Puerto Rico has named its third governor in just a week following a court ruling that Ricardo Rosselló’s first successor was unconstitutional.
Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez was officially sworn in on Wednesday evening, taking the oath of office at the Puerto Rican Supreme Court.
The day’s events settle at least the dispute over who will lead the U.S. territory after its political establishment was knocked off balance by large protests.
But they were also expected to unleash a new wave of demonstrations because many Puerto Ricans have said they don’t want Vázquez as governor.
Former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló was forced to resign following anger over corruption, mismanagement of funds and a leaked obscenity-laced chat.
Pedro Pierluisi was appointed secretary of state by then-Gov. Ricardo Rosselló while legislators were in recess, and only the House approved his nomination.
Pierluisi was then sworn in as governor Friday. But that was challenged in court by the Senate.
Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez is sworn in as governor of Puerto Rico by Supreme Court Justice Maite Oronoz, in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Wednesday
The Puerto Rican Supreme Court ruled that Pedro Pierluisi’s, left, swearing in last week was unconstitutional. Former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, right, was forced to resign by anger over corruption, mismanagement of funds and a leaked obscenity-laced chat
Puerto Rico’s Senate sued to challenge Pierluisi’s legitimacy as governor, arguing that its approval was also necessary. The Supreme Court judges ruled in favor of the Senate.
‘Our legal system imposes in the Secretary of Justice to assume the position of Puerto Rico governorship, a position that I am willing to assume with the responsibility and seriousness that it merits,’ Vázquez said in a statement that was released shortly after the announcement was made.
‘Puerto Rico needs certainty and stability.’
Vázquez is the second woman to hold the post since Sila Calderón, who was in office from 2001 to 2005.
Pierluisi previously said he would respect whatever ruling was made.
Shortly after it was announced, someone yelled through a loudspeaker near the governor’s mansion: ‘Pierluisi out! The constitution of Puerto Rico should be respected!’
Pierluisi, who lost the 2016 governor’s primary to Rosselló, was then sworn in after Rosselló formally resigned in response to angry street protests after 889 pages of the explosive texts messages were publicly revealed.
On Sunday, Puerto Rico’s Senate president Thomas Rivera Schatz sued to challenge Pierluisi’s legitimacy as governor, arguing that its approval was also necessary.
The Senate decided not to hold a vote during a special session that was held Monday although Rivera Schatz said Pierluisi only had five of 15 required votes.
The Supreme Court judges ruled in favor of the Senate.
‘It is concluded that the swearing in as governor by Hon. Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia, named secretary of state in recess, is unconstitutional,’ the court said in a brief statement.
Puerto Rico’s Senate president Thomas Rivera Schatz (pictured) sued to challenge Pedro Pierluisi’s legitimacy as governor, arguing that its approval was also necessary. The island’s Supreme Court ruled in the Senate’s favor Wednesday
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin (C), alongside Puerto Rican rapper Rene Perez, aka Residente, march along Las Americas highway as they take part of a national strike demanding Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello resignation earlier this month
The Senate had also asked the court to declare unconstitutional a portion of a 2005 law saying a secretary of state need not be approved by both House and Senate if they have to step in as governor. Puerto Rico’s constitution says a secretary of state has to be approved by both chambers.
The court agreed that the clause was unconstitutional.
Six of its nine judges were appointed by governors from Pierluisi’s party, the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, and three by the main opposition Popular Democratic Party.
Vázquez has previously said she was not interested in the job, and some legal experts say she has the right to appoint a secretary of state and step down.
She became justice secretary in January 2017 and has limited experience leading government agencies. She previously worked as a district attorney for two decades at Puerto Rico’s justice department, handling domestic and sexual abuse cases, and in 2010 was appointed director of the Office for Women’s Rights.
Some critics say that as justice secretary she was not aggressive enough in pursuing corruption investigations involving members of her New Progressive Party, and that she did not prioritize gender violence cases.
Last November, the Office of Government Ethics said it had received a complaint about possible ethical violations involving Vázquez, who was accused of intervening in a case involving a suspect charged with stealing government property at a home where Vázquez’s daughter lived.
Vázquez took the oath of office early Wednesday evening at the Puerto Rican Supreme Court
Vázquez appeared in court to face charges including two violations of a government ethics law. In December a judge found there was no evidence to arrest her.
Rosselló’s resignation followed nearly two weeks of protests amid anger over corruption, mismanagement of funds and a leaked obscenity-laced chat in which he and 11 other men including government officials mocked women, gay people and victims of Hurricane Maria, among others.
More than two dozen officials resigned in the wake of the leak, including former Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marín.