The peaceful and orderly transfer of power from one government to the other, which is a procedure of fundamental importance in a liberal democracy such as ours, began this week between the work teams of the outgoing governor, Pedro Pierluisi, and the incoming governor, Jenniffer González, in a calm atmosphere that we hope will continue throughout the process.
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Lee este artículo en español.
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The transfer of power, even between executives of the same party, as is the case here, offers a unique opportunity to take a panoramic look at the state of the government’s main initiatives and challenges, step on the gas where needed, recalibrate where necessary and, in general terms, see, as on a map, where the country is in relation to where it wants to be taken, to adjust the focus on precise objectives.
The transition process, likewise, is the first reality check an incoming government faces in terms of the resources it has to try to fulfill its promises, which is especially important in the case of Gonzalez, whose main offerings centered on the enormous amount of federal reconstruction funds already allocated by U.S. authorities, but not yet used to complete important projects on the island.
The first days of the transition hearings, in fact, revolved around the status of recovery projects and relations with federal authorities in terms of allocations, terms and other procedures. The handling of reclamation, especially as it relates to the power grid, was the main Achilles heel of the outgoing administration and, in that sense, the emphasis on this issue by the incoming government is understandable.
In this matter and in all other matters, we urge the outgoing administration, some of whose members have reasonable expectations of continuing in public service, to show complete openness, and to report everything related to their areas, with the utmost transparency, so that the governor-elect’s team will have the most detailed picture possible of the state of the government’s situation when it is inaugurated in a little over a month’s time.
The new government, which was overwhelmingly elected by the electorate, deserves the opportunity to enter office with a clear and comprehensive idea of the state of affairs, so that when the time comes to govern, starting in January, it will not have to deal with unpleasant surprises that will mean setbacks in the beginning of its functions.
The issue of the management of federal reconstruction funds, of course, is of cardinal importance, given the fact that a couple of weeks after González’s inauguration, an administration will take office in Washington from which no one expects silk hands towards Puerto Rico and whose leader, Donald Trump, has not disguised in the past his disdain towards us.
The mismanagement of recovery funds cost the outgoing government too dearly and this issue will continue to be a sword of Damocles hanging over the new government, which will also face the possibility of cuts or even suspension of already committed allocations. The most effective way to counter the attacks from those who do not like us well from the federal capital is responsibility, transparency, accountability and efficiency in the management of recovery funds.
In short, the transition is the first step toward a competent government that can be accountable for its actions here and in the federal capital and, of course, responsive to the needs of our society, which suffers so much from the lack of effective institutions.
With an eye on the needs and order of the country, we reiterate our call for a transparent and responsible transition process that will help the new government lead Puerto Rico towards the goals we have long yearned for.
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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.
