BUFFALO, N.Y. — When a politician loses the trust of his or her constituents, it can become very difficult to govern.

Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas, whose mother lives in Puerto Rico, says that's what happened there.

"I think it was inevitable that the resignation come," Rosas said.

Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló said he will step down after a news outlet published pages of a profanity-laced group chat between him and his staff. While the messages spurred two weeks of protests on the island, Rosas said there's fallout in his city too, where more than half of the student population is Hispanic.

"We're definitely concerned and it does have an impact on our community in the city of Dunkirk, so we are monitoring the whole situation just to be alert and be aware of the things that are happening out there," he said.

A large Puerto Rican population exists in the city of Buffalo as well, and the Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day parade is coming up in August. Parade President Charles Torres said Western New York’s Puerto Rican community has been supportive of the movement which led to the governor's resignation.

"The government has to be held accountable and the buck stops with the governor so anything, any corruption that has happened in Puerto Rico, they're holding him accountable," Torres said.

University of Puerto Rico political science professor Cecilio Ortiz, in Buffalo for a panel discussion about the lasting impacts of Hurricane Maria, says the exposé was the last straw for an island tired of government corruption.

"Really that was our second hurricane and it really took our political system down right now taking us to the verge of a crisis," Ortiz said.

He said the real test will be what happens moving forward.

"This has been an organic type of mobilization. No political party has really been noticed as steering or mobilizing these crowds so for a political scientist, this is an extremely rich environment in which to see the power of the people can actually be channeled in a way that social change can come about," Ortiz said.