Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

Puerto Rico’s newly installed governor and its Senate president faced off yesterday in written arguments submitted to the island’s supreme court, which will decide who is in charge of the bankrupt government, Reuters reported. Both sides agreed that Puerto Rico is facing its biggest constitutional crisis after days of protests forced Governor Ricardo Rosselló to leave office on Friday.

The future of Pedro Pierluisi as Puerto Rico’s governor will be up to the U.S. territory’s supreme court after the island’s Senate yesterday declined to vote on his confirmation, adding to the political turmoil that has swirled for weeks, Reuters reported.

Puerto Rico’s newly installed Gov. Pedro Pierluisi faces a legal challenge to his authority, further muddling the U.S. territory’s leadership and extending a period of political disarray, the Wall Street Journal reported.

With only hours before Puerto Rico’s disgraced governor was set to step down on Friday, the bankrupt U.S. territory still did not know who would succeed him, Reuters reported. Over a week ago, Governor Ricardo Rosselló bowed to 12 days of mass protests sparked by offensive chat messages and said he would resign at 5 p.m. on Friday.