(Bloomberg) -- Pedro Pierluisi, whose ascension to the Puerto Rico governor’s office has triggered a legal fight over his legitimacy, said he would honor a Senate vote on his right to the office, the latest in a series of seemingly contradictory remarks that have caused even more chaos in a volatile succession crisis.
The question of whether it was legal for him to take over for Ricardo Rossello on Friday despite the lack of Senate approval for his position was also winding through the island’s court system Monday. That’s left Pierluisi in a precarious position, with the possibility he could be forced at any time to stop acting as the top executive of the U.S. territory.
“If the Puerto Rican Senate decides to carry out any type of vote on my incumbency, I will respect the result of said vote,” he said Monday, appearing to reverse course from statements he made over the weekend, which themselves were seen as an about-face.
The dizzying developments reflected a constantly developing story playing out simultaneously in court, the halls of the local Congress and the streets of San Juan, where protesters have been active for much of the the past month and forced Rossello’s resignation.
The Senate had been expected to hold a session at 3 p.m. local time Monday, but not to vote on Pierluisi’s “incumbency.” Instead, lawmakers had been expected to weigh in on his appointment as Rossello’s secretary of state, a position that is next in line to the governor. When Rossello stepped down Friday, Pierluisi took his place, even without having completed the confirmation process.
Private Ceremony
Meanwhile, Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz filed suit Sunday to force Pierluisi to “cease and desist occupying and exercising the functions of the Puerto Rican governorship.” The Senate also requested a ruling on the succession framework, which could permanently undermine any remaining claim Pierluisi might have to the office. The body is asking the island’s top court to take the case.
The developments are the latest in a battle that began when Rossello was forced from the governorship after chats leaked in which he disparaged average Puerto Ricans. Pierluisi, his chosen successor, was confirmed only by the local House of Representatives. Nonetheless, Pierluisi took the oath in a private ceremony at his sister’s home seconds after Rossello officially stepped down.
His first remarks as “governor” were deferential to the pending Senate vote, but late on Sunday, he appeared to make the point that the Senate vote on the secretary of state nomination was moot, and that he wanted the judges to decide. His latest statements open the possibility of another type of vote in the Senate, one which would be expressly about his right to the governorship.
If the lawsuit doesn’t speak for itself, Senate President Rivera Schatz has left little doubt that he opposes Pierluisi and how he’s assumed the office. But the political landscape has been shifting rapidly, with old ruling party alliances fraying. Indeed, Pierluisi’s nomination in the House overcame what that chamber’s President Carlos “Johnny” Mendez had originally predicted to be insurmountable resistance.
Reluctant Stand-In
If the Senate gets its way in court, the real governor might turn out to be Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez, who doesn’t want the job and has said she would take it only as a matter of constitutional responsibility.
The chaos is weighing on the U.S. commonwealth’s fragile economy, its record bankruptcy and the prospects of federal aid to rebuild from 2017’s Hurricane Maria.
All the major players in the drama -- Pierluisi, Vazquez and Senate President Rivera Schatz -- belong to the New Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Party, which many protesters thought they were ousting when they drove Rossello from office. The party dominates both chambers of the legislature and the governorship.
But Puerto Ricans say they’re fed up with the status quo, under which free-spending and corrupt politicians helped the island of 3.2 million amass $74 billion in debt, all the while overseeing a collapse of the economy that spurred an exodus to the mainland. They also blame the Popular Democratic Party, the main opposition, which was in power during many of the years of misspending.
It wasn’t clear which replacement governor might satisfy protesters who flooded Old San Juan’s cobbled streets, leaving behind graffiti reading “Pierluisi, you’re next!” and “No to Wanda.”
Gustavo Velez, a Guaynabo economist and head of consulting firm Inteligencia Economica, said it may be early to declare the end of the establishment.
“Its legitimacy is really undermined, but at this point, there are no feasible political options, nor an effective leader to replace the traditional ones,” said Velez.
Much could turn on the influence of the senate president, a New Progressive stalwart who is running for governor in 2020. Several lawmakers supported him to step in now, and some have suggested a plan is still afoot to make that happen. Rivera Schatz has said he hasn’t asked anyone to give him the job.
‘Enemy No. 1’
In a fiery speech Thursday, he excoriated critics and blasted what he called a media conspiracy. He said that Pierluisi was “Puerto Rico’s public enemy No. 1.”
He has also been an outspoken critic of Justice Secretary Vazquez, whose resignation he demanded last year amid an investigation into whether she improperly tried to influence a criminal case involving a break-in at her daughter’s home.
At the heart of the resistance to Pierluisi is his role in creating a deeply unpopular federal oversight board, which is trying to enforce austerity to help restructure the debt. As the nonvoting representative for Puerto Rico in the U.S. House from 2009 to 2017, Pierluisi championed a law called Promesa that gave Puerto Rico a path to bankruptcy court but also installed the board. Then, Pierluisi worked for O’Neill & Borges LLC, the board’s on-island law firm.
Blaming Wall Street
“He represents the financial sector that has been ruining us,” said Yadira Carrasquillo, 45, a U.S. Army veteran among about 100 protesters in front of the governor’s mansion on Sunday afternoon.
Pierluisi’s critics said the work constitutes a conflict of interest, which he denies. He says he never wanted the board, but accepted it as part of a tough negotiation that brought other benefits.
The leadership crisis began July 13, when Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marin, a participant in the infamous messaging group, was among the first in the administration to resign -- a gesture meant to save the administration when it still seemed salvageable. Swelling street protests soon made Rossello’s own job untenable.