Wanda Vazquez, who is poised become Puerto Rico governor, is already facing heat before even taking office: Here's why

Reuters

Puerto Rico's Secretary of Justice Wanda Vazquez attends a news conference in an undated still image from file video in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

• After embattled Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rosselló announced his resignation, the woman named as his successor, Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez, began facing heat from protesters.
• Critics claim Vázquez deliberately delayed investigations into members of her own party, improperly intervened in a case involving alleged theft of government property, and didn't prioritize the needs of women on the island.
• In tandem with the trending hashtag #RickyRenuncia, calls for Vázquez's resignation began trending on Twitter under the hashtag #WandaRenuncia.
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Ricardo Rosselló, the embattled sitting governor of Puerto Rico, announced his impending resignation from office on Wednesday night. Though he doesn't leave office until August 2, his named successor, Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez, is already facing heat from protesters.

In tandem with the trending hashtag #RickyRenuncia, calls for Vázquez's resignation began trending on Twitter under the hashtag #WandaRenuncia.

Massive protests, which began two weeks ago after the leak of Rossello's misogynistic and homophobic text messages, resumed the day after he announced he was stepping down from office. But this time, they were aimed at Vázquez.

"I was here until about 2 a.m., and when they said through the megaphone that Wanda would be the one to take over, everybody started saying 'No' and immediately started yelling, 'Wanda resign,'" Yomarili Rosa, who protested Wednesday outside La Fortaleza, the governor's mansion, told USA Today.

Read more: Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is expected to resign after his leaked text messages prompted massive protests on the island

Rosselló said he would step down from his position by 5 p.m. local time on August 2. Per the line of succession in Puerto Rico, the next-in-line should technically be the Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marín. However, Marín resigned on July 13 after the Center of Investigative Journalism (CPI), an investigative news outlet in Puerto Rico, published 889 pages of messages between Marín, Rosselló, and other officials revealing lewd exchanges about women and mocking their constituents.

Vázquez, who would become the island's second female governor, responded to the release of the messages, saying in a statement that she recognized "the frustrations and pressures of the day-to-day can be expressed in an incorrect way within the privacy of a friendship."

"I have to express the deep regret this causes me as a woman, as a mother, as a professional and as a citizen of this beautiful island," she continued in the statement. She was not among the 11 top aids that exchanged profanity-laced messages with Rosselló about other politicians, the media, and celebrities.

Here's why people are protesting Vázquez: