John Yang:

Rossello's final crisis was sparked nearly two weeks ago with corruption charges against six members of his administration. Then came a leak of offensive chat messages between Rossello and his aides that denigrated women, LGBTQ people, political opponents and even hurricane survivors.

And amid growing protests, Puerto Rican lawmakers said they would begin impeachment proceedings if Rossello refused to resign. The scandal resulted in more than a dozen resignations, including the island's secretary of state, who was poised to succeed Rossello.

Now Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez is in line for the office. But some Puerto Ricans say she wasn't aggressive enough in pursuing an investigation into the leaked chat messages. For many residents, the frustration reflects years of economic recession, austerity measures imposed by the financial control board created by Congress, and anger over corruption and a sluggish government response to 2017's Hurricane Maria.

The succession process, already complicated by Cabinet vacancies, is far from settled. Analysts say someone other than Justice Secretary Vazquez could end up as governor.

New York Times correspondent Frances Robles has been covering the unfolding drama in San Juan, which is where she is tonight, and joins us by Skype.

Frances Robles, thanks for being with us.

We saw the scenes of the jubilation of the people on the streets of San Juan today. As you were out there talking to them, what does this moment mean to them?