Puerto Rico: Gov. Pierluisi Loses Primary

Facts

• Incumbent Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi on Sunday lost the island's New Progressive Party (PNP) primary election to US Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón by a margin of 56 to 44%.¹
• While both candidates are members of the PNP – the pro-statehood party — González is a Republican and Pierluisi a Democrat in US politics.²
• González, who four years ago ran on Pierluisi's ticket, is Puerto Rico's non-voting member of the US Congress, known as the resident commissioner. She now criticizes her former ally as out of touch and ineffective.³
• A crash of the electoral commission's website and power outages at over a dozen voting centers marred the election. Officials said the US Department of Homeland Security was helping with the site crash, while generators were brought in to bring back power.²
• González's preferred successor, Elmer Román, was behind Pierluisi's choice, island Sen. William Villafañe Ramos, by 6% as of Monday. González will face island Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz, whose Popular Democratic Party (PPD) is against statehood, in the general election.¹

Sources: ¹thehill.com, ²NBC and ³New York Times.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Washington Times. Pierluisi may have had some success rebuilding the island after Hurricane Maria and boosting tourism, but González enamored herself to voters with a message about cracking down on corruption, revamping the healthcare industry, and combating the surge in violence against women. Together with her strong desire to make Puerto Rico a US state, these priorities will make her a successful next governor.
• Narrative B, as provided by Jacobin. It doesn't matter who wins in Puerto Rico because it's always run by a 'uniparty' that prioritizes the desires of its masters in Washington over the needs of the people. While US intelligence agencies have successfully suppressed pro-independence parties in the past, a new coalition of anti-establishment voices is emerging. It won't be easy, but groups like the Citizens’ Victory Movement are gaining popularity.

Predictions