Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court has agreed to rule on a lawsuit filed by the island’s Senate to oust a veteran politician who was sworn in as governor.
The court gave all parties until Tuesday at noon to file all arguments. The announcement means that a court hearing planned for early Monday evening to handle the lawsuit has been cancelled.
The Senate originally filed the lawsuit with the Court of First Instance but then asked if the Supreme Court could take the case.
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction ordering Pedro Pierluisi to cease his functions immediately and also asks that the court declare unconstitutional a 2005 law that states a secretary of state does not have to be approved by both House and Senate if he steps in as governor
Pedro Pierluisi, a 60-year-old veteran politician, was sworn in as Puerto Rico’s new governor on Friday, according to the U.S. territory governor’s office.
Pierluisi replaced embattled Ricardo Rossello, who stepped down as governor following weeks of street protests in the Caribbean island after the leak of hundreds of pages of text messages in which Rossello and other male administration members made vulgar, sexist and inappropriate comments. Earlier this week he was sworn in as Puerto Rico’s secretary of state, making him next in line of succession.
Before leaving office on Friday, Rossello said Pierluisi doesn’t need to be confirmed to be appointed as governor, citing a 1952 law.
However, some legislators and political experts pointed out the confusion of the appointment process, and said that Pierluisi needs approval from the island’s House of Representatives and Senate to fill the role. The House approved his confirmation earlier Friday. The Senate was expected to vote it by last Wednesday.
In a press conference shortly after his swearing-in, Pierluisi said some people were questioning his legitimacy as governor and that he will respect the Senate’s final decision.
“If the Senate ratifies my position there should be no more controversy,” he said, adding that he is ready to step down in the case that he is not approved by legislators.
Cruz Soto, pre-candidate for governor for the opposition Popular Democratic Party (PDP), and Rivera Schatz, acting president of the New Progressive Party (NPP), filed judicial appeals in the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and in the Court of First Instance in which the legitimacy of the governor is questioned. Soto explained to Prensa Latina that Pierluisi is an extension of the ‘scam’ of Rossello Nevares’ government, and has conducted a coup d’etat to usurp the governorship of Puerto Rico over and above the constitutional succession process.
Pierluisi is a corporate lawyer for a law firm which represents the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, an agency Congress created in 2016 to help manage territory’s financial crisis. He is also Puerto Rico’s former resident commissioner, the island’s sole representative in Congress, from 2009 to 2017.
He also previously served as Puerto Rico’s secretary of justice under former Governor Pedro Rossello, the outgoing governor’s father, according to local media reports. (Periódico Digital Centroamericano y del Caribe)
