Puerto Rico swears in another governor

Name: WORLD
Price range: $

A protester outside the governor’s mansion Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico Associated Press/Photo by Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo

Puerto Rico just got its third governor in a week. Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez took the oath of office Wednesday, replacing Pedro Pierluisi, the handpicked successor of former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló.

What happened to the two previous governors? Rosselló stepped down amid protests over a texting scandal, corruption, and financial mismanagement. The constitution of the U.S. territory puts the secretary of state next in line to be governor, but the ongoing political upheaval left that spot vacant. Rosselló tried to appoint Pierluisi as secretary of state in time to replace him, but the Puerto Rican Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the move unconstitutional. Vázquez’s ascension likely won’t satisfy the protesters, who see her as a Rosselló collaborator.

Lynde Langdon

Lynde is WORLD’s executive editor for news. She is a graduate of World Journalism Institute, the Missouri School of Journalism, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Lynde resides with her family in Wichita, Kan.

@lmlangdon