New Puerto Rico leader hearing calls to resign
Controversial Vázquez has yet to take office
John Bacon and Jorge L. Ortiz USA TODAY
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The next governor of Puerto Rico is a close ally of the current one, a former women’s advocate and a controversial figure on this politically energized island.
Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez, 58, is poised to assume the island’s leadership Aug. 2 following the swift rise and meteoric fall of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló.
He resigned late Wednesday after almost two weeks of sometimes massive protests fueled by the release of tasteless private text messages two weeks ago.
Vázquez is jumping the line of succession. The secretary of state normally would be next up, but the job is vacant after Luis Rivera Marín, who figured prominently in the texting scandal, also resigned.
Vázquez’s close political ties to Rosselló, along with her own political history, have many people here viewing her as only a temporary solution. Within hours of Rosselló’s announcement, #Wandarenuncia began trending on Twitter.
“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,’ ” said Yomarili Rosa, 28, a librarian protesting Wednesday in front of La Fortaleza, the governor’s mansion.
Eduardo Garcia, 62, said he believes Vázquez is corrupt.
“She’s a justice secretary who won’t prosecute anybody from the party in power,” the retired agronomist said. “She’s not going to last a week and a half.”
A lawyer, Vázquez has a long history of government service. She worked in the Housing Department before assuming a series of positions with Justice. In 2010 she was appointed to head the department’s women’s rights office, where she sometimes clashed with feminist leaders.
Saadi Rosado of the advocacy group Feminist Collective told The New York Times that feminist groups were critical of Vázquez and said she was a bureaucrat who failed to address gender violence.
Rosselló appointed her secretary of justice when he began his four-year term in January 2017. Her short term, however, has been riddled with controversy. She was investigated for claims of favoring family members in a possibly criminal dispute, but an investigator found insufficient evidence to go forward. She also has been accused of dragging her feet on some investigations such as questionable licensing of medical marijuana clinics.
But the strongest issues have concerned corruption related to Hurricane Maria recovery. The storm devastated the island in September 2017, and many neighborhoods have yet to become whole. Many here want to know what happened to the relief money and accuse Vázquez of failing to follow through with an investigation.
Vázquez issued a statement Thursday saying the marijuana issue was referred to a prosecutor and is under investigation.