ISLAND IN CHAOS
Puerto Rican pols fight over who will lead
SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico’s political crisis appeared to deepen on Wednesday as the island’s outgoing governor and legislators — including those from his own party — clashed over who should be the next leader of a U.S. territory unbalanced by massive protests.
The upheaval has raised fears that a government in chaos will have trouble negotiating for more federal funding for recovery from Hurricane Maria and coping with the island’s grave economic woes.
Gov. Ricardo Rossello announced that he had chosen Puerto Rico’s former nonvoting representative to Congress, Pedro Pierluisi, as his secretary of state — a post that would put Pierluisi in line to be governor when Rossello steps down on Friday.
But he’s unlikely to be approved by legislators, several of whom proposed instead naming Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, a declared candidate for the 2020 governor’s election.
Some lawmakers complained about Pierluisi’s work for a law firm that represents the federal control board that was created to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances before the territory, saddled with more than $70 billion in public debt, declared a sort of bankruptcy. Pierluisi’s brother-in-law also heads the board, which has clashed repeatedly with Rossello and other elected officials over demands for austerity measures.
“That’s a serious conflict of interest,” Rep. Jose Enrique Melendez told The Associated Press.
Rep. Milagros Charbonier and House of Representatives President Johnny Mendez also said they would vote against Pierluisi and urged Rossello to instead nominate Rivera Schatz. All three legislators are members of Rossello’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
Rossello has said he will resign on Friday, bowing to the demands of massive street protests by Puerto Ricans frustrated with corruption, mismanagement and an obscenity-laced chat that was leaked in which Rossello and 11 other men made fun of women, gay people and victims of Hurricane Maria.
More than a dozen officials have resigned in the wake of the chat, including former Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marin.
On Wednesday, new excerpts of the chat were released by an online blog called “En Blanco y Negro con Sandra,” which released the first excerpts of the same talk last month. In the newest release, the group makes fun of people including the Senate president, Schatz, and several journalists, while Rossello once again calls another female politician a “whore.” The authenticity of the chat could not be immediately verified. A spokeswoman for Rossello did not immediately return a message for comment.
By law, the secretary of state would take over if the governor resigns, but if someone is not named by Friday, Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez would be next in line. She has said she doesn’t want the job, however, and has not said what she’d do if it falls to her anyway.
Legislators were expected to meet on Thursday to debate Pierluisi’s nomination, which must be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Pierluisi represented Puerto Rico in Congress from 2009-2017 and then ran against Rossello in the 2016 primaries and lost. He also previously served as justice secretary under Rossello’s father, Pedro Rossello, when he was governor.