鈥渟alivating鈥� at the idea of shooting a person or people. However, it鈥檚 not entirely clear from Sobrino鈥檚 remark about shooting if he meant Cruz, D铆az, or both of them, or someone else. In the messages, Rossell贸 responded that this would be helpful to him. ( on Sunday after these and other messages were made public.)
In response to the messages, El Vocero newspaper in Puerto Rico reported Sunday that ; the union president claimed the remark about shooting was directed at her. Announcing a lawsuit against Sobrino and Rossell贸, . On Monday, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten also called for the governor to resign, saying that the governor 鈥減ersonally led and condoned hateful and racist attacks against Puerto Rican citizens.鈥�
The governor also had not-very-kind things to say about Paul Pastorek, the former Louisiana superintendent who led the state鈥檚 schools following Hurricane Katrina and was hired by Keleher last year as a consultant. (.) Upon learning that Pastorek had received a $250-per-hour contract from Puerto Rico鈥檚 education department, Rossell贸 called Pastorek 鈥渁 monster.鈥�
It鈥檚 noteworthy that the governor essentially attacked the decision by his own education secretary to hire Pastorek. The governor doesn鈥檛 elaborate on his distaste for Pastorek in the leaked messages.
In another 2018 exchange, responding to a story about the musician Bad Bunny鈥攚ho was born in Puerto Rico鈥擲obrino asked if Bad Bunny would be opening a charter school (it鈥檚 not clear if Sobrino asked the question in jest). Earlier that year, the governor approved charter schools to open in Puerto Rico.
Photo: Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossell贸 holds a press conference, almost two days after federal authorities arrested the island鈥檚 former secretary of education and five other people on charges of steering federal money to unqualified, politically connected contractors, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, July 11, 2019. (Carlos Giusti/AP)