Puerto Rico’s Vazquez Defends Record Amid Investigation
Puerto Rico’s Vazquez Defends Record Amid Investigation
(Bloomberg) -- Puerto Rico’s governor-in-waiting, Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez, defended herself Friday after the disclosure of an ethics investigation into her conduct, decrying “vicious” attacks on her record.
“Some people’s agenda and desire to undermine my credibility and destabilize government order at this moment of transcendent importance for Puerto Rico is evident. It only seeks to perpetuates instability and unrest in the country,” Vazquez said in a statement.
Thanks to a series of resignations, Vazquez is next in line of succession after Governor Ricardo Rossello said late Wednesday that he would leave Aug. 2 after weeks of massive protests. Residents demanded his resignation after the publication of profanity-laced chats in which the governor and his inner circle made fun of ordinary Puerto Ricans and political rivals.
Shortly after his announcement, the island’s Office of Government Ethics announced a review of Vazquez’s conduct as the commonwealth’s chief law-enforcement officer. Zulma Rosario, executive director of the agency, directed her staff to look into accusations that Vazquez ignored evidence of possible corruption in the provision of hurricane relief.
Protesters have demanded a fresh start from compromised politicians whose ineffective leadership failed to end a more than decade-long recession that pushed the commonwealth into bankruptcy in 2017. Their pressure created a leadership void as officials fled Rossello’s administration after the chat scandal and the indictment this month of two former colleague on charges of steering contracts to favored companies.
Critics in the legislature have said Vazquez didn’t fully investigate the possible diversion of aid-supply trucks meant for victims of Hurricane Maria. A charity linked to first lady Beatriz Rossello was supposed to be distributing the aid. Another issue involves potential influence peddling in a medical cannabis regulatory body that they say Vazquez failed to investigate.
Vazquez in her statement Friday said that her opponents are spreading misinformation about her record. “Nothing can undermine our wish to continue to do the right thing for our people,” Vazquez said. “That has been our path.”
Enough time
Meanwhile, questions mounted over whether Rossello would nominate a new secretary of state, who, under the constitution, would be next in line to replace him when he leaves office. The position has been vacant since Luis Rivera Marin resigned because of his participation in the chats.
El Nuevo Dia newspaper said Friday that power brokers in Rossello’s New Progressive Party were weighing a handful of names, including former Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, who represented the island in Washington from 2009 to 2017. The newspaper didn’t name its sources.
Neither the governor’s office nor party leaders have publicly mentioned potential nominees. An email to the governor’s press office seeking comment was not immediately returned.
A nominee would need confirmation from a majority in both chambers of the legislature. Representative Ramon Luis Cruz, a member of the opposition Popular Democratic Party, said they could call an extraordinary session and confirm a nominee before Aug. 2.
“There’s still enough time,” he said. “Rossello should be responsible and nominate a secretary of state who can give the government the stability it needs after his administration’s disastrous management and the acts that cost him his position.”
--With assistance from Michael Deibert, Michelle Kaske and Carolina Wilson.
To contact the reporters on this story: Amanda Albright in New York at aalbright4@bloomberg.net;Karina Montoya in New York at kmontoya17@bloomberg.net;Ezra Fieser in San Juan at efieser@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Campbell at ecampbell14@bloomberg.net, Christopher Maloney, Stephen Merelman
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