Wanda Emilia Vázquez Garced (born July 9, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the 188th

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

from 2019 to 2021. 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 The Republican Party of Puerto Rico () is the local affiliate of the national Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Puerto Rico. The affiliation started in 1903. The party does not participate in the November elect ...

, Vázquez is the second female governor in Puerto Rican history, after Sila María Calderón. She was constitutionally appointed to 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, 2020, she failed to secure the New Progressive Party nomination for Governor of Puerto Rico in the 2020 elections, losing to Pedro Pierluisi. Vázquez Garced's ascension to the governorship was at the epicenter of a landmark decision by the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico () is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme courts of the states of the United State ...

, in the case of Senado de Puerto Rico v. Hon. Pedro R. Pierluisi; Puerto Rico's highest

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

derogated a clause added by Puerto Rico Law #7 of 2005 (Law No. 7-2005) to the

Constitution of Puerto Rico The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico () is the primary organizing law for the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of Puerto Rico in nine art ...

. This annulled Pedro Pierluisi's government, and reinforced the 1952 Constitution's provisions for succession of government. On August 4, 2022, Vázquez was arrested by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, on charges of corruption, over a bribery case connected to her 2020 gubernatorial campaign; she had demanded the Commissioner of Financial Institutions to resign.

Early life and education

Vázquez was born in Santurce, San Juan and raised in Guaynabo. Her parents worked in a factory, her father as a security guard. Her mother died at the age of 53. Her father has been remarried for twenty years. She has a younger brother and an older sister. She began her primary studies at the Ramón Marín and Margarita Janer schools in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Vázquez became interested in law at an early age. She said in an interview that she used to watch TV shows like '' Hawaii Five-O'' with her father, which led her to realize she wanted to follow a career along that line. Vázquez studied at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

, where she completed her bachelor's degree. After that, she completed her

Juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

(J.D.) at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law.

Career

During the 1980s, Vázquez worked for the Puerto Rico Department of Housing. She then worked as a

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for the Puerto Rico Department of Justice for 20 years. Vázquez specialized in cases of domestic and gender violence. She also worked in the Criminal Division for the Bayamón Prosecutor's office. In 2010, Vázquez was appointed to replace Ivonne Feliciano as the head of the Office for Women's Rights of the island. On November 30, 2016, Governor-elect Ricardo Rosselló nominated her for the position of Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico. She was confirmed and sworn in January 18, 2017.

Governor of Puerto Rico

Vázquez was initially expected to become

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 Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

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 former Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi to the vacant position of the Secretary of State, as the secretary of state superseded 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, meaning that he only served in the office on acting basis. Upon Rosselló's resignation, Pierluisi succeeded to the governorship in a '' de facto'' manner instead of Vázquez. However, as he had not been confirmed by the Senate, the validity of his governorship was called into question. On August 7, 2019, the

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 wanted to recover Hurricane Maria relief funds, and review all government contracts to ensure they are managed correctly, free of corruption. She said she wanted to work with President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

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 Starting on December 28, 2019, and progressing into 2020, the southwestern part of the island of Puerto Rico was struck by an earthquake swarm,

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 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. On October 6, 2020, Vásquez endorsed

for the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

2020 primaries

On August 16, 2020, Vázquez lost the gubernatorial primary race to Pedro Pierluisi. With 75.6% of voting stations reporting, Pierluisi had won about 57.9% of the votes to Vazquez’s 42.1%, clinching the nomination for New Progressive Party. Pierluisi claimed victory after Vázquez recognized his lead and said she respected the will of voters.

Personal life

Vázquez is married to Jorge Díaz Reverón, a judge in Caguas, Puerto Rico. She has two daughters, Stephanie and Beatriz Díaz Vázquez.

Notes

References

External links

Gobernador de Puerto Rico Official Site - La Fortaleza
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vazquez Garced, Wanda 1960 births 20th-century Puerto Rican lawyers 21st-century Puerto Rican lawyers Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Governors of Puerto Rico Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Living people Members of the 17th Cabinet of Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico attorneys general Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Republican Party governors of Puerto Rico Secretaries of justice of Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni Women governors of Puerto Rico 21st-century Puerto Rican politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican women lawyers 21st-century Puerto Rican women lawyers 21st-century Puerto Rican women politicians