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PUERTO RICO
Crushing defeat for
annexationist Roselló
BY JEAN-GUY ALLARD—Special for Granma International—
AFTER
unsuccessfully trying out all the dirty tricks
taught by the “democracy” of the North, the former
Puerto Rican annexations governor of Puerto Rico,
Pedro Rosselló, finally acknowledged his defeat,
leaving the way free for his adversary, autonomist
Aníbal Acevedo. However, the politico – recently
described by The New York Daily as the
child spoilt and pampered by his father and for whom
Santa Claus didn’t leave La Fortaleza (governor’s
residence) underneath his tree – is still attempting
to secure the presidency of the island’s Senate.
Two times
governor of Puerto Rico (1993-2000), the head of the
New Progressive Party (PNP) was defeated in the
general elections this past November 2 by 3,566
votes. In order to put an end to the controversy, a
Boston court had to rule that the interference of a
federal judge indulgent toward the island was
unauthorized.
Aníbal
Acevedo Vilá, leader of the Democratic Popular Party
(PPD) has assumed the governor’s position, which he
will hold for the next four years, replacing Sila
María Calderón.
“Rosselló
is a megalomaniac,” commented former annexationist
head Benny Frankie Cerezo, in an interview with the
national press. During his campaign, Rosselló did
not hesitate to resort to all the demagogy
of which he is capable. He even hired a
pastor, the Reverend Rolón, who announced in a
televised commercial that God had told him that
Rosselló was the leader that Puerto Rico needed.
While in
the United States, Democrat John Kerry didn’t
attempt to fight the election results in court, in
Puerto Rico the right wing leader refused to
recognize his adversary’s victory, on the pretext
that he won his position through “void” votes, in a
reference to ballots with three candidates ticked by
the Puerto Rican Supreme Court.
After two
months of legal debate, the checking of voting
cards, and accusations of fraud, on December 28 the
State Elections Commission (CEE) announced Acevedo
Vilá (PPD) as the winner with 48.4% of the votes,
while Rosselló (PNP) received 48.2%.
The PNP
president, known for having espoused highly
questionable practices during his administration and
as the subject of exposés, ironically qualified the
victory of the separatist leader as the “product of
fraud” and accused Federico Hernández Denton,
president of the Puerto Rican Supreme Court, of
having “turned” in favor of the PPD.
He tried
the to block the certification of the new governor
by making an appeal to Judge Daniel Domínguez, a US
District Court magistrate in Puerto Rico…and a
personal friend. It was confirmed afterwards that
Rosselló had appointed Domínguez to the bench and
videos were shown in which both are seen together.
As
anticipated, Domínguez attempted to have the mixed
ballots discounted, thus provoking a run-in with the
Supreme Court.
The
magistrate’s decision provoked a protest by more
than 25,000 Puerto Ricans against what was called
“an attempted coup d’état” by federal judges on the
Caribbean island.
The CEE
president finally resorted to the First Circuit
Court of Appeals in Boston to overturn Domínguez’
decision and it was this court’s intervention that
put an end to the debate.
Since
then, the former annexationist governor has tried
unsuccessfully to force the resignation of the
elected senators of his party to resign so that he
could become president of the Senate, a position for
which Kenneth McClintock has already been selected.
According
to El Nuevo Día in Puerto Rico, “high ranking
figures from inside the New Progressive Party (PNP)”
went so far as to head a movement offering “a
payment of $140,000 and the senate secretary
position to a New Progressive Party (PNP) senator
who was willing to transfer his governmental seat to
the defeated candidate.” According to the newspaper,
the information was confirmed by Senator Lucy Arce,
vice president of the PNP.
PSYCHIATRIST’S SON “SEES THE WORLD FROM HIS TENNIS
COURT”
In 1998,
Rosselló also refused to recognize the popular vote
when a proposal to convert Puerto Rico into a US
state was rejected in a referendum. In spite of its
defeat, he presided over noisy celebrations with
fireworks in the streets of San Juan, and the
following day went to Washington to ask for the
island to be admitted into the Union…
However,
as governor he was most known for his corruption.
More than 40 members of his administration ended up
in the courts on embezzlement charges. Those figures
included his education secretary, two former cabinet
heads, his personal secretary, a campaign director,
two general secretaries from his party and a
parliamentary president
Son of a
psychiatrist, Rosselló was born in San Juan de
Puerto Rico on April 5, 1944. He completed his
education at Yale, but his official biography
highlights that, during his higher studies, “Pedro”
shone out as a tennis player. “He was captain of the
University of Notre Dame tennis team, won five male
singles championships in Puerto Rico and appeared as
one of the best in that sport in agreement with the
US Tennis Association.
The
article in El Día emphasized that, according
to a psychiatrist who has known him for a number of
years, the politico “sees the world from behind the
netting of luxury hotel tennis courts.” |
