Puerto Ricans question outgoing governor’s pick of successor
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An unprecedented political crisis that started three weeks ago ground to a fitful and controversial conclusion Friday afternoon, when outgoing Gov. Ricardo Rossello said he was handing power to Pedro Pierluisi, his recently appointed secretary of state.
But even as the former politician and lawyer was poised to take the reins of this territory of 3.2 million people, there were questions swirling about his legitimacy.
According to some interpretations of Puerto Rico’s constitution, both chambers of the legislature needed to approve Pierluisi as secretary of state to put him in the line of succession. On Friday, the House narrowly gave him the green light, on a 26-21 vote, but the Senate has said it won’t take up the issue until Monday.
Given that, some argued that Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez — second in line of succession — should have taken the governor’s spot.
In a statement late Friday, Rossello said the decision to hand power to Pierluisi was based on a 1952 law that establishes that “it is not necessary for the secretary of state to have been confirmed to assume the governor’s seat permanently.”
As flag-waving and cheering crowds packed the streets around the governor’s mansion, La Fortaleza, it wasn’t clear until the last minute who would be sworn in as governor — or if the act would be held in public.
Standing outside congress earlier in the day, Carmen Vega, a 53-year-old former Army veteran, was yelling at legislators who crossed her path. “We’re watching you! We’re watching you!” she screamed.
Vega said she, like many others, had been shocked by the corruption allegations surrounding Rossello’s Cabinet and the profane, misogynistic and tasteless messages he shared in a group chat with some of his closest advisers.
While Vega was cheering Rossello’s downfall she said she was willing to give Pierluisi the benefit of the doubt.
“I’m sure he’s not a saint,” she said. “But he has the credibility we need right now.”
In particular, she said Pierluisi’s eight years as resident commissioner in Washington, D.C., means he has the contacts on Capitol Hill to make sure funds and aid keep flowing to the island, which is still recovering from Hurricane Maria in 2017.
But she said the crowds that gathered last month and successfully forced Rossello to resign would keep Pierluisi on a tight leash.
“We got rid of one and we’ll keep watching,” she said. “If I see the same corruption, if I see that it’s business as usual, I will be the first one protesting.”
Pierluisi, 60, started off the day being grilled by a House committee in an often heated session. And his prospects looked dark when House leader Carlos “Johnny” Mendez said he would vote against the appointee, saying there were “too many questions” to rush the vote.
In particular, Mendez said he and his colleagues had been under the impression that in his role as a lawyer, Pierluisi had tried to stop an investigation into a development project planned for the former Roosevelt Roads naval base.