Puerto Rico chaos: Governor-apparent Wanda Vázquez doesn't want the job

The woman in line to become governor of Puerto Rico said Sunday that she doesn't want the job and hopes disgraced Gov. Ricardo Rosselló appoints a secretary of state who would then serve as his successor when his resignation becomes effective Friday.

Rosselló announced his plan to resign last week following a scandal over inappropriate text messages. The secretary of state is next in line, but that post has been vacant since Luis Rivera Marín, also involved in the controversy, quit days before the governor did.

That left Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez as next up. She balked from the outset, however. On Sunday she tweeted her misgivings.

"I reiterate, I have no interest in occupying the position of Governor," she said. "I hope that the Governor identifies and submits a candidate for the position of Secretary of State before August 2 and I have told him so."

Rosselló announced his resignation July 24, following almost two full weeks of large, sometimes unruly daily protests. Many of the protesters view Vázquez as a clone of the governor and called for her ouster before she was ever in.

#WandaRenuncia has been trending on Twitter, and a rally in opposition to Vázquez was planned for Monday in San Juan.

"The plot thickens," Carlos A. Suárez Carrasquillo, a Puerto Rico native who lectures on Latin America at the University of Florida, said of Vázquez's tweet. "And it's not a surprise. There has been a mobilization against her."

Rosselló appointed her secretary of justice when he began his four-year term in January 2017. Controversy quickly found Vázquez. She was investigated for claims of favoring family members in a possibly criminal dispute, although officials found insufficient evidence to go forward. She also has been accused of dragging her feet on investigations such as questionable licensing of medical marijuana clinics.

But the strongest issues have concerned corruption related to Hurricane Maria recovery. The storm devastated the island in September 2017, and many neighborhoods remain in ruins. Many here want to know what happened to the relief money and accuse Vázquez of showing little interest in finding out.

Vázquez's unwillingness to take the job is a reflection of the growing divisions within Rosselló's powerful, pro-statehood New Progressive Party. Rosselló recently resigned in leadership, handing the reins to Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz.

Schatz is believed to want the governor's job.

If no secretary of state is named, the next in line would be Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés, but at 31 he's too young. Next up: Secretary Eligio Hernández, who rose to that post in April when his predecessor was forced to resign amid corruption charges.

The next few days are likely to see a power struggle play out within the party, Suárez said.

"I think there are negotiations going on and they are regrouping," Suárez told USA TODAY. "She was supposed to be part of a smooth transition, but this make me wonder if the governor was outmaneuvered."

A wave of corruption charges in recent months, coupled with the economic gloom of more than a decade of recession – further inflamed by the hurricane – had left Rosselló with little room for error. Then the text messages were leaked and he fell too far to recover.

The texts were sent among Rosselló and about a dozen male associates from November 2018 to January 2019. They were cruel and aimed at a wide range of targets, from internationally known Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin to Schatz.

The touched off an avalanche of resignations, most recently Public Affairs Secretary Anthony Maceira on Sunday.

"There were many challenges that we had to face together as Puerto Ricans, although sometimes we differed," he said. "The work of each one of us must continue with the welfare of our island and its people as its north."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Puerto Rico chaos: Governor-apparent Wanda Vázquez doesn't want job