The governor has resigned, but Puerto Rico has a trust problem in Washington — and at home

What was planned to be yet another massive strike calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rosselló became a historic day of celebrating a seemingly impossible victory Thursday, following the governor’s announcement the night before that he will be stepping down next week.

But the festivities that followed the governor’s resignation, the first one in the island’s history, were quickly eclipsed Thursday morning with the publication of a series of leaked text messages allegedly exchanged by the woman who is expected to become Rosselló’s successor.

It was enough for Puerto Rico’s Office of Government Ethics to initiate an investigation into potential violations by Justice Department Secretary Wanda Vázquez, who would be next in line to replace Rosselló. Among other allegations, the leaked messages suggest Vázquez may have failed to investigate a controversy of aid distribution after Hurricane Maria, local media reported.

The leaked information, which some argue illustrates Vázquez’s closeness to the federal corruption scandal plaguing the last days of the Rosselló administration, could further sink a nearly bankrupt island that is struggling to prove to U.S. lawmakers that it can be trusted to spend federal funds. Beyond Rosselló’s resignation, there is a feeling among island and mainland officials that Puerto Rico’s credibility woes are far from over and its next leader could prove pivotal.

“The question of [members of U.S. Congress] is, ‘Why are we going to assign more funds if they’re going to be stolen?” Republican Rep. Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico’s sole non-voting representative in Congress, told the Miami Herald. “I’m worried about this environment of lack of credibility of the government’s institutions… I’m worried about the instability of cabinet members.”

The federal indictments of six former officials and contractors in Rosselló’s administration on July 10 came a day before a healthcare bill crucial to Puerto Rico was voted on in the U.S. House Health subcommittee. The legislation, which would give Puerto Rico billions of dollars in Medicaid funds, was approved before the committee with stricter controls over how the money is disbursed and managed on the island.

“Everyone is watching television,” she added. “There’s a huge concern about federal funds.”

To assuage the government’s distrust, Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott joined Gonzalez on Wednesday in sending a letter to the White House asking President Donald Trump to appoint a federal coordinator to oversee the implementation of Puerto Rico’s disaster funding.

The letter noted that similar coordinators were appointed in the U.S. mainland to oversee the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and superstorm Sandy.

“We are concerned that in light of recent events in Puerto Rico, the families on the Island will not receive the support they need in a timely manner,” the letter said. “Therefore, we consider it urgent that the implementation of critical recovery and review processes be supported by direct federal oversight, which can be achieved through action from your Administration. We encourage you to establish a clearly defined Federal Coordinator for the reconstruction of Puerto Rico.”

As the island continues to recover from the devastating hurricane nearly two years ago, former Miami Rep. Carlos Curbelo said Rosselló’s replacement has to prioritize reestablishing credibility by increasing federal oversight.

“The most important audience for Puerto Rico is the United States Congress,” Curbelo said. “A lot of members of Congress see these images and are deeply troubled… It’s not only justified but probably necessary for the federal government to play a greater supervisory role on the island right now.”

But increased federal oversight is not necessarily welcomed by many in Puerto Rico. The island’s finances are already overseen by a federally appointed fiscal oversight board, dating back to the passing of the PROMESA Bill in 2016 under former President Barack Obama to manage a $74 billion debt.

“The fact is that greater federal controls will be added to funds that arrive to Puerto Rico,” said D.C.-based consultant Federico de Jesús. “The question is if they are reasonably onerous, or if they’re unworkable or if they’re something that will guarantee the money will get to the people.”

De Jesús said although he believes the new layers of oversight added to the Medicaid bill are positive, he did not think a proposed federal monitor to watch over the disaster funds on the island would necessarily improve Puerto Rico’s image in Congress.

“The chant of people [during the protests] was, ‘Ricky, resign and take the [oversight] Board with you,’” said De Jesús, adding that it was more urgent to spend allocated aid money than creating more bureaucratic structures.

“Almost two years later, there’s 30,000 people with no roofs living under blue tarps,” he said. “The demonstrations have sent the world the message that … after the hurricane, we were the ones who helped ourselves.”

New leadership on the island

The island’s Justice Department secretary is third in the line of succession to replace the governor, after the secretary of state. But after 889 pages of a leaked Telegram chat implicated Rosselló and 11 close aides and cabinet members, Puerto Rico’s former secretary of state, Luis Rivera Marín, resigned from his position. Rosselló, whose resignation is effective Aug. 2 at 5 p.m., has left the position vacant.

Curbelo, a Republican and ally to Gonzalez, said the resident commissioner was “very effective” in communicating with members of Congress on Puerto Rico’s needs. But aside from setting specific requests about what reforms are needed to clean up corruption within the island’s government, he said he thinks the island also needs a heavy-handed public relations strategy to clean up its image.

Gonzalez, a member of Rosselló’s pro-statehood party and a Republican, has been previously floated as a candidate for governor in 2020. Although she did not say if a run for Rosselló’s current seat was off the table, she said the ongoing fragility of Puerto Rico’s government should take precedence.

“Honestly, with the situation in Puerto Rico, talking about candidacy would be irresponsible,” she said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Wednesday in Tallahassee that he would support Gonzalez if she was mulling a run for governor. “She is a very, very strong voice for Puerto Rico in Washington and I think she’d be a really good governor if she decides to do it,” DeSantis said.

Scott said Puerto Rico needs new leadership but declined to endorse Gonzalez or anyone else as Puerto Rico’s next governor.

“I think they’ll have to figure that out,” Scott said.

Puerto Ricans want to keep a closer eye on corruption

While the high-stakes future of Puerto Rico in Washington remains uncertain, Puerto Ricans are also keeping a close eye on their government.

The recent historic protests, and Rosselló’s decision to resign, have made Puerto Ricans feel empowered by peaceful protesting. There is a renewed sense of pride in the persistence of collective action and it has encouraged the belief that it is up to Puerto Ricans themselves to clean up government corruption.

“When people realize that you’re not just the employee, you are the employer, that you get to decide who is on top, this is what happens,” said 30-year-old Luz Torres.

“This is a moment now to educate ourselves, to educate people like our grandparents, our parents, that maybe are too loyal to a party,”’ she added. “We have too many rotten apples in this basket.”

Miami Herald staff writer Alex Daugherty contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 6:00 AM.