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Puerto Rico has been in a political crisis. A corruption scandal recently led to a series of resignations from government officials. More scandalous news followed. Soon, its governor will be out as well.
The problems go even deeper now. Instability within the government has intensified. The person who had presumed to take over for the outgoing governor now most likely will not.
She does not want the job
Wanda Vazquez Garced has been Puerto Rico's justice secretary since 2017. The secretary of justice is the third-highest ranking government post in Puerto Rico.
Secretary of state, a currently vacant position, is the second-highest.
With Governor Ricardo Rossello's announced resignation, it had been though that Vazquez Garced would ascend. But as CBS News reports, she has 'no interest' in becoming the governor.
Vazquez Garced reportedly instead hopes Governor Rossello will appoint a new secretary of state before leaving the office. If he does not, things complicate further. Normally, the next in line would be the secretary of the treasury. However, the current treasury secretary, Francisco Pares Alicea, is only 31 years old. By law, the governor of Puerto Rico must be at least 35 years old.
In theory, that would lead to the secretary of education. But it's unclear how well that would go over.
The man currently holding the role, Eligio Hernandez Perez, does so on an interim basis. He took the job in April after Julia Keleher resigned amidst the corruption headline. Next in line would be the secretary of labor and human resources, currently Briseida Torres Reyes.
The news Vazquez Garced denying the position may be welcome for some Puerto Ricans.
Many had been hoping she too would resign in the wake of the many scandals surrounding the administration. The Wall Street Journal reports she'd been the subject of major criticism in the past. It came while she was a district attorney with the Puerto Rico Department of Justice.
How things turned out this way
Ricardo Rossello and his administration were already unpopular because of various policy issues.
Among them, the response to Hurricane Maria. Then reports emerged about corruption among government officials. Several of whom would resign, including Julia Keleher.
More recently, hundreds of pages of private chat messages between Rossello and others were exposed to the public. Much of the content was incendiary. It included talks of violence against an opposing politician and joking about the victims of Hurricane Maria. More government officials resigned, including Secretary of State Luis G. Rivera Marin. Rossello initially refused to resign, but eventually gave in.
