Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello’s pick to replace him after he leaves office next month does not want the job.
Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez Garced has asked Rossello to designate a new replacement before he officially resigns as Puerto Rico’s chief executive on August 2. Rossello tenured his resignation after messages he sent making offensive remarks leaked to the public.
Vázquez announced on Twitter that she is not interested in holding the governor’s office and has requested that Rossello find a new replacement.
Me reitero, no tengo interés en ocupar el puesto de Gobernadora. Es un dictamen Constitucional. Espero que el señor Gobernador identifique y someta un candidato para el puesto de Secretario/a de Estado antes del 2 de agosto y así se lo he manifestado.
— Lcda Wanda Vázquez Garced (@wandavazquezg) July 28, 2019
Vázquez took over Puerto Rico’s justice department in 2017. Shortly afterward, “#WandaRenuncia,” or #WandaResign, began trending on Twitter while critics accused her of slow-walking legal action against corrupt members of Puerto Rico’s government.
Rossello announced his resignation Wednesday and protesters in San Juan took to the streets again, this time to celebrate that they had forced Rossello out of office.
In the leaked messages, Rossello at times directed his ire toward U.S. officials tasked with overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances and other Puerto Rican officials.
“Dear Oversight Board, Go F— Yourself,” Rossello said in one message referring to the federal board responsible for monitoring how the island spends federal funds.
In another chat, Rossello told another official that “you’d be doing me a grand favor” if he shot San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz.
