Puerto Rico braces for more protests against latest governor

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Ricans braced for more political turmoil today as the third governor in a week took charge of this U.S. territory still divided over who should lead the economically struggling island of 3.2 million people.

The swearing in of Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez as governor was expected to spur renewed protests since many Puerto Ricans see her as an extension of Ricardo Rosselló, who resigned the governorship after weeks of street demonstrations demanding his removal.

Vázquez sought to calm the anger in a televised statement late Wednesday, saying she feels the pain Puerto Ricans have experienced in recent weeks and vowing to unify the island and bring much needed stability.

"We have all felt the anxiety provoked by the instability and uncertainty," she said. "Faced with this enormous challenge and with God ahead, I take a step forward with no interest other than serving the people as I have done my whole life."

Vázquez, who has worked in the government for more than 30 years, stepped into the position Wednesday when Puerto Rico's Supreme Court declared that Rosselló's pick, Pedro Pierluisi, had been placed in office unconstitutionally.

"Puerto Rico is living its most important juncture of its democratic history," Supreme Court President Maite Oronoz wrote in her opinion. "The summer of 2019 will be remembered as the moment without precedent in which Puerto Ricans – of all ages, ideologies, backgrounds and creeds – threw themselves into the streets to demand more from their government."

Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz has said publicly he backs Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González – Puerto Rico's representative to the U.S. Congress – to become governor. For that to happen, she would have to be nominated as secretary of state and confirmed and then Vázquez would have to resign, though the new governor gave no indication she would step aside despite saying previously she didn't want the job.