Puerto Rico swears in third governor in less than a week
By Ray Sanchez, CNN
Updated 6:24 PM ET, Wed August 7, 2019
(CNN)Puerto Rico's Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez Garced was sworn in Wednesday afternoon as the third governor that the financially and politically troubled island has had in less than a week.
Hours earlier, the US territory's highest court declared unconstitutional the governorship of disgraced former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló's handpicked successor, a move certain to prolong the political crisis on the US territory.
The unanimous decision by the Supreme Court threw out last week's swearing in of attorney Pedro Pierluisi on grounds he had not been confirmed as secretary of state by both chambers of the legislature.
Pierluisi, in a statement shortly before Vázquez took the oath, announced that his short-lived tenure had come to an end after just five days.
More:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/07/us/puerto-rico-new-governor-court-decision/index.html?cid=web-alerts&nsid=83393950
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Earlier article:
Wanda Vázquez Doesn’t Want to Be Puerto Rico’s Next Governor
Posted: July 29, 2019
Puerto Rico’s scandal continued this weekend as the government official who was expected to replace ousted governor Ricardo Rosselló–who resigned last week after two weeks of public outcry calling for him to step down–said that she does not want to become governor.
As dictated by the law, Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez was assumed to become governor on August 2. However, Vázquez took to Twitter on Sunday to announce that she is not interested and that she would like for Rosselló to choose someone else for the job.
“I reiterate, I have no interest in occupying the position of Governor,” said Vázquez in her tweet. “It is a Constitutional opinion. I hope that the Governor identifies and submits a candidate for the position of Secretary of State before August 2 and I have told him so.”
Vázquez’s reluctance does not come as a complete surprise—citizens of the island were already calling for her to resign before Rosselló even left the position. Many believe that her complacency during the mishandling of the Hurricane Maria disaster in 2017 and subsequent investigation, proves that she is not fit for the office of governor.
More:
https://hiplatina.com/wanda-vazquez-declines-governor-job-puerto-rico/
