Gov. Pedro R. Pierluisi of Puerto Rico misplaced his bid for a second time period on Sunday, struggling a uncommon defeat by a sitting governor on the island after a rancorous major.
Mr. Pierluisi was defeated by Consultant Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico’s nonvoting member of Congress, within the major for the governing New Progressive Social gathering, which helps Puerto Rican statehood, The Related Press reported.
4 years in the past, Mr. Pierluisi and Ms. González-Colón ran as allies on the identical ticket, promising unity after a tumultuous interval that included the resignation of a former New Progressive governor. However in difficult Mr. Pierluisi, her former ally, Ms. González-Colón forged his administration as out of contact and ineffective.
Puerto Rican politics don’t neatly align with partisan politics within the mainland. Whereas Mr. Pierluisi and Ms. González-Colón each belong to the pro-statehood occasion, Mr. Pierluisi is a Democrat and Ms. González-Colón is a Republican.
Within the different major held on Sunday, for the Well-liked Democratic Social gathering, which helps the island’s current standing as a U.S. territory, State Consultant Jesús Manuel Ortiz defeated State Senator Juan Zaragoza by a large margin. The overall election might be held Nov. 5.
Puerto Rico has been rebuilding its tenuous financial system after the extreme blows brought on by a monetary disaster, a chapter, Hurricane Maria and the coronavirus pandemic. However many Puerto Ricans stay deeply pissed off by energy outages, a housing disaster and the excessive price of dwelling — in addition to by the gradual tempo of reconstruction after Maria, a Class 4 storm that devastated the Caribbean island in 2017.
Within the wake of a lot upheaval, Puerto Rico’s politics have began to shift, with the island’s long-dominant New Progressive and Well-liked Democratic events dealing with rising assist for newer, smaller events which can be much less involved with the defining query of Puerto Rico’s political standing.
In Puerto Rico’s final election, in 2020, a type of newer events, the Citizen Victory Motion, whose leaders pledged to give attention to fixing financial and social issues, drew many youthful voters. One other newer occasion, Challenge Dignity, whose candidates ran on right-wing social points, attracted Christian conservatives.
Earlier than this yr’s election, the Citizen Victory Motion shaped an alliance with the Puerto Rican Independence Social gathering, one of many island’s smaller events. Their candidate for governor is Juan Dalmau, a former state senator.
Mr. Pierluisi was elected in 2020, having defeated his successor, Gov. Wanda Vázquez, additionally a New Progressive, in a major that yr. Ms. Vázquez had develop into governor below uncommon circumstances, after former Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló, a New Progressive, resigned after enormous protests in 2019. The demonstrations started after the leaking of personal messages wherein Mr. Rosselló and his closest aides insulted Puerto Ricans.
Mr. Rosselló selected Mr. Pierluisi to succeed him, however the Puerto Rico Supreme Courtroom dominated that the appointment was improper. Within the interim, Mr. Pierluisi was the de facto governor for 5 days.
Throughout the marketing campaign this yr, Mr. Pierluisi pointed to achievements from his first time period, equivalent to financial enhancements and tasks that have been accomplished or now underway. Ms. González-Colón, nonetheless, condemned public corruption, which has lengthy plagued Puerto Rican governments, and harnessed individuals’s anger over day-to-day pocketbook points.
