MIAMI, Aug 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rossello
stepped down as planned on Friday after being pushed out of office by massive
street protests, though uncertainty clouded over his replacement.
With hundreds of people in the streets ahead of Rossello’s exit, the House
of Representatives confirmed Pedro Pierluisi as secretary of state, making
him the US territory’s interim leader.
Rossello had nominated Pierluisi, a member of his New Progressive Party
(PNP), as secretary of state on Wednesday, lining him up to serve as governor
until the next elections in November 2020.
“I accept this responsibility with the greatest respect for our people and
our system of government,” Pierluisi said at a small swearing-in ceremony.
“The Puerto Rican people can rest assured that its government is in good
hands,” he stressed.
However, Pierluisi’s appointment as secretary of state had not been
confirmed by the Senate, which was in recess. It is scheduled to consider the
matter next week, leaving Pierluisi’s status open to legal challenge.
“If I am not confirmed in my post, then Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez
will be in line to take over as (interim) governor,” Pierluisi said.
Protests in Puerto Rico started July 13, when the Center for Investigative
Journalism released 889 pages of leaked text chats.
In the texts, Rossello and 11 other male administration members made fun of
women, gays, victims of Hurricane Maria in 2017, journalists and other
politicians.
Among those they made homophobic jokes about was San Juan native pop star
Ricky Martin.
The messages were widely seen as the painful last straw for people fed up
with years of economic stagnation, corruption, government mismanagement and a
slow and sloppy recovery effort after Maria, which killed nearly 3,000 people
in September 2017.
Three days before the release of those chats, prosecutors charged six
former government officials with embezzling $15 million in hurricane
reconstruction money.
Rossello announced last week that he would resign on Friday, capping two
weeks of popular anger.
While Puerto Ricans are delighted at Rossello’s departure, many said they
wanted completely new leadership for the territory, whose residents are US
citizens.
The Caribbean island of 3.2 million residents has a representative in
Washington but no voting powers in Congress. The PNP wants the island to
become the 51st full US state.
The island has been gripped by recession for a decade, and lost almost a
quarter of its population in just the past several years.