page_title: Wanda Vázquez Garced
section_title: Governor of Puerto Rico
hierarchical_section_title: Wanda Vázquez Garced / Career / Governor of Puerto Rico
caption_attribution_description: English: Just had a very productive meeting with Governor of Puerto Rico @wandavazquezg. We covered many topics, including statehood and ongoing disaster recovery efforts. Thank you to the Governor for hosting me!
context_page_description: Wanda Vázquez Garced is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who has been the Governor of Puerto Rico since August 7, 2019. Prior to her tenure as governor, she served as the 19th Secretary of justice from 2017 to 2019. A member of the New Progressive Party and Republican Party of Puerto Rico, Vázquez Garced is the second female governor in Puerto Rico history after Sila María Calderón. She assumed the office following the resignation of Ricardo Roselló and the judicial annulation of Pedro Pierluisi's short-lived government in the aftermath of the Telegramgate Scandal. On August 16 she failed to secure the New Progressive Party nomination to Pedro Pierluisi for Governor of Puerto Rico in the 2020 elections.
  Garced's accession to the governorship was at the epicenter of a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in the case of Senado de Puerto Rico v. Hon. Pedro R. Pierluisi, by which Puerto Rico highest court derogated a clause added by Puerto Rico Law # 7 of 2005 to the Constitution of Puerto Rico, annulled Pedro Pierluisi's government, and reinforced the 1952 Constitutional provisions for succession of government.
context_section_description: Vázquez Garced was initially expected to become governor of Puerto Rico after the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló on August 2, 2019. She was met with opposition, with critics calling for her resignation due to allegations of corruption and inability to deal with domestic violence on the island. Protests against her proposed succession as governor took place, the most notable of these being the Somos Más march, Spanish for "We Are More", a title alluding to a popular chant during the protests calling for Rosselló's resignation. The hashtag #WandaRenuncia (Spanish for "Wanda Resign") began trending on Twitter soon after Rosselló announced his intention to resign. Vázquez said on Twitter that she had no interest in becoming governor, and that she would take the position only if she were constitutionally required to.
  On July 31, Rosselló announced that he was appointing Pedro Pierluisi as the new Secretary of State; the secretary of state supersedes the secretary of justice in the order of succession. On August 1, however, the Puerto Rican Senate blocked Pierluisi from being confirmed as secretary of state in time for Rosselló's resignation on August 2. Upon Rossello's resignation, Pierluisi succeeded to the governorship in a de facto manner instead of Vázquez. However, he was not confirmed by the Senate, calling into question the validity of his governorship.
  On August 7, 2019, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ruled that Pierluisi was sworn in on unconstitutional grounds and removed him from office, effective at 5 p.m. AST. At that time, Vázquez became the second female governor of Puerto Rico.
  Vázquez stated she wants to recover Hurricane Maria relief funds, and review all government contracts to ensure they are managed correctly, free of corruption. She said she wants to work with President Donald Trump to help the island of Puerto Rico and its 3.2 million American citizens. She stated all contracts signed by Ricardo Rosselló would be reviewed.  At the same time, HUD (Housing and Urban Development) stated that hurricane funds would be delayed to Puerto Rico due to corruption, and incapacity to absorb funds for projects, respectively.
  In the aftermath of 2019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes residents discovered unused aid from Hurricane Maria in a warehouse in Ponce and as a result Vázquez fired her emergency management director. On July  21, 2020, the Puerto Rico Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor's Panel opened a case against Vázquez for alleged violation of the Commonwealth's ethics law, as well as federal regulations, related to her handling of aid to the earthquake victims. She responded by accusing the judge in charge of the investigation of being a supporter of her primary elections challenger Pedro Pierluisi. Vázquez was ordered by the panel to present evidence in the form of photos which she claimed demonstrated that political motives were behind the investigation, but she failed to provide said evidence.
  On March 12, 2020, Vázquez Garced declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico and activated the Puerto Rican National Guard as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico.
caption: Wanda Vázquez Garced meeting with U.S. Congressman Don Young in November 2019.
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