Bad economic times could lead to deaths of people with low income who are most vulnerable to an economic downturn.

Ricky Martin

a spectacular, nearly 900-page leak known as “RickyLeaks”

With the slow pace of hurricane recovery exacerbating the lingering mental health crisis of the island’s residents, anger at the local government, and fury toward the federal government adding to the island’s deep troubles—including over $70 billion in debt—the people of Puerto Rico have clearly had enough, and many are beginning to demand radical changes beyond the cry of “Ricky Renuncia,” or “Ricky Resign.”

The protests were mainly galvanized by a spectacular, nearly 900-page leak known as “RickyLeaks” containing text messages between Governor Ricardo Rosselló and his private circle that were sent in December 2018 and January 2019. The leaks were filled with vulgar, homophobic and misogynistic messages about other politicians, media members, celebrities, and a range of other Puerto Ricans. While some of the leaked chats read like drunken rambling, many of the messages have touched the sore nerves of various segments of the Puerto Rican population. In one message, Rosselló calls Melissa Mark-Viverito, the Puerto Rico-born former speaker of the New York City Council, a “whore.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In another exchange, government critic and popular San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz also comes under harsh fire from Christian Sobrino Vega, then Puerto Rico’s chief fiscal officer, who says, “I am salivating to shoot her.” The governor responds: “You’d be doing me a grand favor.”

Nobody’s happy

If the power authority were to demand immediate payment from them, it could set off a domino effect of defaults and insolvencies.

The commission, established in 2014, is the power authority’s first independent regulator; previously the public-owned monopoly regulated itself.

Until now, the power authority’s terms gave cities no incentive to conserve. The more free power they used, the more they could receive.

And that is the catch. What most likely would be the biggest recurring expense for these attractions — electricity — costs Aguadilla nothing. It has been provided free for years by the power authority, known as Prepa.