Puerto Rico: suppose a new governor with the promise to bring "tranquility to the people", but uncertainty persists

While the crowds the demonstrations forced the resignation Ricardo Rosselló, Pedro Pierluisi's lawyer, promised Friday as governor of Puerto Rico: "Now the people can be calm."

The House of Representatives approved Pierluisi's appointment, but the senate vote It will be next week and this leaves a margin of uncertainty.

"I'm baduming this responsibility with the middle finger respect for our people and our system of government, "Pierluisi told a group of reporters after being sworn in at a private ceremony.

His predecessor, Rosselló, announced his resignation on July 24 as a result of a scandal causing the escape of a conversation with messages. homophobic, misogynist and offensive towards the victims of the hurricanes of 2017. Its departure was effective Friday afternoon.

In the midst of the scandal, Secretary of State Luis Rivera also resigned from his post, which should have taken the governorship. Next is the Secretary of Justice, Wanda Vázquez, who, despite accepting the post, later rejected him.

Rosselló then named Pierluisi at the last minute as the new secretary of state, with the idea of ​​becoming governor after his resignation.

Therefore, the situation on this American territory still has some problems. uncertainty. The House of Representatives has approved the appointment of Pierluisi as Secretary of State, but the Senate has not yet voted because he is suspended and will decide whether or not to approve his appointment.

Pierluisi made it clear that he would submit to the decision of the Senate "in the interest of unnecessary controversy, because we do not want to constitutional crisis".

The next elections they will take place in November 2020, with those of the continental United States.

"The impudence is total!"

Pierluisi was a member of the Congress for Puerto Rico in Washington from 2009 to 2016. That year, he lost the primary to Rosselló before devoting himself to private practice.

Both belong to the new Progressive Party (PNP), which advocates the annexation of this Caribbean island as a state 51 of the United States.

The company in which Pierluisi worked before being appointed by Rosselló, O & # 39; Neill & Borges, attends the Fiscal Oversight Board, a team of auditors appointed by the US Congress to oversee the bankruptcy process at Porto Rico.

Before suffering the scourge of two hurricanes in a row (Irma and María), Puerto Rico had already suffered a serious fiscal crisis and declared bankruptcy in May 2017 with a debt of 70,000 million dollars.

For this, certain sectors they are wary of the appointment of Pierluisi as governor.

"Do not stop flyingRicardo Rosselló flies to Puerto Rico the right to have a governor who does not represent the interests of the board of directors. Today, he swears the meeting. Impudence is total! ", Said on his Twitter account the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz.

Puerto Rico, from 3.2 million inhabitants, is an American territory in the Caribbean and has a delegate with votes but no vote in the House of Representatives.