A trove of text messages between the governor of Puerto Rico and his inner circle were the last straw for tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans who had already lost patience with their governor.

Puerto Ricans have taken to the streets of San Juan, demanding that Governor Ricardo Rossello step down from office after the messages laid bare the insensitive and partisan terms in which they discussed government work and the people they were elected to represent.

"We are not going to tolerate this corruption. No more lies, no more stealing," said a protester here in the city.

The outrage has been building for months. Puerto Rico has been in a recession for at least a decade. In order to pay off its debt, exacerbated in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Rosello's government has put austerity measures in place, cutting back on essential services and closed schools.

But as Puerto Ricans tightened their belts, high-ranking government officials padded their pockets. Six officials were arrested after they funneled more than $15 million in federal contracts to politically tied consultants.

Carlos Vargas-Ramos, the director of public policy in the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, said the messages revealed a side of Rosello never previously seen before.

"It provides a different view. The chats show him and some of his cabinet members using very demeaning language towards others, towards women," Ramos said.

Including former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, a frequent critic of the governor. In one exchange, Rosello suggests she should be "knocked down and mounted" after she fired off a tweet critical of Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez.

Mark-Viverito said the governor should listen to his constituents.

"Vile, aggressive, misogynistic, sexist, homophobic language," the former Council speaker said. "The governor needs to listen to the demands of his people. He needs to step down and resign because people are telling him, 'You do not represent the leadership that we want to see." 

Rosello has said he will remain in office.

Days of protests led to confrontations with police on Wednesday night. Rubber bullets and tear gas were shot in the narrow streets of Old San Juan. Those who are there say discontent is widespread throughout the island.

Yarimar Bonilla, a professor of Puerto Rican studies and anthropology at Hunter College, said the protests have been historic, marked by agreement across different sections of the population who feel the government has failed them.

"Last night was historic. Nobody here has seen anything like it, the kind of broad base support, the diversity of age, class, gender, sexual orientation, everyone united in wanting to get rid of the current governor," Bonilla said.

More demonstrations are planned in the coming days. Activists are calling on the legislature to remove Rosello if he doesn't willingly step down. His term is set to end in 2021.